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A halfway sort of drinking spot

By BEN MONTGOMERY
Published June 23, 2006

SEFFNER - It takes a moment to shake the sunlight, but when you do, this bar is not much to see. Six men on the dark corner, five brews and a Coke, The Price Is Right on the set above the refrigerator.

Presenting, the Eleven Mile Tavern, 11 miles from Tampa, 11 miles from Plant City.

"This is a neat little bar," says Bobby Mayhew, who says this is his place and says it was built in 1885.

Few remember the tavern's past incarnations, the days of ham and potato salad, Santa Claus on Christmas, the filling pumps and sundries.

The place smells of cigarettes and not much else. The pool tables are lit by NASCAR chandeliers, and the jukebox carries Lynyrd Skynyrd and David Allan Coe. A weed trimmer sits by the door and a sign hangs by the bar: "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone."

There are two taps, both Budweiser, and it tastes just fine. The rest arrives in bottles and cans.

The bar sells cheese and crackers in two flavors, Slim Jim sticks, potato chips and something called Big John's Pickled Sausage from a jar. The assortment shares a shelf with generic aspirin and Tums.

The men here spit profanity between breakfast beers and epithets between bathroom breaks. They groan of wives and girlfriends and those recently released from prison.

They also speak of the fate of this place, which will soon be lost to the widening of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. A few more years, they say. The day drips on, they pay their tabs and sulk into the sun, and the door slaps shut behind them.

Ben Montgomery can be reached at bmontgomery@sptimes.com or 813 661-2443.

ELEVEN MILE TAVERN

1118 Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd. W, Seffner.

689-9933.

HOURS: Weekdays, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Weekends, 10 a.m. to 2 a.m., or whenever.

ATTIRE: Casual.

PRICES: Budweiser draft $1.25; Jim Beam and cola $3.

[Last modified June 22, 2006, 12:32:33]