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Everybody's Business

Bones' Grog-N-Grilla hot spot on Gandy

By SHARON GINN
Published June 23, 2006

Tampa hot-sauce maker/pirate fanatic Glenn Bonner - better known to many locals as Capt. Bones - purchased a friend's takeout seafood business earlier this year, then spiced it up with a new name and offerings.

Bonner turned the former Ky's Krustaceans into the Pewter Pirate Grog-N-Grill, which opened in late May at 2902 W Gandy Blvd.

Bonner purchased Ky's, closed it two weeks later and spent three months remodeling it. He added a second smoker, more equipment and plenty of pirate signage to make the place tough to miss.

The Grog-N-Grill sells fresh seafood along with Bonner's line of hot sauces and spice mixes, which he launched in 1992 under the name Mosquito Coast Pirate's Delight.

"Everything that's cooked here is cooked in my seasonings,'' which customers also can purchase separately, Bonner said.

Ky's offered smoked shrimp and mullet, but "we've gone way beyond that,'' Bonner said. The Grog-N-Grill offers mahi, tuna and other fresh seafood, along with some frozen items such as crab legs.

He also added meats, including baby back ribs smoked daily and "drunken chickens," boneless whole chickens made with a number of different stuffings, on Saturdays.

The bulk of business is takeout. Bonner said he is considering applying to rezone the property so he can reconfigure the space as a full-service restaurant, possibly by this fall.

Bonner's shop is open from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.

NO MINOR VICTORY: Beer and wine are on tap again at Minor's Market. The City Council last week granted the gourmet grocery at 2511 W Swann Ave. permanent wet zoning to sell beer and wine.

Beers and wines had been gathering dust on the market's shelves since the store's one-year conditional wet zoning expired in February. But for owners John and Jenny Minor, the issue has been undecided for even longer: In 2004, many residents of nearby Parkland Estates fought any type of wet zoning for the location, for fear that it could lead to bars opening along the residential stretch of Swann.

But the protests subsided once Minor's Market received its conditional wet zoning and began quietly selling upscale beer and wines. The permanent zoning is for package sales only. The rest of the business involves takeout meals, soups, sandwiches and gourmet foods.

The market's revenues took a hit "in the tens of thousands of dollars'' when beer and wine sales were suspended, Minor said.

"I'm not real happy about it, but at the same time, I am happy that it is done and we can move on and grow our business,'' he said. "That's the big thing.''

WHAT'S HOT ON HOWARD: The new Chipotle Mexican Grill at 533 S Howard Ave. is doing a series of "soft opening'' events, including a fundraiser Monday to benefit America's Second Harvest of Tampa Bay, before its official opening date Wednesday.

This is the second Chipotle in Tampa; the first opened on West Shore Boulevard last year.

The chain offers made-to-order burritos and tacos and boasts that all of its Florida locations exclusively use "naturally raised meat,'' spokesman Chris Arnold said.

The pork, chicken and beef come from animals and chickens that have never been fed antibiotics or hormones, he said.

Chipotle took over the former Ho Ho Chinese restaurant spot. Hours will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, Arnold said.

MO'BUCKS: The SoHo Starbucks at 715 S Howard Ave. is open an extra hour Sunday through Thursday nights and may become a 24-hour location by October.

For now, hours are 5 a.m. to midnight daily.

Tampa already has one 24-hour Starbucks, the drive-through location at 9302 Anderson Road, which made the transition to nonstop lattes about three weeks ago.

Do you know something that should be everybody's business? E-mail Sharonlginn@yahoo.com or call 226-3394.

[Last modified June 22, 2006, 11:50:35]