Fill 'Er Up At Zelda's Cafe & Deli

http://snap.tbo.com/images/photos/100038/2007/09/27/gallery/1734704.jpg
JAY CONNER/staff
Owner Carl Smalling and associate Solomon Facey inside Zelda's Cafe & Deli located at 1239 E Kennedy Blvd. Smalling bought the BP gas station about 4.5 years ago and converted the car wash area into a Deli that has a menu as well as a ready-made, hot foods counter for those in more of a hurry. Smalling says he plans a patio area in the back.

By JANIS D. FROELICH, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 29, 2007

CHANNEL DISTRICT - When newly hired art consultant Leith ter Meulen visited recently from New York City, community leaders took her to lunch at the neighborhood's only mom-and-pop restaurant, Zelda's Cafe & Deli.

'What a clever way to get restaurant space,' ter Meulen said.

Zelda's fills what used to be a carwash and service center, and the eatery remains attached to the BP gas station at Kennedy Boulevard and Channelside Drive.

Owner Carl Smalling wasn't trying to be clever as much as he saw a need and decided he had the solution. Despite the retail space available in nearby condominium projects, few shops and no places to eat and drink - other than chains - have opened.

There's the nearby Channelside complex, but residents felt in need of a gathering-type place, said Genie White, president of the Channel District Council.

'Carl is great,' she said. 'He'll make up whatever you want.'

Smalling said it's not unusual for him to receive a call from an office worker at the Tampa Port Authority headquarters across the street.

''Carl, I have a sweet tooth today. What can you make for me?'' he said with a laugh, repeating the request.

Smalling and co-manager Solomon Facey grew up in Jamaica together and worked for cruise lines. Smalling retired as sous-chef after 19 years at the Tampa Yacht & Country Club.

He took over the BP station and adjoining parking lot four years ago but soon grew bored. He decided to work toward opening Zelda's, named for his late mother. Open a month, the place is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily and seats 60.

The menu includes biscuits with sausage gravy, and spinach, feta cheese and tomato omelets for breakfast, along with macaroni and cheese and deli sandwiches for lunch. Smalling also prepares daily specials such as pork roast. Lunch prices are $5.75 to $8.25.

'I wanted to accommodate all different tastes,' he said. 'Some days you want the salad, and we have that. But other days, you want food from mama's kitchen.'

'Zelda's is often packed,' said Lauren Flashner, condo specialist at the Slade, a nearby project that broke ground this week. 'There was just nothing else in this end.'

Smalling said he had to reclaim the corner from the transient population in the former warehouse area near the gritty Port of Tampa. He raised the price of cigarettes and stopped selling quarts of beer. He plans a tiki bar on a patio that's under construction and will seek a beer and wine license.

'This is a place for people to read the paper and drink coffee,' he said. Dogs can rest outdoors while their owners nosh inside.

Located next to White's Artists Unlimited cooperative building, Zelda's will soon display works by local artists.

'I plan to make this work,' Smalling said. 'I've retired for this.'

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Zelda's Cafe & Deli

WHERE: 1239 E. Kennedy Blvd.

WHEN: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily

CONTACT: Call (813) 226-0257 or fax (813) 226-0169 for delivery

Reporter Janis D. Froelich can be reached at (813) 835-2104 or jfroelich@tampatrib.com.

http://southtampa2.tbo.com/content/2007/sep/29/st-fill-er-up-at-zeldas-cafe-deli/?news

Anyone been here yet that could say how good it is?

I'm excited to hear that they are now open (I've heard it was a nightmare for them to jump through the city's hoops).

I think it's awesome to see local small businesses start up in downtown/channelside. I'm going to stop by there this week to grab dinner.

If their food/service is good, which it sounds like it is according to the article, local workers and residents should welcome them and frequent their business. It's nice to see people follow their dreams and prosper. I wish both partners much success.

I've been meaning to head over there for lunch. Maybe I can do that this week. Great to hear it's already busy.

I went there a few times in the opening days, and didn't post here after those lunches ... because I'm very much looking forward to local businesses in the area, and my first couple of experiences were, let's just say, not great.

But the past couple of times have been good. They're still getting things together, but stick to the basics (had a great chicken salad sandwich with even better potato salad this weekend) and you can't go wrong.

Like any new place, it takes time ... but its now surpassing what you'll get down at Channelside for lunch right now.

^Sounds cool. These are the kind of indie establishments that will really make channelside cool and unique. :)

I'm eating a pressed Cuban from Zelda's right now. It's a bit unconventional (the pickle is on the side and is in spear form, I ended up adding my own from home), but the bread and roast pork are both really good. Good bread is usually what precludes me from making this sandwich at home, Cuban bread goes stale in a day and that's more sandwich than I hope to eat.

As Kentski said, it was better than I would expect to get elsewhere in Channelside.

I ordered a philly cheese steak sandwich a few weeks ago from Zelda's, and it was really good. I also munched on one of their chocolate chip cookies -- very good, as well. I asked them how business was going, and they said it was definitely packed during the lunch hour on weekdays.

Went there last night after a movie at Channelside, wrote about in my blog www.tampaiam.blogspot.com. What a great place for the neighborhood, looking forward to the finished tiki patio out back.

I have to agree about the woman who works there, really nice. I had my laptop when I was there last week and we had a talk about it and what not. No wifi there, but that's why I have a EV-DO card.

I was able to make it over to Zelda's today for lunch. As to be expected, parking was an issue, but once I found a spot, I made my way to the place through their back patio.

Their food was quite good, but they seriously need to find a friend in the business and get some tips on setup, service etc. The counter area is confusing. For a while, I thought the only food they had was what was on the blackboard (someone next to me ordered a sandwich off the menu that was not easily accessible, that's how I figured out they had a lot more choices).

After ordering, our group of three people waited about a half hour for our sandwiches and baked chicken. I think they ended up giving our order to someone else, since we went back to the counter and asked about our order and they were unaware we hadn't received it yet.

The food was quite tasty, indeed. Portions were good. Also, the employees were very friendly, but were definietly overwhelmed by the number of people and orders coming in all at once.

I really hope they make it there. I also seriously hope they can work out some of the issues about ordering, waiting, etc. They can be easily fixed if they change just a couple of things (like having a take one menu sign, signage for the line, and little table signs so they know which table to give the food to when it's ready).

When I go back, I'll probably go back for dinner, as I thought the lunch prices were a tad high ($10.00 for a cuban, drink and chips). My usual Thai lunch place on Kennedy runs me about $8.00. I noticed there was no seperate menu or pricing for lunch or dinner, all the same.

Well, it sounds like it is good and filling up, so it looks like it will make it at least for a while. A general increasing population in Channelside should help too.

But they sound good. MAYBE I'll try them on Saturday during the home tour. :dunno:

Hahah yea, the menu is crazy. There is this huge blank space behind the counter where normally a menu board would go (look at the photo at the top of this thread). But they just have a stack of paper menus on the counter. Maybe the sign is still being made.

Anyway, I'm all about supporting the local places so I'll stop in fairly frequently.

Here is a picture of Zelda's I got from the 10th/11th floor penthouse of Ventana. The patio area desperately needs shade.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o236/JordanA_015/Buildings9-23-07080.jpg

Very odd seeing all of the development with that property and the cafe', growing up I was friends with Margot Adawai who's father owned that gas station and it was...not so clean.