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Everybody's business

A place punk fans can call home

Top 5 Records carves out a niche for certain music fans and offers John Cusack devotees a chance to smirk.

By MICHAEL CANNING
Published August 19, 2005

Can you guess what the name of Sean Smith's new punk record shop, Top 5 Records, refers to?

Take some time to think. And don't you John Cusack fans give it away yet.

In the meantime, Top 5 opened Aug. 5 at 1300 S Dale Mabry Highway, across from Publix. It's within one-third of a mile of two other independent record stores, the Music Spot at 1902 S Dale Mabry Highway and Vinyl Fever at 4110 Henderson Blvd.

Each has a formidable following. So why there?

Smith says the Spot and Vinyl "don't really cater to the more, like, punk rock underground scene.

"We have a niche. We all just like that kind of music, like independent punk rock."

Besides, he added, being so close to the other stores can be enticing to those with a broad appetite for eclectic music but little appetite for driving. Now they have an indie record store triangle of sorts in the heart of South Tampa.

But Top 5 is not just a place to get the latest Fall Out Boy's CD. It's also an occasional music venue and outlet for Smith's fledgling clothing line, Revenge Clothing.

On Aug. 9, Austin punk band Near Miss performed among the CD bins. Smith, himself a former member of the defunct New Jersey punk band Lanemeyer (pipe down again, Cusack fans), likes to give his former colleagues a place to plug in and promote their product.

Smith sees Top 5 as a successor to the late 403 Chaos, another independent punk record shop and venue that eked out a 3-year run near the University of Tampa in the late 1990s.

"That place was awesome," said Smith, who visited 403 Chaos while touring with Lanemeyer before he moved to Tampa.

At 2,000 square feet, Top 5 is considerably bigger and better equipped than 403. Smith has set aside room for a listening lounge, where shoppers can crash on couches and help themselves to 24 listening stations. Soft drinks are sold, and $2.50 gets you all the coffee you can drink.

Hours are noon to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 1 to 7 p.m. Sunday. The Web site is www.top5recordsonline.com

Okay, the store name refers to the movie High Fidelity, in which John Cusack's character compulsively conjures up top five song lists for numerous people and occasions. Lanemeyer, by the way, refers to the name of Cusack's character in the movie Better Off Dead.

> SO LONG, SIGNATURE ROOM: The first of Channelside's 2004 bumper crop of new restaurants has fallen off the vine. Signature Room Grill, a distillation of the famous Signature Room at the 95th atop the John Hancock Center in Chicago, closed Aug. 8.

Channelside spokeswoman Susan Martin said talks are under way with another restaurant to possibly occupy the 9,400-square-foot space above Hooters. The space will not necessarily be occupied by a restaurant, Martin said.

The owners of Signature Room could not be reached for comment.

EMPANADA SHOWDOWN TO START? There's countless places to get empanadas, a Spanish cuisine staple, around Tampa. But curiously, only one local company, Mr. Empanada, has based its entire concept on the stuffed pastry shell.

Until now.

Empanadas to Go opened its third store in July at 138-A S Dale Mabry Highway just south of Kennedy Boulevard. It's the first location outside its base in Miami Beach.

Company co-owner Nacho Argiro doesn't seem worried about Mr. Empanada's deep Tampa roots. His product represents a viable alternative, he said. For one thing, the empanadas are baked, as is the custom in South America. Mr. Empanada's are deep fried, which is how Caribbean Latin cultures do it.

Not surprisingly, Argiro is from Lima, Peru. That also accounts for the decidedly South American slant of the dessert menu: alfajores (cookies with caramel filling, popular in Peru), piononos (cakes with caramel filling, popular in Argentina) and obleas (thin pancakes rolled up with caramel filling, popular in Colombia).

Empanadas to Go offers 12 fillings for its titular product, including chicken, ground beef, ham and cheese, capri filling (basil, tomato, mozzarella), guayaba fruit, broccoli and cheese, and humita - a cheese and corn concoction popular in South and Central America.

The 800-square-foot store is primarily set up for takeout, with no indoor seating. Its kitchen also makes empanadas for 32 local wholesale customers, Argiro said, including restaurants, convenience stores and gas stations.

Hours are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Do you know something that should be everybody's business? Call 226-3382, or e-mail mikecanning@hotmail.com

[Last modified August 18, 2005, 11:46:08]