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Not the flip- flop crowd

Upscale restaurants and bars have begun dotting beach towns. Should we worry or should we celebrate?

By CRISTINA SILVA
Published November 15, 2006

Behind the shops hawking sea shell wind chimes and two-for-one bikinis, salsa music can be heard blaring from a small lounge lit up with fluorescent lights.

Inside, a small crowd of dancers wiggle their hips and shift their feet. Women wearing 3-inch stilettos sip cocktails at the bar.

Silva Iva of Madeira Beach sits on a suedelike couch and pours a Dos Equis into a tall glass. She said she is not brave enough to dance.

"But I love it," she said. "It's so beautiful here. It is much more sophisticated than other places."

Sangria Cafe, a new cigar lounge in John's Pass Village and Boardwalk, is different from most of its neighbors. The stylish spot is among half a dozen upscale restaurants and bars that have opened along the Gulf Coast in the past year.

Residents say they like having a place close to home where they can order a top- shelf merlot.

But some business and community leaders say they fear that this is the trend as mom-and-pop motels continue to be replaced by condos.

The Gulf Coast has traditionally been affordable for middle-class vacationers, for whom a night on the town could mean $7.99 grouper nuggets and a $3 beer.

That's still true at many waterfront bars and diners in the area.

But some people argue that condo owners don't go out as much as tourists, so it can be business savvy to raise prices to make up for the fact that less merchandise or food is being sold.

Rick Taylor, owner of Ricky T's Bar and Grille, a small restaurant chain on the beaches that has an all-you-can-eat crab leg special on Wednesdays, said he has started ordering less food each week because there are fewer tourists.

"You just don't have that day-to- day influx of people anymore," he said.

Dave Coover, owner of Robby's Pancake House, a landmark for 35 years, converted his place this year to the Middle Grounds Grill because he felt he couldn't justify raising the prices on breakfast dishes.

Entrees at Middle Grounds range from $15 to $32.

In Gulfport, some local business owners are wearily awaiting the grand opening of La Fogata, scheduled for this month.

It is an all-you- can-eat Brazilian steakhouse where plates start at $40 per person. For big spenders, $2,000 bottles of wine are on the menu.

Condos have sprouted in nearly every city in recent years because it is often more lucrative to sell condo units than run a hotel.

Treasure Island, which has seen the greatest loss of hotel rooms to condos because of a ban on tall buildings, lost about 259 hotel rooms in 2004.

The city has about 12 condo conversions under construction.

But for every person worried about what more affluent places will mean for the future of the coast, there is someone who sees them as a sign of progress.

Mark Neter, president of the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce, said high-end establishments will bring more people to the area, which will benefit all businesses.

"I don't think they have anything to fear whatsoever," he said of the owners of moderately priced restaurants and bars. "Even wealthy people like to eat in cheaper places."

At Sangria Cafe, a former pizza shop, you can spend a little or a lot.

The wine list has bottles ranging from $20 for a Lurton Tierra del Fuego 2006 white wine to $115 for a Barbosa Colheita 1974 port.

Before opening the lounge about three weeks ago, Willie and Nicole Martinez ran the House of Cigars, a small John's Pass establishment that sold freshly made cigars.

Sangria Cafe, on the other hand, features a Cuban dance instructor who gives free lessons four nights a week.

"We wanted to make like a House of Blues in John's Pass," Nicole Martinez said. "It is very hip, very big city, very Miami."

Martinez said her lounge is meant for an older crowd who can afford to indulge and spend a little more. She doesn't see anything wrong with that.

"There are plenty of places for the young people to play," she said, "but this is so the big kids can play."

Cristina Silva can be reached at 727 893-8846 or csilva@sptimes.com

[Last modified November 14, 2006, 21:39:59]