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Lee Roy Selmon To Take Over Namesake Eatery

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By MARY SHEDDEN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 29, 2007

Video: Selmon Announcement

Lee Roy Selmon the man is taking over Lee Roy Selmon's, the upscale barbecue restaurant.

OSI Restaurants today announced it's selling 80 percent of the restaurant to an investment group led by the Hall of Fame Tampa Bay Buccaneer and the chain's president, Peter Barli.

OSI, the Tampa-based owner of Outback Steakhouse and Carrabba's Italian Grill, will retain an interest in the brand it first launched in Tampa in 2000. Financial terms were not released.

Today, there are six Lee Roy Selmon's restaurants in the Bay area and Southwest Florida which feature a menu of southern cooking and barbecue. Its motif and flavor are based in part on Selmon's upbringing in Oklahoma and his legendary football career.

Barli said he and Selmon proposed the split this summer as part of their long-term plans to expand the brand beyond the Bay area. Several new locations are under construction and should open early next year. The pair plans to have 30 restaurants open in the next five years.

Reporter Mary Shedden can be reached at (813) 259-7365 or mshedden@tampatrib.com.

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