Mary Z's Tampania Cafe, named in honor of the owner's late grandmother, will open soon.
By MICHAEL CANNING
Published January 9, 2004
OLD TAMPA FLAVORS ON SOHO: You name the cuisine, Tampa's restaurant row has it, from Asian to Mexican to Thai.
And coming soon: more Spanish/Cuban cuisine.
Robert Velasco is planning a slightly gussied up version of the area's many mama-y-papa cafes with his new restaurant on the northwest corner of Howard Avenue and Platt Street.
Velasco is certain his late grandmother, Mary Zorilla, would be proud. So much so that he and his son, Rob, who actually will run the business, are naming it after her: Mary Z's Tampania Cafe. They're even having an enlarged, hand-colored portrait of her mounted on the menu board.
The 64-seat cafe will occupy a portion of the old art deco building also occupied by EG Custom Photographics. Velasco wants diners to have a taste of Tampa's old Latin roots, from which his family originates. The walls are painted in a sponge-textured, washed-out yellow. The floor, varnished sections of plywood veneer, resembles an old cigar factory. Historic Tampa photos will fill the walls.
On the menu: Cuban sandwiches, roast pork, deviled crab, yucca, flan, rice and beans, and cafe con leche - items that Zorilla would approve of. She worked in local restaurants and helped devise local school menus for decades.
Velasco says Mary Z's will offer takeout and table service. It should open Feb. 1.
GREETINGS FROM ASBURY PARK - It doesn't just exist in New Jersey, or more famously, in the lore of Bruce Springsteen.
The area around the intersection of Bayshore and Gandy boulevards also used to be known as Asbury Park, although today it's technically the convergence of Bayshore Beautiful and Ballast Point neighborhoods.
With the past in mind, the townhouse project taking shape on the southwest corner of Bayshore and Gandy has been named Asbury Park Villas.
The former Bayshore Center office complex was razed in November to make way for the five-building, 26-unit project. It will have the ever popular Mediterranean architectural style, said Martin Lum, listing agent for the project.
Construction has begun on the first three buildings, which are expected to be completed in June. Work on the remaining buildings will start at the end of this month and should be finished in September, Lum said.
The two- and three-story units will range from 2,100 to 2,880 square feet and feature hardwood floors, granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, balconies and two car garages. Roof top decks will crown the three-story units. Some will have views of Hillsborough Bay, said Lum.
He added that 20 of the units have been sold or reserved. Prices range from $369,000 to $599,000.
LOFTS HAVE DESIGNS ON PORT: If you're passing by the Port of Tampa, look at the stacks of big cargo containers. What do you see?
Big stacks of cargo containers?
Architect Ken Garcia sees a loft condominium. He has designed a project inspired by the containers that will be built in the neighboring Channel District.
Garcia dubs the seven-unit building planned at 210 N 12th St. as "industrial vernacular."
He named it CCX, the old Roman abbreviation for 210.
The exterior will be finished in white stucco for the lower story and white corrugated metal for the upper. Blue-tinted glass will dominate the facade.
Project real estate agent Henderson Everett Lee says the interiors will have many loft hallmarks: polished concrete floors, stainless steel kitchens and glass walls. But floating ceilings with indirect lighting will be a departure from the traditional open-ceiling-with-exposed-ductwork look.
Each unit also will have a one-car garage and a terrace. Four units will have two bedrooms and two bathrooms and 1,400 square feet. Two units will have one bedroom and one bathroom and 860 square feet. The remaining unit will be a 3,200-square-foot penthouse reserved for project developer Bertigo Partners Inc. Construction is expected to be finished by the end of September.
Prices range from $228,500 to $339,000, said Lee.
- Do you know something that should be everybody's business? Call 226-3382, or e-mail mikecanning@hotmail.com
