TAMPA, Fla. — A longtime staple in Tampa's restaurant community is making a comeback in the coming weeks after being shutdown since the Coronavirus pandemic began last year.

Pop 'N Sons Diner on Dale Mabry Highway has been closed since last March, and the owner at that time, Jerry Reavis, decided to keep the restaurant shutdown even after the state allowed businesses to reopen at limited capacity.

At the time, Reavis told us there were still too many uncertainties to risk reopening.

"I'm not a spring chicken anymore, and so I just didn't feel like really going through the ups and downs that has happened in the 45 years I've been here in Tampa," Reavis said.

Last October, Chef Richard Hales approached Reavis about buying the 50's and 60's themed diner.

Hales is a Tampa-native but has spent the past two decades traveling the world, doing TV interviews, being featured on the Food Network Podcast and building his own restaurant business, Grateful Hospitality.  Hales currently owns two restaurants in Miami.

"I've been looking for a place that's been open for decades, that has history to it, my entire career as a restauranteur," Hales said.  "It has some family connections to it, my family has been coming here for years."

On Monday, Chef Hales and his family met with the longtime Pop 'N Sons owner and his family to sign on the dotted line and turn the family business over to Hales as he looks to push the diner through the pandemic and into the future.

Chef Hales says he hopes to open the next generation of Pop 'N Sons in time for the Super Bowl.

​The diner will keep it's same nostalgic theme and many employees will be returning to work.

Hales says although some of the favorite eats on the old menu will still be available, he is working to add new and seasonal items too.