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Music Spot wants to move into a faded jewel

If bankruptcy court approves, the shop will take residence in the old Pickford's Sundries building near Old Seminole Heights.

By MICHAEL CANNING
Published August 26, 2005

Plans are under way for the Music Spot, a combination record store, music venue and bistro, to move from 1902 S Dale Mabry Highway to the old Pickford's Sundries building at 2606 W Hillsborough Ave.

The faded 1949 art deco building, once a neighborhood institution, had become a neighborhood relic by the time it closed in 1998. Now the Music Spot hopes to breathe new life into the building and give residents in nearby Old Seminole Heights and Wellswood a needed entertainment destination.

The move is tentatively set for October or November, said Music Spot manager Mark Hargraves. It's contingent on approval from bankruptcy court.

Mike Martin opened the Music Spot in January 2004 and built a modest following. But he was unable to pay down his initial debts and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June. He closed the store for a month to reorganize and pare his staff.

Not long after reopening, he announced he was moving to less expensive digs in Central Tampa.

Some might question the logic of moving from South Tampa and one of Tampa's busiest thoroughfares. But the odd nature of the Music Spot transcends conventional concerns about retail location, Hargraves said.

"Many of our customers don't live around here," he said. "They come from central parts of Tampa and North Tampa. Central Tampa is a great supporter of us. There's a middle class there that gets out and appreciates live music."

Restoring the Pickford store to its original look will be a priority, said Hargraves and Marie Haley, the building's primary owner.

Haley's parents, Cas and Jo Lesiak, and their siblings opened the store in 1950 at a time when drugstores were more like general stores. Pickford's, which was named after the early Hollywood star Mary Pickford, was as much a cafe as it was a place to buy medicine, health and beauty aids, household goods and jewelry.

"Everybody loved the food, the shakes," Haley recalled. Sundaes made from Florida Dairy ice cream and her mother's pancakes were particularly popular, she said.

Business declined in the 1980s when retail trends shifted and her parents resisted changing with the times, she said. Her father died in 1993, followed by her mother in 1995. When Frank Lesiak - Haley's uncle and Pickford's final steward - died in 1998, the business died with him.

The property, which includes two vacant houses that Haley and her relatives once lived in, stayed in the Lesiak family. In 2001, Haley bought out a cousin and became majority owner. That year, Frank Greco, a residential plans examiner for Tampa and self-styled preservationist, bought a share of the property and started brainstorming with Haley.

They considered turning the building into a restaurant again. Or perhaps a 1950s-style Cracker Barrel, minus the food.

Nothing panned out until Haley learned about the Music Spot in 2004. Before long, she heard of Martin's financial woes and eventually persuaded him to move the business into Pickford's.

Although the parties haven't worked out a lease agreement yet, Hargraves says this unlikely union is flush with synergistic energy.

"We're all Tampa natives," he said, referring to himself, Martin and Haley. "We value the integrity of the history of the city. This is our opportunity to maintain that character, that old flavor of Tampa."

[Last modified August 25, 2005, 09:36:09]