The old Nebraska Mini-Mart sat empty for over a year after it closed in March 2025. By the end of this month, it’s a Cuban restaurant.
Coco’s In The Heights is opening at 4815 N Nebraska Ave, owned by Carlos Carrillo and Adam Hendricks, who are putting roughly $100,000 into the space — expanding parking from 12 spaces to 24 and building out what they’re calling a “Havana nights” vibe. The menu goes beyond the standard sandwich-shop formula: alongside the Tampa Cuban, the O.G. Cuban, and a medianoche they’re calling the Midnight Special, there are bowls, tacos, loaded tostones, salads, and empanadas with house-made sauces. Cuban coffee, Spanish soda, draft and bottled beer, and wine round out the drink menu, and there’s a kids’ lineup — chicken tenders, fries, a Cuban grilled cheese — for anyone not ready for a full Cuban sandwich yet.
Once it’s open, planned hours are Tuesday–Thursday 11 a.m.–8 p.m. and Friday–Saturday 11 a.m.–10 p.m. The owners say they’re planning community events like outdoor movie nights once the restaurant is established — a bet that this stretch of Nebraska Avenue can support more than drive-through traffic.
When: Opening by end of October 2026
Where: 4815 N Nebraska Ave, Tampa
Hours (planned): Tue–Thu 11am–8pm, Fri–Sat 11am–10pm
Good to know
The expanded parking lot is a real upgrade from what the Mini-Mart had — worth noting if you remember the old building’s lot being too cramped to bother stopping. No confirmed opening day yet beyond “end of October,” so call ahead before making a special trip in the first week or two.
Menu, pricing, and hours are drawn from the ownership’s own announced plans and can shift before opening day — check ahead.
Photo: Nebraska Avenue, Tampa, by MatthewHoobin, licensed CC0 1.0 (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.