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Spin cycle, doughnut cravings, puck luck
© St. Petersburg Times After their string of successful business ventures, Bruno and Terri Zioerjen could have enjoyed the life of retirees and spent quiet days at home. The couple owned the Crystal Lodge in Crystal River for 15 years before selling that property in 1994. They moved to Hendersonville, N.C., and converted a 150-room bankrupted Holiday Inn into an award-winning property in less than a year. No one would have blamed them for taking the easy road after they moved to the Tampa Bay area last year. But the Zioerjens love challenges. So last April they bought just that: the old Whaley's Produce and Meat market at 4205 N Florida in Seminole Heights. The building, abandoned for nearly four years, had fallen into disrepair. "There were rats, snakes, roaches and other little creatures," Bruno said. "But we managed." Managing means filling 15 truckloads with trash and debris. And perhaps, after all that cleanup, it only made sense that the Zioerjens would open . . . a Laundromat. The grand opening of Florida Avenue Laundry was held Tuesday and included a visit by Mayor Dick Greco, a family friend who used to spend a lot of time at the Crystal Lodge tending to property he owns in Citrus County. The facility includes computer-card operated washers and dryers, dry cleaning and laundry services. Bright lights, tiled floors, televisions and air conditioning make it inviting. As a goodwill gesture to their new neighbors, free washing was offered from Nov. 1-10 during the soft opening. Fresco International will open a fresh produce and sandwich market in the same building within the next few weeks. Together, Florida Avenue Laundry and the produce store will employ 15 people from the neighborhood. It's a story about cleaning clothes and cleaning up the community. "If more people did things like this, Tampa would look a lot different," Bruno Zioerjen said. "There are a lot of run-down buildings sitting empty, just waiting for something. "You can do something beautiful with a little work." Kudos to the Columbia Restaurant, which donated more than $97,000 to 96 local nonprofit organizations throughout Florida as a result of the fifth annual Columbia Restaurant Community Harvest. In five years, the company has donated more than $357,000 to charitable organizations. In the hullabaloo of the Krispy Kreme grand opening in Carrollwood came an announcement that holds far greater meaning for me and every other glazed doughnut fiend east of U.S. 301. Yes, there are plans for a Krispy Kreme in Brandon. The time frame is sometime within the next year, but that's fine. I can now cancel my plans to move to Carrollwood Village. In the interim, Brandon's Darla Beattie suggests that we east Hillsborough folks should gently warm Krispy Kremes in the microwave. I'll give it a try. Mayor Greco made a confession at the Laundromat. In his entire life, he has done the laundry only once. Shortly after divorcing, he stood before a washer in stunned amazement, staring at the hot, warm and cold buttons. "I had to call my daughter and ask her what was going on," joked Greco, who said his Italian mother and grandmother handled nearly every household chore during his childhood. "She said I had to separate the clothes. I had no idea." After that, Greco began taking his clothes to a laundry service. After marrying current wife, Linda, he got an introduction to the dishwasher. "She said, 'I'm a doctor and if I can do it, you can do it too.' " The Lightning are off to a great start, but all the hockey experts keep saying we should temper our enthusiasm. Why? This is the first time in a long time the team has given us a reason to believe, and it may be the only time. Get happy now and hope it lasts. That's all I'm saying. -- Ernest Hooper can be reached at (813) 226-3406 or hooper@sptimes.com .
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
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Times columns today Howard Troxler Ernest Hooper Robert Trigaux Bill Maxwell Gary Shelton From the Times Metro desks |
