A Cold Stone Creamery franchise opening this fall will add to the choices at Channelside when you need a cool treat.
By MICHAEL CANNING
Published August 15, 2003
THE LATEST SCOOP: Ice cream crazy South Tampa is getting even crazier.
A franchise of the Cold Stone Creamery chain is scheduled to open at Channelside in late September or early October, says Channelside spokeswoman Susan Martin. The 1,200-square-foot store will be located on the first level, next to Paintings of the World.
If the name reminds you of the Marble Slab Creamery chain, which has a location at Centro Ybor and a soon-to-open one at 500 S Howard Ave., you have a good nose for concepts.
Like Marble Slab, this Scottsdale, Ariz., chain mixes homemade ice cream and different toppings on a frozen granite slab.
If you're keeping score, Sara's Scoops and Edy's have opened recently within three blocks of each other on S Dale Mabry. Also pending are an Ed and Eddie's Homemade Ice Cream nearby on Dale Mabry, a Haagen-Dazs store at WestShore Plaza and the Marble Slab Creamery in SoHo.
NEW CLEANER COMING: South Tampa suits Bipin Engineer and family just fine. His uncle, Sam Patel, owns the Howard Johnson on S Dale Mabry Highway. His cousin, Andy Patel, owns the Best Western at Dale Mabry and Azeele Street. And another cousin, Mike Patel, owns the new La Quinta Inn on Gandy Boulevard.
Now Engineer plans to open A-1 Cleaners at 3336 S Dale Mabry Highway. That will complement his other South Tampa dry cleaner, Norgetown at 4336 S Manhattan Ave., which his brother, Sam, previously owned.
A-1 is tentatively scheduled to open Sept. 2. Engineer, a native of Ahmedabad, India, said he named the store based on its proximity to MacDill Air Force base. "That stands for America No. 1," he said.
The store will be a drop-off location; his plant at Norgetown will handle the actual cleaning. But he added that he might expand to a neighboring storefront within a year to allow A-1's cleaning to be done on site.
A-1 will feature a drive-through and 24-hour drop-off box. And, not surprisingly, family members will staff the store. His wife, Usha, and daughters Sonia and Aarti, both University of South Florida students and recent Plant High graduates, will work the counter.
FLORIST REPLANTED: South Tampa perennial Marge's Florist is moving again. After spending nearly five years at the northeast corner of Gandy Boulevard and MacDill Avenue, owner Molly Houghplans to move to 3637 S West Shore Blvd. sometime in October.
Hough recently bought the business from her mother, Pam Woodard, but not before making a deal to sell the property at 3017 W Gandy Blvd. to First Commercial Bank of Tampa Bay. The bank plans to build a branch on the site.
Hough will share a building with Tamp-A-Stamp rubber stamp store. Tamp-A-Stamp owner Terry Holtsinger says they plan to divide the 2,800-square-foot building to accommodate Marge's.
Marge's Florist was located at 5260 S MacDill Ave. for many years. Hough's mom bought the business from founder Margaret Schatzberg in 1986.
HAVE YOU SEEN THE SAIGON SUNSET? You don't have to book tickets to Vietnam. Just go to 3646 Henderson Blvd., site of the former Banh Mi Ba Le Vietnamese restaurant south of Swann Avenue. A new blue awning with an orange sunset silhouetting a small boat heralds the new Saigon Sunset.
New owner Duc Nguyen bought the business four months ago but didn't change the name or put up the new awning until a few weeks ago.
The menu hasn't changed, says Trang Psung, former wife of Nguyen and frequent kitchen helper. Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Noodle bowl fans will recall that Banh Mi Ba Le opened in spring 2002 just three doors down from Dong Phuong, a 16-year-fixture for Vietnamese cuisine in South Tampa. But the turf war was short-lived. Dong Phuong closed a few months later.
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