Two days on the record, four days in the description
The City of Tampa record for the Gourmet Food International Food Expo 2027 gives the Tampa Convention Center, 333 S. Franklin St., from 7 a.m. on Wednesday March 3 to 11:59 p.m. on Thursday March 4. The description field beneath those dates calls the show four days and more than 275 exhibitor booths.
Plan the stay against the date field. Two days of hall time take one night in a bed.
Confirm the date before you commit
The city page answered 404 on 21 October 2026. The details above come from the record as held in the city's search index, and the index carries a status line reading Scheduled.
The organiser's live events page at gfifoods.com lists the GFI Atlanta Food Expo on 29 September 2026, a charity golf tournament on 27 October 2026 and three national trade shows in 2027. It lists no Tampa date. The same description reads is seeking a venue.
Call the convention center sales desk on (813) 274-7762 and get both dates confirmed in writing. Hold the room on a cancellable rate until the desk answers.
Book Wednesday, leave after the close
A 7 a.m. Wednesday gate ends any plan built on a Wednesday-morning drive. Book Tuesday into Wednesday for the early start, or book Wednesday night and reach the floor on Wednesday morning.
The second plan covers a two-day show on one night. Check in Wednesday afternoon, sleep, check out Thursday morning and leave a bag at the desk. The hall runs to 11:59 p.m. on Thursday. Add the Thursday night for a Friday drive home.
The Sky Bridge property
The venue's nearby-hotels roster tags one entry as connected: Embassy Suites by Hilton Tampa Downtown Convention Center, 513 S. Florida Ave., (813) 769-8300. That entry carries a Sky Bridge note and no distance figure.
Two Marriott hotels sit at the roster's 0.2-mile mark. Tampa Marriott Water Street is at 700 S. Florida Ave., (813) 221-4900. JW Marriott Tampa Water Street is at 505 Water Street, (813) 221-4950. The two addresses sit on different streets.
Four more properties print 0.5 miles: The Tampa EDITION, 500 Channelside Drive, (813) 221-4600; Hilton Tampa Downtown, 211 N. Tampa Street, (813) 204-3000; Hyatt Place/Hyatt House, 325 N. Florida Ave., (813) 616-1234; ROOST Tampa, 1050 Water Street, (813) 945-4890. The Westin Tampa Waterside, 725 S. Harbour Island Blvd., (813) 229-5000, prints 0.3 miles.
The roster publishes no rate against any entry. Ask each property for the night rate, the cancellation deadline and the parking term in writing.
Parking for a late Thursday
The convention center garage at 141 E. Brorein Street holds 454 spaces, 11 of them ADA, with two electric-vehicle chargers and a 6'6" height limit. The event rate runs $5.00 to $50.00. The parking page states no long-term parking at the convention center.
Pam Iorio at 301 Channelside Drive holds 790 spaces with 41 ADA and two chargers. Fort Brooke at 107 N. Franklin Street holds 556 spaces with a 6'8" limit. Both publish visitor overnight parking to 6:00 a.m. on the same event band.
The Front Drive at 333 S. Franklin Street holds 36 metered spaces at $4 an hour from 8:00 a.m. to midnight, with no overnight parking.
Entrances and the streetcar
The Franklin Street main entrance faces the convention center garage. The Channel Entry takes the Front Drive, close to the waterfront. Rideshare pickup and drop-off sits at 333 S. Franklin St. across from Water Street, with a second spot in front of Harpoon Harry's Crab House at 225 S. Franklin Street.
The TECO Line Streetcar runs free and stops at Dick Greco Plaza, stop 10, across from the Front Drive.
The three open questions
Ask the organiser which hall holds the 275-plus booths, what time the Thursday programme ends, and when badge pickup opens on Wednesday morning.
A Florida booking request goes direct to the property. hotelhuddle.com/seller-of-travel, last updated 21 October 2026, states the platform cannot process hotel booking requests from residents of or for travel to Florida, Hawaii, Iowa and Washington. Email or call the sales office and keep the reply.