Owner Speaks Out on 'Closed-Down, Run-Down' Building in Brandon

The closed-down, run-down building on Brandon Town Centre Drive still sports the sign of its former tenant, Tia's Tex-Mex restaurant, but not for long, if the owners have anything to say about it.

"Our plans were to develop it for a franchisde restaurant," said Max Olivera of The Olivera Group, in a telephone interview thiis week. "With the economy as it has been, we scratched those plans and put the property up for sale. We're waiting for a buyer to come along."

That wait is not lost on motorists who travel — and sometimes sit in gridlock — on Brandon Town Centre Drive, south of Brandon Boulevard, which serves as the northern entrance into the Westfield Brandon shopping mall.

"I always comment on that building whenever I pass it," wrote one Brandon Patch reader, in response to an earlier post, . "I wish someone could buy and refurbish the building, turning it into some sort of restaurant."

As noted, Olivera said the plan now is to sell the property, rather than develop it as a franchise restaurant.

"We had quite a few inquiries but nothing has been realized," he said. "We own the whole lot."

The entire property is about 62,000 square feet, he said, including 100 parking spots and the 7,000- square-foot building.

The building sits between Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grlll to the north and Bed Bath & Beyond to the south. Tia's Tex-Mex has been closed for about five years.

Navigation of Brandon Town Centre Drive has been tedious at best, as noted by readers both at Brandon Patch and on the Brandon Patch Facebook page.

 "They need to fix that 'circle of hell' in the mall before they do anything that increases more traffic," wrote Marlena Nowaski Beamer.

"Would be great to tear it down and put in a Whole Foods, Fresh Market or Trader Joes," noted Charlotte Palmer, who added that with "not enough parking and traffic there," it would be "hard to get in and out of [it] as it is."

One reader suggested that access be gained with a road cut through Bed Bath & Beyond.

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What do you think would make a go of it in the building that once housed Tia's Tex-Mex? Let us know in the comment box below.
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