Our Namesake

Welcome to Willa's! 

William was always a woman. Willa's is named for William "Willie" Lowry, a 19th-century Tampa pioneer whose devotion to her hometown and civic involvement still reverberates throughout town. 

Willie was the great-great grandmother of Merrin Jenkins, Willa's co-founder. We set out to create a simple restaurant that loved its people, and felt the name Willa embodied everything we want to be.