Cook Out in
Tampa, FL.

How many Cook Out locations are in Tampa, FL?

Tampa has two Cook Out restaurants: 5501 E Fowler Ave in Temple Terrace, opened July 2026 and open 10:30 AM to 4 AM daily, and 16215 N Dale Mabry Hwy in Carrollwood, opened September 2026. More stores are coming to St. Petersburg, Brandon and Lutz.

The two Tampa stores

Tampa’s two Cook Out restaurants are both former Boston Market buildings, both confirmed by Cook Out’s own account, and both very new. Temple Terrace opened first, Carrollwood followed about two months later.

The Temple Terrace store sits at 5501 E Fowler Ave, Temple Terrace, FL 33617, near the University of South Florida. It is a roughly 3,272-square-foot building, and its soft opening was July 16, 2026 at 4 PM, with the grand opening the next day, July 17, 2026. The Carrollwood store sits at 16215 N Dale Mabry Hwy, Tampa, FL 33618, and opened in September 2026, with opening-day coverage on September 12, 2026.

Hours in Tampa

The Temple Terrace store’s reported hours are 10:30 AM to 4 AM every day — later than most Cook Outs, and the latest closing in this batch of pages. That fits the USF crowd: students finish late, and the kitchen stays open for them. Opening day was the exception, with doors opening at 11 AM.

Carrollwood’s hours have not been published anywhere verified, so this page lists them as to be confirmed rather than guessing. The store is open and serving; the hours are simply not yet confirmed in any published source. Check the store listing or call before a late-night trip, and this page will be updated when the hours are verified.

How Tampa got Cook Out

Tampa waited longer than most Florida cities. Cook Out’s first Florida store opened in Pensacola in July 2025, followed by Tallahassee in October 2025. The Tampa area arrived in the summer of 2026, when the Temple Terrace store opened — the fourth Florida location overall — and Carrollwood followed in September.

Both stores are former Boston Market buildings, which is a pattern Cook Out has used across the country: take over a closed fast-casual building with a drive-thru, convert it, and open to lines around the block. The Temple Terrace opening drew exactly that — a soft opening at 4 PM on July 16, 2026, a grand opening the next day, and coverage from local press that treated the arrival as a small event.

The two openings were announced by Cook Out’s official account with the chain’s customary three-word message: “OPEN OPEN OPEN” — once for each address. That announcement, not a directory listing, is the strongest confirmation that both stores are open and serving.

Cook Out in Florida

Florida is Cook Out’s newest frontier, and Tampa is the front of it. The state had five Cook Out stores by the autumn of 2026: Pensacola (July 2025), Tallahassee (October 2025), Temple Terrace (July 2026), Jacksonville (July 2026) and Carrollwood (September 2026).

There are still no stores in Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach counties, and none announced there. The expansion so far has followed the interstate corridor — I-10 in the Panhandle, I-75 toward Tampa, I-95 toward Jacksonville — and Tampa is the hub of the Gulf Coast push. Expect the map to keep changing: St. Petersburg, Brandon and Lutz are all reported as coming, and this page will be updated as each one opens.

What to order in Tampa

The Tampa menu is the full Cook Out lineup: char-grilled burgers, chopped pork barbecue, chicken sandwiches and strips, hot dogs, quesadillas, wraps, a long sides list and the 40-plus flavor shake menu. A Cook Out Tray costs $7.99 to $8.99 on the Tampa boards — one main, two sides and a drink bundled together — which is the top of the chain’s usual range, and a sign that Tampa prices run slightly higher than the Raleigh board.

First time? Order a Regular Tray with a Big Double Cook Out Style, hushpuppies and onion rings, and swap the drink for a shake. That is the order the chain is built around. For what each category typically costs, see our 2026 price guide. Confirm the final price on the board, because prices are set per restaurant.

The value story is the same in Tampa as everywhere else: a full meal for about eight dollars, served until 4 in the morning at Temple Terrace. That is why the drive-thru line at 1 AM is a Tampa institution already, weeks after opening.

Coming soon around Tampa

Three more Tampa-area stores are reported as coming: St. Petersburg at 9595 4th St N, Brandon, and Lutz. No opening dates have been announced for any of them, and no addresses have been confirmed for Brandon or Lutz, so this page lists them by city only.

The St. Petersburg address is the most concrete of the three, and it would be the first Cook Out across the bay from Tampa. Until any of these stores opens, the Temple Terrace and Carrollwood stores are the only Cook Outs in the Tampa Bay area.

Tips for your Tampa visit

Most Tampa visits run through the drive-thru, and the line moves faster than it looks because the kitchen is built for volume. Have the order ready before the speaker: main, two sides, drink, in that order. Cards are widely accepted at both stores.

If you are new to the brand entirely, start with the Tray guide — it explains the ordering system that confuses every first-timer exactly once. Compare calories on the nutrition page and check allergens for ingredient questions before you order.

Holiday hours can be shorter than the normal pattern, so confirm before a late-night trip on Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year’s. See the 2026 holiday hours page for the chain-wide picture, and call the store — general line 1-866-547-0011 — when anything is unclear. For Carrollwood hours in particular, check the listing before you go, because they have not been published yet.

USF nights: the Temple Terrace crowd

The Temple Terrace store sits near the University of South Florida, and that address shapes everything about it. The reported hours — 10:30 AM to 4 AM every day — are the latest in this batch of pages, and they exist because the USF crowd finishes late. Students, staff and anyone working the night shift around the university all end up at the same drive-thru after midnight.

The building is a roughly 3,272-square-foot former Boston Market, converted to the Cook Out format with a drive-thru. Opening week drew lines around the block, and the pattern since has been the familiar one: a steady lunch and dinner trade, then a second rush after 10 PM that runs until the 4 AM close. If you are visiting from USF, the move is the same as at any college-town Cook Out: order early, or embrace the line, which moves faster than it looks because the kitchen is built for volume.

Tampa prices

A Cook Out Tray costs $7.99 to $8.99 on the Tampa boards — one main, two sides and a drink bundled together. That is the top of the chain’s usual range, and a sign that Tampa prices run slightly higher than the Raleigh board, where the Regular Tray is $7.99. The Jr. Tray costs less, and the milkshakes run about $3.99 on most Cook Out boards.

Prices are set per restaurant, so the board at Fowler Ave or Dale Mabry Hwy is the final word, and opening-week boards are the ones quoted here. Check the price before you order if the budget is tight, and remember that tax is added on top. The value story holds even at the top of the range: a full meal for about eight or nine dollars, served until 4 in the morning at Temple Terrace.