The Official Unofficial Seminole Heights Blog

Neighbors, we have two days left to vote in the creative loafing “Best of the Bay” poll. While some say this is silly, etc., I cannot stress enough the importance of these polls. Each year, this is the largest circulated issue for Creative Loafing. Most readers keep the issue much longer than their normal week. For many readers, this issue becomes a guide for new restaurants to try, bars to visit, etc. For those nominees fortunate enough to win, this can mean HUGE benefits for their businesses.

www.tampa.creativeloafing.com

As a neighborhood, this can bring city-wide attention to our area. There are There are 100 questions, however, only 25 must be answered in order for your vote to count. Here are a few suggestions from various comments and post to help get Seminole Heights in the list. 

1. Best Local TV Newsperson: Brendan McLaughlin
2. Best Theatre Troupe: Stageworks – 3. Best Kept Secret: Stageworks Rainbow Tribe Outreach Program for Kids at Risk
3. Best Local Politician: Rose Ferlita  or Linda Saul-Sena (This one is a toss up for me. I love Rose and her long history with SH, but also love Linda as she has a huge passion for Historic Preservation)
4. Best Neighborhood: Seminole Heights
5. Best Building: Hillsborough High School
6. Best Sandwich Shop/deli - MERINOS
7. BEST BAKERY - Mauricio Faedo’s Bakery (Best Cuban Bread in town)
8. Best New Restaurant Bungalow Bistro
9. Best Bargin Restaurant - El Taconazo
10. Best Pizza - Cappy’s
11. Best Burger - Bungalow Bistro or 3 Coins (Both Delicious)
12. Best Vintage Clothing Store - Sherry’s Yesterdaze
13. Best Thrift - Sherry’s Yesterdaze
14. Best Independent book store - Tampa Antiquarian
15. Best Local Columnists - Kathy Steele
16. Best Radio station - WMNF
17. Best local blog seminoleheights.blog.com
18. Most Underrated thing about Tampa - Seminole Heights
19. Best-Kept Secret - Seminole Heights
20. Best Restaurant: Bungalow Bistro

Over the weekend I had posted a topic that is critical to our neighborhood–Which comes first, the commercial or residential? As readers commented to the topic, it got me thinking. First, Seminole Heights is not the first inner city neighborhood to try to revitalize. Secondly, what features does our neighborhoods have to set us apart. In doing some research, I found a great article that was created by the Urban Land Institute. The article is very lengthy and gives great detail and 10 top things to consider in our quest. Throughout the article, there are many similarities to their advice and the progression and vision that Seminole Heights has already created. You can read the entire article at the link below. (I will caution you. The document takes a while to download.)

http://www.uli.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&CONTENTID=56787&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm

Looking at the state of the current economy, it now puts our neighborhood at the forefront of revitalization. Just a few years ago, residents moved out to the suburbs and rural areas seeking less crime, better schools, and quieter living. (Not sure if that was ever found, but nonetheless they kept seeking) Now, with gas at $4/gallon and mortgages foreclosing at a staggering rate, they are beginning to move back en mass. This puts our neighborhood at a place where our location will play a vital role. With home prices finally adjusting, we are seeing that the home value become more affordable. It seems like the average price for Seminole Heights is settling around $159-$179. Now, if we can get some commercial development, we may have the recipe to jump start the revitalization process once again.

Location: Seminole Heights Library
Meeting is at the Seminole Heights branch of the Tampa Public Library at 4711 Central Ave. at 7PM.

In today’s Tampa Tribune there was an article for the final day of the South Tampa Whaley’s. In the article, Todd Whaley was quoted as saying that they are planning to open a smaller whaleys in West Tampa, Seminole Heights or Temple Terrace.” Hopefully, with more emails and an organized campaign, we can move to the top of this list.

If you have not sent an email yet, please, please, please do.

Send an email to encourage Whaley’s to consider Seminole Heights. You can email them at whaleysmarket@hotmail.com

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From the Tampa Tribune, August 10th

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TAMPA - Sixty-five years ago, Barbara Gooding and Bob Day rode their bikes to Whaley’s Market to pick through the apples, peaches and penny candy.

Today, they stopped by for sandwiches, only to learn the family-run grocery store, an institution after nearly 75 years in South Tampa, was closing.

The owners and landlord could not agree on a new lease. One of the family owners, Todd Whaley, is planning to open a new, smaller Whaley’s Market in West Tampa, Seminole Heights or Temple Terrace.

“It’s like saying goodbye to an old friend. It’s sad,” said Day, 77, who grew up on Howard Avenue, a few blocks away.

Day said he often walked or biked to Whaley’s, which began as an open-air market. At first he came for the fruit, later for the José Martí sandwiches. The sandwiches named for the Cuban writer and patriot became a Whaley’s signature, along with cheese spreads and twice-baked potatoes.

Gooding, 76, who married Day nine years ago, said she remembers biking to the store with her older sister, Evelyn, to pick up fresh peaches, apples and candy.

“It was all open. That was before they had air-conditioning,” she said.

“It’s been here so long. It was so friendly and homey. You felt welcome when you came in.”

Whaley’s, 533 S. Howard Ave., was scheduled to close at 1 p.m. Any left-over food was to go to employees or a homeless shelter.

By noon, most of the shelves were empty. There was a two-for-one sale today and, last week, when news of the closing broke, hundreds of customers turned up to shop and say goodbye.

“It’s been an overwhelming response,” deli manager Maryann Mireider said. “We have customers say that it’s like going to a friend’s funeral.”

She attributes the loyalty people feel toward the store to friendly customer service and unique specialty foods created on site by the employees, such as California chicken salad, cranberry-blue cheese spread and bacon-cheddar, twice-baked potatoes.

Employees knew many customers by name, said bookkeeper Laurie Whaley Pearson.

“The worst part is seeing the customers,” Pearson said. “It’s been very sad. We all grew up working here or had friends that worked here.”

In recent years, Whaley’s Market has employed about 25 people. Many were offered jobs elsewhere. Some, such as Mireider, will follow Todd Whaley to the new store, wherever it may be.

Most likely, it will be about half the size of the current 9,000 square feet store.

“We’re very spread out,” Mireider said.