Bar blues, street smarts, pedal power

Tampa columnist HOOPER E-mail: Click here Archive

© St. Petersburg Times
published January 9, 2002

I had a chicken parmigiana sandwich at West Shore Pizza on Howard on Tuesday, and it was as good as the first one I got from that restaurant. Actually, the first one was better because it was free.

You see, colleague Pete Young was at the late, great Chatterbox last month when he told a West Shore Pizza employee -- a complete stranger he had just met -- that on his first and only visit to a different West Shore Pizza, he had had a bad experience.

The employee, bound and determined to change Pete's opinion, asked him what kind of sandwich he wanted and then told him not to leave the bar.

When I got to the Chatterbox, Pete, who wasn't even that hungry, said he was waiting for this guy to come back with a chicken parm. I told him the guy was never coming back, but sure enough, he strolled in with the sandwich.

Pete found his hunger after that first bite, and minutes later we were a little fatter and a lot happier.

Of course, there is a bigger point than saying that West Shore has good chicken parm. As we continue to mourn the departed Chatterbox, my question is, what bar is capable of taking its place? What drinking hole can I go to where such magical events transpire?

I've always said it was the people who made the 'Box, and as best as I can tell, the people are still around. So, like a kid on the playground, I'm asking for a little help. Can someone point me and every other Chatterbox admirer to a new locale?

I was fired up. I was ready to stage a major protest. A friend pointed out that years ago, two parallel streets near the current Raymond James Stadium -- Leroy and Dewey -- were named after Lee Roy and Dewey Selmon, but that Lee Roy's name was misspelled as Leroy.

I initially thought a letter-writing campaign would be the best approach for correcting such an egregious error. However, the city's Jimmy Cook explained that the streets were not named for the Oklahoma brothers who were two of the original Bucs.

In fact, Cook said, those street names date all the way back to the 1920s, when West Tampa was its own city. You learn something every day.

When Dominic Giunta was a child growing up in Ybor City, he would take the vegetables his father had grown, load them onto a cart on the back of his bicycle and sell them to the various cigar factories.

He was a pedaling peddler.

Now Dominic's grandson is following in his footsteps ... sort of. Christopher Giunta was all of 20 when he came up with the business idea of charging people for a bicycle-powered carriage ride around Ybor City. Back then, it was just a proposal for one of his USF business classes.

Now, Christopher is 22, and Ybor City Peddlers has nearly completed its first year of business. The business thrives on tourists in the entertainment district, and like everyone else, Giunta has had his fair share of business struggles.

"It's a little slower than I expected. It's not where I was hoping it would be," Giunta explained. "But it hasn't met my worse expectations by any means."

If nothing else, you have to admire Giunta's chutzpah. It takes a lot to start your own business at such a young age.

Fred Johnson was born on Jan. 15, so commemorating the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. has always had added meaning for him.

This year is no different for him and the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Johnson said a two-day celebration at TBPAC begins with the concert of R&B singer Brian McKnight, but the more significant event may be a week from today. And that's saying a lot when you consider that McKnight is something of a heartthrob. For the seventh year, Johnson will lead a free concert saluting King. This year's culturally diverse event will feature performers of all ages, including the 120-member Community Mass Choir, students from Seminole Heights Elementary, Orange Grove Middle and Blake High, and Baba Ishangi and the Ishangi Family Dancers.

The theme is "Voices of Ancient Truth."

"We need to remember we can use the wisdom from those who have come before us as a foundation for our lives," Johnson said. "We tend to be focused on the future, but there are important lessons taught in the past."

- Ernest Hooper can be reached at 226-3406 or Hooper@sptimes.com.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright