It’s also misspelled.
Thanks to Dawn Allison Brown for the find!
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Tom Brady has been in Tampa only a few weeks, but he hasn’t wasted any time transforming into a Florida Man. First he gets kicked out of a park that was clearly marked closed as a pandemic measure, then he walks into the wrong house with his duffel bags, ready for a training session, and now he’s hawking non FDA-approved vitamins at $45 for a bottle of 60 pills whose ingredients are pretty much the same as Emergen-C.
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“The Thirsty Thursday Throng” is Seminole Heights’ regular weekly gathering at a local bar to conversation, camaraderie, and craft beer. We were regulars at this event, at least until staying at home became the smart play.
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Our usual venue is Ella’s Americana Folk Art Café, but we occasionally shake things up by getting together at some other place in the neighborhood. That was the case the last time we got together in person (Thursday, March 12th), when we decided to gather at New World Brewery’s new location. They used to be in Ybor City, but had to relocate when the spot they were on got turned into condos. Ybor’s loss is Seminole Heights’ gain, and in the process, they got a nice large space, and it’s a quick Lyft or bike ride away from our place.
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We’re looking forward to getting back together with all the local (ir)regulars, and if you’re in the area once things get closer to what passes for normal, we’d love to see you there!
Last week, I wrote about Toronto Life’s profile of my sister Eileen, who’s the Medical Officer for Health for the City of Toronto, which means she’s in charge of the COVID-19 response for Canada’s largest city and economic capital. It wasn’t online then, but it’s online now. Go check it out — Eileen deVilla is Not Freaking Out.
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Here are some photos from Roberto Torres’ appearance at Café con Tampa, which happened on Friday, March 6th — a mere two months in the past, but it feels like a lifetime ago. He gave a talk titled Choosing Tampa as the destination to live, work, and play.
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Roberto is the founder of Blind Tiger Café, which started with a single shop in Ybor City, and has since expanded to 7 locations. Six of these locations operate under the Blind Tiger name, with the last one being Endeavr Coffee, which operates in the Embarc Collective startup accelerator center. Roberto also bought Cass Street Deli earlier this year.
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He’s a pillar of the community, always extending a helping hand whenever he can. Among his recent good deeds is participating in the Restaurant Workers Relief Program, which converts restaurants across the country into relief kitchens. Cass Street Deli provided meals to service industry workers who lost their jobs or had their hours cut.
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I’ve written a fair bit about Roberto in this blog — here are all the articles that mention his name.
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Someday, perhaps a decade from now, when we’re all looking back at how far the Tampa Bay area has come, we’ll look back and remark at the key role that Café con Tampa played. Every Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. in the Oxford Exchange’s Commerce Club, Tampa’s most active, engaged, involved, and well-dressed citizens gather to hear important topics given by interesting speakers while enjoying a delicious breakfast in beautiful surroundings.
(Again, this was just in January, but it feels like another life.)
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Back in the pre-pandemic era, every Friday morning at 8:00 a.m., some of Tampa Bay’s most engaged citizens come to the main room in Oxford Exchange’s Commerce Club to attend Café con Tampa, a weekly gathering where guest speakers talk about issues that the Bay and the world beyond. It’s attended by an interesting audience that’s often a mix of movers and shakers from the worlds of arts, business, academia, and government, and hosted local heroes Del Acosta,President of the Historic Hyde Park Neighborhood Association, and Bill Carlson, Tampa City Council Member for South Tampa, and President of the communications agency Tucker/Hall.
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Café con Tampa’s in-person gatherings at Oxford Exchange may be on hold for the time being, but they still people coming to speak — online! Check out the Café con Tampa Facebook page and the Café con Tampa YouTube channel to see past and upcoming guests.
You might also want to check out my prior articles featuring Café con Tampa.
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