Working Cow Inc., the ice cream company in Clearwater, is moving to the old Velda Farms site on U.S. 19 and plans to be making ice cream there by Jan. 1.
The move has been planned for more than a year and will go forward despite the death Sept. 20 of the company's founder and chief executive officer, Timothy C. "Tim" Engel, said Timothy Pappas, president of the company.
The site is at 4711 U.S. 19 N, in unincorporated Lealman.
Working Cow, which Engel founded in 1995, has 400 to 420 clients. The group is about evenly divided between ice cream parlors and high-end assisted living facilities, Pappas said.
The company is adding a second story to the Velda Farms building, which closed in 1999. Production and offices will be downstairs while the new upstairs space will be used for storage. Pappas said all the machinery will be new.
Working Cow produces 180,000 tubs of ice cream per year, Pappas said. A tub holds three pounds. He said he expected business to double in the next five years.
New plaza owner mulls options
ST. PETERSBURG - The new owner of Snell Isle Plaza is looking at options but currently has not decided what changes will be made at the shopping and office center.
Harshad Mistry of Snell Isle Realty LLC in Tampa bought the plaza in June for $3.1-million. Property records show the two-story structure was built in 1981. SunTrust Bank, the Flower Centre, Mickey's Snell Isle Market, Cafe Vienna and a number of offices are at the plaza.
Hotel to become artist's colony
ST. PETERSBURG - The Betty Ann Hotel at 406 11th Ave. N is becoming an artists' colony. Owner Lynn Vlaming is offering space for studios, offices or retail sites.
The hotel, built around 1938, has 18 rooms. It housed Brigit Books until that independent bookstore closed at the end of March. It is in an area of Fourth Street N where a number of buildings have been renovated. Vlaming said the change in the hotel reflected improvements in the neighborhood.
"We seem to have a need for artists and art studios," said Vlaming. She also owns the Brass Key antique shop that fronts Fourth Street N and where artists also have studios.
Real estate office changes name
ST. PETERSBURG - ERA Brooks Real Estate on Sun Boulevard has changed its name to to ERA Compass Real Estate and will open an office downtown Oct. 10 on Second Avenue NE.
Brooks Real Estates was started here 30 years ago by A. Clinton Brooks. When he retired, the business was sold to Heather Sutter, who enlarged the company and changed its name. She will open the new office at 111 Second Ave. NE near BayWalk.
