FloridaFuture
October 6th, 2007, 05:42 PM
Trio of Plant High School grads enters coffee fray with Cafe Hey
By SHARON GINN Times Correspondent
Published October 5, 2007
TAMPA HEIGHTS - The north side of downtown seemed lonely and much too quiet to three Plant High School graduates.
So after noticing that a lot of people they grew up with still live in Tampa, many of them working downtown, they decided to open a neighborhood gathering spot.
Their coffee shop, appropriately titled Cafe Hey, is set to open in a week or two in the historic Franklin Printing building at 1540 N Franklin St.
The 500-square-foot space is just a block north of where Franklin meets Interstate 275 and is close to the southern border of the Tampa Heights neighborhood.
"It's on the outskirts of downtown, so it doesn't get as much attention as Ybor City or the center of downtown," said S. Cheong Choi, one of the owners.
"But things are happening here. There's a great amount of potential for this neighborhood. Before people with billions of dollars come in and start airlifting malls here, we should give it a personality."
Cafe Hey plans to distinguish itself with its local and Fair Trade coffees, from Gainesville's Sweetwater Roasters and Tampa's Naviera Coffee Mills. Food will be "classic coffee shop fare" with a Tampa bent, said co-owner Anne Vela. The shop will serve baked goods made on site, along with soups, salads and sandwiches. Offerings will include Cuban sandwiches and cafe con leche.
"The three of us are wanting to do something for the community and bring some youth into this area of downtown," said Vela, who partnered with her husband, Christopher, an architect who designed the interior, and Choi.
The three graduated from Plant between the early and mid 1990s. Hours will be 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The shop will be closed Monday. Vela said the plan is to eventually add more hours and occasional live music to the menu.
D-signed for dieters
You can buy ice cream all over South Tampa, but Beth Chatman said she didn't have a problem getting her shop noticed when it opened in early August.
Her D'Lites Emporium at 1906 S Dale Mabry Highway - where low-carb, low-cal and fat-free choices are always on the menu - seems to be satisfying many people's cravings.
"We've already hired eight employees," said Chatman, who owns the store with Cassidy Thompson. "We can't do it ourselves; we're just too busy."
D'Lites is a combination ice cream shop and "specialty health food store," Chatman said, offering a variety of products for dieters and those who must watch what they eat because of health concerns. D'Lites has more than 100 flavors in its rotation. Many of them are gluten-free or wheat-free, and all of them are low in calories. Six are available in soft-serve form daily.
Chatman said the store provides ingredients and nutritional information for anyone who needs it.
"It's very exciting to see the smiles we put on people's faces - the people who had to cut out ice cream because they're diabetic or have health problems," Chatman said.
D'Lites in Tampa is part of a small group of stores that originated in Plantation. Chatman has a license agreement to sell the ice cream locally. The first store opened 25 years ago. The concept has been a hit in Gainesville, she said, which in turn has helped her business. "Word of mouth has been unreal," she said.
Hours are 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 to 10 Fridays and Saturdays, and noon to 9 on Sundays.
Johnny Carino's closes
Italian chain restaurant Johnny Carino's closed for good Sept. 23, and the local franchisee that was running it now is looking to sublease the highly visible property at 1102 N Dale Mabry Highway.
The decision to close Johnny Carino's was part of a long-planned severance of the ties between Carino's parent company, Texas-based Fired Up Inc., and Al Dente LLC, the company that holds the right to franchise Carino's locally. Pamela Jones, spokeswoman for Al Dente, won't say why the company has split with Carino's, but she said the decision was by mutual agreement.
Some other area Johnny Carino's restaurants run by Al Dente already have closed. The St. Petersburg location was converted earlier this year into a bistro called Novo, a concept created by Al Dente's owners.
But Jones said Al Dente has no plans to turn the Dale Mabry property into a second Novo location. It will remain empty until Al Dente can find someone else to take over the space, she said.
The owner of the property, Alfredo Rosello of Tampa, said Al Dente has eight years remaining on its lease.
Do you know something that should be everybody's business? Call 226-3394 or e-mail sharon lginn@yahoo.com.
[Last modified October 4, 2007, 08:01:39]
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/10/05/Citytimes/Trio_of_Plant_High_Sc.shtml
By SHARON GINN Times Correspondent
Published October 5, 2007
TAMPA HEIGHTS - The north side of downtown seemed lonely and much too quiet to three Plant High School graduates.
So after noticing that a lot of people they grew up with still live in Tampa, many of them working downtown, they decided to open a neighborhood gathering spot.
Their coffee shop, appropriately titled Cafe Hey, is set to open in a week or two in the historic Franklin Printing building at 1540 N Franklin St.
The 500-square-foot space is just a block north of where Franklin meets Interstate 275 and is close to the southern border of the Tampa Heights neighborhood.
"It's on the outskirts of downtown, so it doesn't get as much attention as Ybor City or the center of downtown," said S. Cheong Choi, one of the owners.
"But things are happening here. There's a great amount of potential for this neighborhood. Before people with billions of dollars come in and start airlifting malls here, we should give it a personality."
Cafe Hey plans to distinguish itself with its local and Fair Trade coffees, from Gainesville's Sweetwater Roasters and Tampa's Naviera Coffee Mills. Food will be "classic coffee shop fare" with a Tampa bent, said co-owner Anne Vela. The shop will serve baked goods made on site, along with soups, salads and sandwiches. Offerings will include Cuban sandwiches and cafe con leche.
"The three of us are wanting to do something for the community and bring some youth into this area of downtown," said Vela, who partnered with her husband, Christopher, an architect who designed the interior, and Choi.
The three graduated from Plant between the early and mid 1990s. Hours will be 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The shop will be closed Monday. Vela said the plan is to eventually add more hours and occasional live music to the menu.
D-signed for dieters
You can buy ice cream all over South Tampa, but Beth Chatman said she didn't have a problem getting her shop noticed when it opened in early August.
Her D'Lites Emporium at 1906 S Dale Mabry Highway - where low-carb, low-cal and fat-free choices are always on the menu - seems to be satisfying many people's cravings.
"We've already hired eight employees," said Chatman, who owns the store with Cassidy Thompson. "We can't do it ourselves; we're just too busy."
D'Lites is a combination ice cream shop and "specialty health food store," Chatman said, offering a variety of products for dieters and those who must watch what they eat because of health concerns. D'Lites has more than 100 flavors in its rotation. Many of them are gluten-free or wheat-free, and all of them are low in calories. Six are available in soft-serve form daily.
Chatman said the store provides ingredients and nutritional information for anyone who needs it.
"It's very exciting to see the smiles we put on people's faces - the people who had to cut out ice cream because they're diabetic or have health problems," Chatman said.
D'Lites in Tampa is part of a small group of stores that originated in Plantation. Chatman has a license agreement to sell the ice cream locally. The first store opened 25 years ago. The concept has been a hit in Gainesville, she said, which in turn has helped her business. "Word of mouth has been unreal," she said.
Hours are 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 to 10 Fridays and Saturdays, and noon to 9 on Sundays.
Johnny Carino's closes
Italian chain restaurant Johnny Carino's closed for good Sept. 23, and the local franchisee that was running it now is looking to sublease the highly visible property at 1102 N Dale Mabry Highway.
The decision to close Johnny Carino's was part of a long-planned severance of the ties between Carino's parent company, Texas-based Fired Up Inc., and Al Dente LLC, the company that holds the right to franchise Carino's locally. Pamela Jones, spokeswoman for Al Dente, won't say why the company has split with Carino's, but she said the decision was by mutual agreement.
Some other area Johnny Carino's restaurants run by Al Dente already have closed. The St. Petersburg location was converted earlier this year into a bistro called Novo, a concept created by Al Dente's owners.
But Jones said Al Dente has no plans to turn the Dale Mabry property into a second Novo location. It will remain empty until Al Dente can find someone else to take over the space, she said.
The owner of the property, Alfredo Rosello of Tampa, said Al Dente has eight years remaining on its lease.
Do you know something that should be everybody's business? Call 226-3394 or e-mail sharon lginn@yahoo.com.
[Last modified October 4, 2007, 08:01:39]
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/10/05/Citytimes/Trio_of_Plant_High_Sc.shtml