SEFFNER — The Bob Evans restaurant at I-4 and Tampa Gateway Boulevard was evacuated and closed Sunday morning after employees found the kind of damage often associated with a sinkhole, authorities said.
Hillsborough County Fire Rescue officials said they received a call around 7 a.m. from employees who discovered the damage after their arrival.
Crews were sent to the restaurant, which had not opened for customers and was evacuated of employees before their arrival. They cordoned off the site with yellow tape after discovering cracking on the outside of the building and in the tile floor inside.
The restaurant, located at 11720 Tampa Gateway Blvd., is about four miles from the Seffner neighborhood where a sinkhole opened beneath a home, killing Jeffrey Bush, in February. That home at 240 Faithway Drive and two adjacent homes were later demolished.
“We know that we’ve had substantial rain within the area. It could be possible washout where the ground is just unstable. Until the testing is complete we’re not able to say what is causing the structural compromise,” said Nicole Revette, with Hillsborough County Fire Rescue.
