Rattlefish to become boaters' private club
By SHARON GINN
Published July 14, 2006
The Rattlefish Raw Bar and Grill remains open to the public for now, but it's destined to become a private club.
In 16 months, it's expected to be absorbed by the soon-to-be-developed Tampa Harbour Yacht Club.
The site at 5210 W Tyson Ave. and the adjacent Bayside Marina were sold last week to a Fort Myers developer, who plans to build 700 dry-dock boat slips and 40 wet slips that will range from about $120,000 to $600,000.
Once the "dockominium" facilities are finished, the Rattlefish will close for about a month for renovations, then reopen only for members.
Developer Steve Knight said he may sell social memberships to the club as well, which means people could dine and drink there without owning a boat slip.
Knight said he intends to keep the staff intact. "Even during construction I'll keep them. It's not a hard thing to carry staff for a month. We'd have them doing odd jobs."
Knight also promises that in the interim, the popular waterfront restaurant will remain the same and parking will not become more difficult.
"That place is a nightmare for parking," he said. "If anything, it'll get better, because for a period of time I'll have a little more open space as we start knocking things down."
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HOT OFF THE PRESS: Ever taken something to a print shop, only to spend 30 minutes pacing the sidewalk or driving around aimlessly while waiting for your copies to be finished?
Kristin Tandberg has. Which is why her new printing business will offer coffee, espresso, tea, light meals and free wireless Internet service so people can feel productive - and fed - while they wait.
Her new copy center, Print Empire, will house the Coffee Hot Spot. The shop, at 3644 W Kennedy Blvd. in the site of the former Rosemary Cottage Boutique and Tea Room, is expected to open this month, Tandberg said.
"We're trying to be a friendlier version of Kinko's," she said.
Tandberg and her husband, residents of South Tampa, own part of a Clearwater copy center but have spent recent months focusing their energies on the new venture.
It took time to find the right location, she said.
When Rosemary Cottage closed in late May, Tandberg jumped at the opportunity. Minor remodeling is under way, and the copy center will open as soon as new equipment arrives.
Services will range from normal copying and binding to full-service sign and banner printing.
For a "very nominal" membership fee, customers will be able to send and receive faxes and receive other discounts.
Tandberg also promises "good coffee," which she said may be second only to speed in keeping customers happy.
"Printing is a business where people want it yesterday," she said.
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TRY, TRY AGAIN: The restaurant at 223 S Howard Ave. will debut next week in yet another incarnation. Strings N Rings Cafe opens Monday at the location that last year alone housed both Mary Z Tampania Cafe and Jilly Jo's.
Restaurateur Alan Smolar thinks his concept - named after his signature shoestring fries and haystack-cut onion rings - will take off in South Tampa. He has a location at 8830 N Himes Ave.
The opening of the Howard Avenue restaurant was delayed by about six weeks as Smolar resolved some problems with the building, namely a termite infestation that required tenting.
Do you know something that should be everybody's business? Call 226-3394 or e-mail sharonlginn@yahoo.com.Dining chair
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- AMY SCHERZER