Walter Romeo decided to make his building a place for people to share common interests - the way Ybor used to be.
By BABITA PERSAUD
Published February 27, 2004
YBOR CITY - Many have left: Max Argintar Men's Wear, Ovo's, Joffrey's.
Sara and Walter Romeo, longtime Ybor business owners, insist on staying.
Three months after the couple opened Romeo's Studio 1515 Coffeehouse on Seventh Avenue, it's already attracting local artists, poetry lovers and filmmakers.
"Our whole mission is to get creative groups to meet," Walter Romeo said.
The Romeos have deep roots in Tampa and Ybor City.
Sara Romeo, 54, was born in Galveston, Texas, but has lived in Tampa since she was 2. For years, she served on the Ybor City Chamber of Commerce and Barrio Latino Commission.
Walter Romeo, 55, was born and raised in Ybor. His grandfather was an immigrant from Italy in the early 1900s. "It is my heritage," he said. "It is my hometown. My heart is here."
It irks him when people call Ybor the "entertainment district." He thinks of it as a "historic district."
"We just got sidetrack(ed) with this idea that it was an entertainment district," he said. "And that was led mostly by the bar business."
What makes Ybor great, he said, is its history and mix of restaurants, coffee shops and galleries.
At Romeo's, photographs and paintings available for sale hang on the brick walls. An old piano sits against the back wall. A rug acts like the stage.
Years ago, Ybor was a haven for artists drawn to the old buildings and gritty brick streets. Eventually, as Ybor caught on, deep-pocketed bars and nightclubs pushed them out.
But there may be a resurgence. Six months ago, the Green Room, an outdoor arena near Little Sicily on Eighth Avenue, launched open microphone night, attracting artists, musicians and poets.
Now comes Romeo's, west of Centro Ybor.
Walter Romeo comes from a family of carpenters, including his father, who ran a cabinet-making business in Ybor in the 1950s. In the 1980s, Romeo and his wife delved into high-end furniture with artistic touches. At one point, they had several stores, including locations on Seventh Avenue and S Howard Avenue.
In Ybor, Romeo's Stylish Furniture became an institution. In 2000, it became an art gallery.
The Romeos closed the store two years ago when they saw a shift from retail and galleries to restaurants and bars. They had hung in as long as they could.
Instead, they turned their attention to other activities. Sara served as state representative for District 60 until leaving for health reasons. Walter took a break from managing a business.
But soon, they felt Ybor's call.
They still owned the brick building at 1515 Seventh. Walter Romeo had bought the 1907 structure in 1993 and renovated much of it himself.
One night, after Walter was jamming old Beatles tunes with his friends on his guitar, he got an idea to turn the building into a gathering place where people could share common interests.
The way Ybor used to be, he said.
That was several months ago. Today, the coffee shop has open mike late on Fridays and is home to Poetry on the Edge, a spoken word group that was booted from Borders for being too provocative. It also hosts neighborhood meetings, such as the Historic Ybor Neighborhood Civic Association.
"We're just having a ball with it," Walter Romeo said.
The Coffeehouse Film Review has been meeting there from the beginning. The group sets up screens among the tables. Intellectual conversations flow with the caffeine.
Film aficionado Uncle Creep, a.k.a. Steve Barton, picked Romeo's for his film group discussions because it's the "perfect atmosphere," he said.
"When I moved to Florida, the last thing I expected to find was a thriving film community," said Barton, a New York transplant who lives in Temple Terrace. "But there is one here. Some really supertalented people."
His group, the IFF Independent Florida Filmmakers, focuses on the "love of film in general," said Barton, who can be reached at unclecreepyfango@hotmail.com
The premise is simple: "What if everyone got together," he said. "Who knows what we can do?"
