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Bohemians, diners dread this news

Viva la Frida, an arty jewel in Old Seminole Heights, is for sale. Its owners are just worn out.

By MICHAEL CANNING
Published February 3, 2006

	[Times photo, 2004: Ken Helle]
	Angelica Diaz stands by images of Frida Kahlo, the inspiration for the restaurant/gallery she and her husband have decided to sell.

OLD SEMINOLE HEIGHTS - A vacation last year to Alamos, Mexico, was a revelation for Angelica Diaz.

"It's really beautiful," the longtime Tampa restaurateur and arts booster said of the old Spanish colonial town and thriving artists colony.

Those who know Diaz, and her pride in her Mexican heritage, her taste for creatively stimulating environments, and her distaste for government regulations and mundane details of restaurant ownership, can put two and two together.

"We're looking for a buyer," Diaz said.

Viva la Frida Cafe y Galeria, a combination restaurant, art gallery and performance venue on N Florida Avenue, is on the block.

"We're both very tired," Diaz said of herself and John Ames, her husband and business partner. As if the day-to-day demands of running a restaurant weren't enough, Diaz's perennial fencing matches with city officials only added to the fatigue.

The news comes as a disappointment to loyal customers and members of the local arts community, who considered the restaurant one of the few shining spots along the bleak commercial corridor.

"I'm desperately sad," said Pinellas Park artist Boo Ehrsham, a periodic exhibitor at the restaurant. "It was really hard to have that type of restaurant in that neighborhood. It was a shame that she didn't get more support from the city."

Diaz and Ames bought the property at 5901 N Florida Ave. in 1997 with the idea of doing what they had done with their previous restaurant in Ybor City. Angelica's Mexican Cafe closed in 1996, after staking out tables and wall space for local bohemians and anyone looking for moderately priced food and eclectic happenings amid Ybor's bar boom.

Outpaced by skyrocketing rents, Diaz and Ames did what many of their clientele and friends did: migrate to Old Seminole Heights. The historic neighborhood, chock-full of old houses and dissected by blighted thoroughfares, was a natural choice.

Frida Kahlo, the iconic Mexican artist who served as the matron saint of Angelica's Mexican Cafe, would loom large over Viva la Frida as well. As in Ybor, new-wave Mexican food wouldn't be the only thing dished up. Local art would hang on the walls, and poets, musicians, and theater groups would have a place to perform.

Diaz and Ames set about converting the former car lot into Viva la Frida and before long were mired in zoning regulations, impact fees and historic district reviews. The restaurant, a vivid splash of yellow, red, chartreuse and violet, wouldn't burble to life until 2001.

As the restaurant quickly evolved into a place for live music, poetry, art shows and other events, so came heat from city officials about zoning regulations, additional parking requirements and noise complaints.

"Being a pioneer has been exhausting and frustrating," Diaz said. "I could never understand why the city tries to undermine us, to make it so hard for us to bring life to these neighborhoods. They should be helping us."

By August, city fines hit $10,050, mostly for parking infractions. Diaz and Ames tapped an old acquaintance and frequent diner, Tampa's creative industries manager, Paul Wilborn, to appeal to city officials on their behalf. Diaz says she now has to pay $500 by June.

"He was a savior," she said of Wilborn, who lives in Old Seminole Heights.

But the restaurant has taken its toll.

"Even when we're closed, we're here," Diaz said. "Our house became very neglected. There's no time for a family life. The last 10 years since we left Ybor, it's been work, work, work. We want to be able to enjoy life."

So Diaz has a new plan. Again, Frida will lead the way.

Diaz plans to form a new business, Eventos Frida Vive, a touring exhibit for her sizable collection of Frida-related artwork. Diaz, a native of the Mexican border town Nogales, also wants to lead art- and culinary-themed tour groups to Alamos and perhaps give Mexican cooking seminars locally.

Viva la Frida will remain open at least until the business is sold or the space rented. Diaz and Ames plan on keeping the property. She won't insist that the new business be a restaurant but hopes it will be. She has had discussions with a few restaurants, including an Indian one, she said.

Ames hopes to stay on in the kitchen and work restoring their nearby 1920s bungalow and his 1966 Ford Fairlane. Diaz is considering moving to Alamos after her daughter, 15-year-old Allegre, graduates from Blake High School. Diaz and Ames also have an 18-year-old son, Lucas, who studies music at Hillsborough Community College.

David Audet, a Tampa artist who has known Diaz and Ames since the Ybor days, said any new business won't be the same.

"It's sad that it's over," he said. "That was more than a restaurant. It was a spiritual center. It was open to just about everything that anyone wanted to do."

[Last modified February 2, 2006, 11:27:10]