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Everybody's business

Beaker Gallery closing after more than two years

It started with wanting a dog; it ends with final shows that run through April 9 and a May 2 closing.

By MICHAEL CANNING
Published March 18, 2005

She wanted a second dog. He didn't.

So they got an art gallery instead.

A.A. Rucci opened the downtown Beaker Gallery with his then-girlfriend and roommate Amber Evans.

In hindsight, the dog would have been less trouble, he said. "We sacrificed our relationship for the gallery."

After a nearly 21/2-year run on the ground floor of the Park Tower building at Kennedy Boulevard and Ashley Drive, Beaker Gallery will close May 2. Rucci and Evans will go their separate ways - she to law school, he to concentrate on his art career.

The gallery's final show runs through April 9. It's a combination of three solo shows: "Minor Transgressions," drawings and paintings by Miami artist Raul J. Mendez; "Musings of Wanderer," ink on rice paper by Tampa artist Elizabeth Condon; and "The Blessing," crayon and acrylic paint on panel by Tampa artist Peg Trezevant.

Rucci, who divides his time between homes in South Tampa and Vienna, is preparing a collection of his figurative paintings for a May show in Milan, Italy. He's also planning a show for New York City in September.

Resurrecting the Beaker somewhere else remains a possibility. Rucci said that the Beaker Gallery "might be reborn in a different configuration at some point."

Beaker, by the way, is the name Evans had picked out for their would-be dog.

LEISURELY SALON OPENS: Kathy Lantz couldn't help but notice the vacant space across the street while attending the Stanley Cup games at the St. Pete Times Forum.

So the former Alan Ledo Salon nail tech and hair stylist decided to fulfill her dream and open her own salon at 400 Channelside Drive.

Salon Adagio opened Jan. 1 in a 1,600-square-foot space formerly occupied by Blue Line Realty. Lantz, who owns the business with her mother and fellow cosmetologist Deborah Knighton, offers hair styling, manicures, pedicures, skin waxing, microderm abrasion, deep pore facials and glycolic facials.

For busy multitaskers, Lantz offers a lunchtime pedicure. You can eat catered food while your nails are done.

The decor reflects Lantz's personal taste, an eclectic mix of old European and modern. Lantz said she picked the business name because "adagio" is Italian for "leisurely."

Hours are Tuesday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

TAN AT TOWN SQUARE: The remaining vacancy at the Town Square shopping center at Kennedy and West Shore boulevards has been filled.

A Tan Spas Express franchise opened Feb. 21 in the 838-square-foot space between Washington Mutual and PETCO. This is the third location for the Palm Harbor-based chain.

Franchise owner Matt Probeyahn said his store features Ergoline UV tan devices, including two tanning beds and five stand-up booths. There's also a Mystic Tan booth, a UV-free stand-up booth that sprays a fine mist of tanning dye over the client. A magnet under the floor supposedly speeds the skin's absorption of the dye.

Another feature the salon offers to speed up the tanning process is an oxygen bar. That's where you hold an oxygen tube under your nose and take several strong whiffs. Probeyahn said increasing the oxygen content of your blood, and thereby your skin, facilitates tanning.

Hours are Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Do you know something that should be everybody's business? Call 226-3394, or e-mail mikecanning@hotmail.com

[Last modified March 17, 2005, 08:40:12]