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Opportunities Reaching New Heights

Several businesses have opened recently in rejuvenated Seminole Heights, and owners are banking on achieving success.

Tribune photo by MICHAEL SPOONEYBARGER

“I think there is optimism,” says chef Anthony Catania, who opened the business Reservations Gourmet to Go recently with his wife, Elke.

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By KATHY STEELE

ksteele@tampatrib.com

Published: February 11, 2009

SEMINOLE HEIGHTS - Layoffs, foreclosures and tight-fisted credit are not the usual incentives for a business boom.
But Seminole Heights is bursting with activity.
At least seven businesses recently opened or under construction are taking hold along the neighborhood's major corridors: Nebraska, Florida and Hillsborough avenues.
They are: Sangria's Spanish Tapas Bar & Restaurant, Ella's restaurant, Richy's Themes Sports Lounge, The Independent tavern, Tampa Street Market, D&D's Antiques & More and Reservations Gourmet to Go.
For these business owners, dreams and passions and the need to make a living doing what they know, are driving motives. And in Seminole Heights, rents are comparatively reasonable, Nebraska Avenue has undergone aesthetic improvements, and neighborhood associations are active.
"I think there is optimism," said chef Anthony Catania. He and his wife, Elke, recently opened Reservations, a niche business that offers pre-prepared lunches and dinners to take home.
Given the economic deep-freeze, Catania said it might seem counter-intuitive to take the plunge. But, he said, "We believe if we can do this now and be stable when the turnaround comes, we'll be that much better off."
The couple had operated their food service for about a year from their Seminole Heights home. Looking around for a lease, they almost signed up for an expensive South Tampa location.
A telephone call alerted them to the old Ybor Pizza shop, 4703 N. Nebraska Ave.
The building was cleaned "head to toe," Elke Catania said. "It was horrible."
The exterior of the building, including Reservations, a picture frame shop and a soon-to-open antiques shop, was painted.
Then Anthony Catania began preparing meals from Yankee pot roast to chicken picatta.
Debra and David Vallejo are moving in two doors down with D&D's Antiques, 4707 N. Nebraska Ave. A "soft" opening is planned by mid-February with a grand opening in March.
The couple tested the waters at Seminole Heights Antiques & Collectibles, a block over on Florida Avenue. Debra Vallejo and her sister previously leased an Ybor City casita for their House of Two Sisters tea room.
"We've been kind of looking for a venue," she said. The landlord who leased space at the Florida Avenue mall also owns the Nebraska shops.
It helped that Reservations already was open, Debra Vallejo said.
Rents in Seminole Heights generally are less expensive than other areas of Tampa. "It's all about keeping overhead down so prices can be attractive," she said.
Curt Fritz has seen plenty of ebb and flow to business in a dozen years at his picture-framing shop, Sun Frames, sandwiched between Reservations and D& D's Antiques. Last year's do-over on Nebraska Avenue seems to have increased the flow of customers, he said.
From south of Hillsborough Avenue to Kennedy Boulevard, the state road was repaved, landscaped and reduced from four lanes to two, with a center turn lane.
A bakery and a glass shop also are long-time businesses in the area, and two more new businesses are in the mix. "I'm hopeful," Fritz said.
Amy and Charles Haynie recently opened Tampa Street Market, an eclectic shop of eco-friendly furniture creations, recycled and re-imagined housewares and furnishings. The shop replaces a long line of failed coffee shops at Florida and Osborne Avenue.
Pinellas County resident Greg Smith is developing the sports bar on land owned by his father; Seminole Heights' residents Melissa Deming and chef Ernie Locke are building a restaurant with a melting pot menu of American, Middle Eastern and Asian foods; and Veronica and John Vellines hope to repeat the success of The Independent, the beer hall and deli they own in St. Petersburg.
Despite the downward trend in the economy, Seminole Heights needs more restaurants, Deming said.
On Hillsborough Avenue, just off Interstate 275, owners of Sangria's are remodeling Leroy's 4X4 Auto Services. The site will be home to Sangria's as well as a pub and sushi bar.
Retail space also will be leased, though owner John Obediente said no contracts are signed. The project is in the permitting phase and hopefully Sangria's can open by spring, he said. Other restaurants and shops will come later.
Obediente is encouraged by the city's two-year pilot project to write new zoning codes for Seminole Heights that aim to encourage a more mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly environment. Proposed codes should be ready for review by Tampa City Council by year's end.
"Seminole Heights is so central and the neighborhoods are so active and so willing to bring businesses over," Obediente said.

Reporter Kathy Steele can be reached at (813) 259-7652.

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