Today we’d like to introduce you to Austin Brenner.
Hi Austin, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born here in South Tampa. I grew up right around the corner from where Little Leon sits today. It used to be an Ethiopian restaurant. Growing up I never found myself interested in food or restaurants. It wasn’t until I left for college to the University of Georgia in Athens, that I really paid much attention to food and the restaurant scene. The restaurants there was so diverse for such a little town. When I left, my interest grew and grew.
I returned back to Tampa and started my career in commercial real estate, following in my father’s footsteps. I started paying attention to my health and started cooking for myself at home more and more. I would cook myself good, clean food almost every night or meal prepped for the week on Sunday’s. There were a couple good options to eat out if you were looking for healthy food, but I found myself going to the two same places every time. I got kind of sick of it. Tampa, being a very health conscious town, I knew I couldn’t be the only one that felt that way.
Even while I was starting to excel at my job, I realized that I really didn’t want to sit at a desk any longer. I started talking to people that were in the restaurant business. I started talking to people that could fund this little dream of mine. I started to get really serious about it and created a business plan. I eventually secured funding and quit my job shortly after. I found the perfect little building and closed on it. A couple weeks later, COVID hit. Thank god we weren’t open. I started building the menu with the help of an old friend of my parents that had worked in restaurants in the past. A lot of it was based off of things that I made for myself in my kitchen and some of her ideas as well.
By the time construction was finished, we were entering January of the following year. We officially opened January 23, 2021. Ever since then, we’ve been busy making a name for ourselves in the city of Tampa. The plan is to grow to multiple locations. Not sure how many or how long it will take but I’m ready for the ride.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely not. COVID kicked everything back at least 4-6 months but one of our biggest speedbumps has honestly been me. I had only had a brief stint in a restaurant when I was younger and knew next to nothing about the business besides the conversations I was having with people. I really had no idea what I was doing along the way, I just kind of figured it out as I went along. I definitely learn something new every day mostly from making mistakes.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We are a fast, casual joint serving up healthy bowls and salads daily. What sets us apart from the competition is our large varieties of foods and flavors. We are also super fair with our portions. We don’t skimp on you.
I worked really hard with a cool branding firm out of Atlanta called Family Bros to create super fun, unique branding. They also helped me with the name as well. Leon is my father and grandfather’s middle name. Our logos and characters are super cute and cool.
I also worked with a great interior design firm out of Sarasota called Pansy Bayou. They worked with my branding team and created the perfect atmosphere to match the branding. I couldn’t have asked for a better combo.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Snowboarding. It’s still my favorite thing to do to this day. I was lucky enough to start as soon as I could walk due to my father’s equal love for the snow.
Pricing:
- Bowls Range from $10-15
Contact Info:
- Email: austin@eatlittleleon.com
- Website: eatlittleleon.com
- Instagram: @eatlittleleon
- Facebook: @eatlittleleon
- Yelp: Little Leon
Little Leon
Pansy Bayou Design Studio
