One of the most successful international restaurant chains started in Tampa

TAMPA, Fla. - Sheilina Henry is opening a new Flemings Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar in Tampa this fall.

Her first restaurant job was as a server at a Pizza Hut in Chicago. She got promoted to assistant manager, then went off to graduate school, then got recruited by Bloomin' Brands to become a restaurant industry executive.

"That's what is fascinating about Bloomin' Brands, when you look at Outback, Bonefish, Carrabba's, and Flemings. It's the passion for hospitality and really that's what I fell in love with when I joined the restaurant industry," said Henry.

Her rise from obscurity to leadership isn't unlike the story of Bloomin' Brands. It started when local residents Chris Sullivan, Bob Basham, and others decided to start a steakhouse with an Australian theme.

They hadn't been to Australia, but they did watch the movie "Crocodile Dundee," which was part of America's fascination with Australia 36 years ago.

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That's when the first Outback opened on Henderson Boulevard in South Tampa. Since then, Bloomin' Brands has opened hundreds of restaurants all over the world. Flemings started as a California restaurant until Bloomin' Brands turned it into a national brand 20 years ago.

Now there are 63 Flemings, including a new one set to open Sept. 9, next to the old location on Boy Scout Road. They have a game plan.

"There's a head coach. There's a general manager, and I have to wear those hats in this business too," said Jorge Diaz.

His hat used to be a football helmet. Diaz was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1996 and played at the guard position through 1999. He says Sullivan, Basham, and the founders of Flemings in California, have been mentors.

Diaz will lead the transition from the old restaurant to the new one. He likens it to the Bucs' transition, when Tony Dungee became head coach, and a year later, the team switched from Creamsicle Orange to Red and Pewter uniforms.

"That process in 1996 and going through this transition now, I've been through that before in a sense," said Diaz, who in 20 years at Flemings, has become a different kind of impact players. "A birthday, an anniversary, a business celebration, just a date night, and you get that opportunity to impact someone's night," he said.

Bloomin' Brands now employees thousands of people worldwide, but none of them, including Henry and Diaz, would be where they are today had it not been for the start of a small, Australian-themed steakhouse in South Tampa 36 years ago.

It was the Outback phenomenon. A new generation, including Henry and Diaz, still benefit from it.

Both became local residents years ago and adopted Tampa as their new hometowns.

"It was just in the stars, it was destined," said Henry, as she works to open yet another new Flemings on Sept. 9, on Boy Scout Road in Tampa.

It’s right next to the old Flemings.

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