Florida Has 3 Of The Last Remaining ‘Rainforest Café’ Locations

The chain restaurants of the early 2000s were unlike anything else. The decor was wild. Seating was comfortable and the food was cheap. That’s the trifecta needed for a solid restaurant experience. Rainforest Café was one of the coolest chains of the 1990s and 2000s, but where can you still find Rainforest Café in 2024? Florida has 3 of the last Rainforest Café locations in the USA.

If you were a kid in the late 90s to early 2000s, the Rainforest Café was one of the coolest places to be. Live animals, animatronics, jungle shrubbery, and storm sounds throughout the entire restaurant. What was the food like? Honestly, can’t remember, but the atmosphere was great.

The Café and shopping malls went hand in hand. You could be in the middle of Mall of America and somehow transform into the atmosphere of the jungle just by taking a seat in the Café.

When shopping malls began to lose their traction, with the rise of online shopping, Rainforest Cafe began to see its hype decline. As malls become emptier, fewer people want to dine in a deserted shopping mall leaving the legendary cafe to close up shop.

There are currently 15 locations left in the United States and if you are looking to visit one in Florida, you’re in luck. Disney World Animal Kingdom, Disney Springs, and Sawgrass Mills are the last 3 locations in Florida.

Back in 2019, one Tampa resident created a petition to bring the Rainforest Café to Tampa. He wrote, "This is holding us back as a city, as other cities that are near a Cafe are larger and 'more glamorous,' such as New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles. The main difference between Tampa and these major cities is the lack of a Rainforest Cafe." Is Tampa held back because of the lack of a Cafe? Might want to let that one marinate before signing that petition.

Texas has 3 remaining locations. New Jersey has 2. Illinois recently closed 2 in Chicago, leaving 1 remaining in the state. Tennessee, Nevada, California, Arizona, Tennessee, and Michigan all have 1 as well as the original location that's still standing tall inside the Mall of America in Minnesota. 

To learn more about the remaining locations in each state, click here.

Have you ever sat there thinking about your favorite restaurant? What if it closed down? There are so many good restaurants around the Tampa area, but sometimes nothing hits like your favorite spot. We asked you on social media to help us with Tampa restaurants that closed down we wish we could bring back from the dead. You sent us hundreds of comments and we found the same names pop up over and over of fan favorite Tampa restaurants that closed down over the years.

We were thinking and wondering what made some of the closed down restaurants so special? For some places it was the food (obviously), some was just the environment and service.

When we look back, we remember the past as easier times and remind us of younger versions of ourselves. Maybe, a random Wednesday dinner with a friend or a family member that has now passed away. For some of us, it could be memories of our childhood and for others it might be memories of watching your kids grow up.

There is no shortage of restaurants in the Tampa Bay area with something new popping up every week. Just in the first 4 months of 2023, there were 20 different restaurants that opened. Only 3 months are left in the year and there are many more with opening dates coming in the next few weeks. Here, we told you 3 new restaurants coming this Fall that you need to try. From the Yard House with over 100 beers on tap to The Beacon located in the JW Marriott downtown Tampa there are so many different options to choose from. But, the question is will they be as good as our favorites of the past?

Before putting together the list of Tampa restaurants that closed down, we shared a moment of silence for everyone that lost their favorite ones along the way. We know that if we lost our favorite pizza place, we would feel incomplete. It isn’t easy losing something you love, but that’s why we’re here to look back on the long-lost favorites of Tampa Bay. 

Miami Subs was one of the most popular comments you all posted on our socials. I love crushing sandos as much as the next guy so if anyone knows of a place like Miami Subs, I'll need that spot. Miami Subs brought that BSE (Big Sandwich Energy) to Tampa Bay.  You can catch the old menu right here.

The Ponderosa Steakhouse in Largo closed up shop in February 1999 after 23 years in business. It was replaced by a new restaurants and a few fast food chains. Century 21 Mills First real estate agent James Schaller Sr said, "In the case of the Ponderosa, the restaurant was unable to compete with newer steakhouses that offer a higher grade of meat for a little more money".

Bennigan's was one of Tampa's favorite place to get traditional American cuisine. Regulars always came back for their favorite waiters and the fan favorite bar.

The Colonnade Restaurant was one of Tampa's oldest restaurants dating back to World War II. It was known for its authentic seafood and was located on Bayshore Boulevard. It was family owned and operated for generations and when it came time to close it's doors, was sold to a developer for a new project.

Sweet Tomatoes was a fan favorite for it's buffet style dining. They had all types of food to choose from and unfortunately had to close up shop after shutting down during COVID-19 shutdowns.

Spaghetti Warehouse was a vintage style Italian restaurant known for it's wide variety of custom spaghetti dishes. The inside had a vintage trolley car to eat at and white/red checkered table clothes to add to the vintage style brick throughout the restaurant0. This is a restaurant chain so if you're looking to fill that void, you can still find them located in Texas!

Morrison's Cafeteria started out in Alabama where they eventually opened up shops across the United States. It was another buffet style restaurant that was favored by so many Tampa locals.

Don Pablo's was one of Tampa's best places to get Tex-Mex style food. There were several locations throughout Florida. If you want to take a trip down memory lane, checkout the menu here.

This is a big "if you know, you know". Hops had the best sweet croissant rolls and root beer in frozen mugs... Take us back!!