Dave Burton is a well-respected Tampa Bay area restaurateur and Tampa native who first brought his expertise to the Tampa Bay area in 2004. Today he is managing partner of Tampa Pizza Company, with locations in downtown Tampa and Westchase. Tampa Pizza Company has been a finalist for best pizza in Tampa Bay 3 times (by Creative Loafing) and is a “Best of Yelp” award-winner for one of the top 10 restaurants in Downtown Tampa. Burton is also co-managing partner of the Holy Hog BBQ regional restaurant chain, which currently has four locations. Holy Hog has been a 5 time Best Of The Bay award-winner for Tampa Bay’s Best BBQ (Creative Loafing).

Additionally, Dave is also a co-managing partner at The Getaway, a Florida Keys-inspired tiki-bar and restaurant concept with 2 high-performing locations in Saint Petersburg, Florida that has been named by USA Today as one of the 10 best beach bars in Florida. The Getaway has also been named one of the Tampa Bay area’s fastest growing business by the Tampa Bay Business Journal and was recently honored by USF as one of its ”Fast 56”alumni-owned businesses. Burton recently joined SoFresh, a regional healthy fast casual emerging restaurant chain in 2015 as a minority partner and consultant assisting in business development, strategy, and growth.

Across the Bay in St Pete, Burton is also a consulting minority partner in the Hunger and Thirst Restaurant Group, operators of 3 different concepts in Pinellas County. In Nov 2018, Burton also recently launched Flock and Stock, a fast casual chicken and burger concept in the critically acclaimed Sparkman Wharf. In early 2019, Burton will be debuting a new concept, GenX Tavern, a retro inspired restaurant and bar that will pay homage to 1980’s and 1990’s pop culture. The allure and appeal of this concept earned Burton a spot on the Business Journal’s List of The Top 25 Business People to Watch in Tampa Bay.

An active member of the community, Burton has served on the Alumni Board of Directors of Tampa Connection as well as the Advisory Board and Board of Directors for Visit Tampa Bay and the SSD Advisory Committee for the Tampa Downtown Partnership. Over the years, he has been involved in several fundraisers for the Glazer Children's Museum, The Crisis Center, Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa Theatre, Gasparilla International Film Festival, Trinity Café, Children’s Dream Fund, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay, Sustany Foundation, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA, First Tee of Tampa Bay, Feeding Children Everywhere, No Kid Hungry Campaign and various student organizations at the University of Tampa and University of South Florida. His work with various Tampa Bay area non-profits earned him the distinguished Betty Tribble Citizen of The Year Award in 2017 from The Tampa Connection.

Burton graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina and obtained his MBA in Marketing Management from the University of South Florida and lives in Downtown Tampa with his wife Melissa, also a Tampa native and successful real estate agent.