The gato of Gaspar's Grotto
A couple of weeks ago, Gaspar's Grotto almost became the latest Ybor City establishment to shut its doors for good. It was because the bar's mascot, Tanker Ray, appeared to be teetering on the last of his nine lives.
By Emily Nipps
Published October 26, 2007
A couple of weeks ago, Gaspar's Grotto almost became the latest Ybor City establishment to shut its doors for good.
But it wasn't because of declining beer sales or legal woes.
It was because the bar's mascot, Tanker Ray, appeared to be teetering on the last of his nine lives. The 5-year-old cat, who lives at the bar and is beloved by Gaspar's Grotto regulars, suddenly stopped eating, bathing and chasing mice. His ribs began to show and all he could do was stare at the wall and moan.
"At first, the vet said it was feline leukemia," said Eric Schiller, owner of Tanker Ray and Gaspar's Grotto. "I went ballistic. I told my wife, 'We're going to have to close the bar.'"
But tests for the fatal cat disease came back negative. One week later, Tanker Ray was living it up at the bar's Feast of the Dark event, an Oct. 19 fundraiser for the Tampa Historical Society. He mingled with patrons. He hammed it up for cameras. He kissed the ladies.
Perhaps Tank was just depressed, the vet suggested to Schiller, and he should see a pet psychologist. Indeed, it would be interesting to know what the 12-pound calico, who walks on a leash and seems to fear no one, is thinking.
"He's like a wise soul," Schiller said. "You peer into his eyes and you can see that there's a lot going on in there."
Schiller would be lost without his little friend. The former sea captain who once hated cats found baby Tanker Ray abandoned, weak and whimpering underneath a staircase at Ybor City's Camden apartments five years ago. It was around the same time Schiller and his wife, Shere, opened Gaspar's Grotto and they figured they could use the cat to catch rodents, a common problem in old Ybor City buildings.
Once Tanker Ray grew healthy and strong, he not only chased off the rodents and lizards. He became the star attraction at the new bar, charming customers with his un-catlike affability and his love of dark beer, which he sometimes licks off the floor. Gaspar's Grotto has a signature American red lager, Tanker Ray's Bar Cat Beer, on tap.
He's been seen at parties and charity functions, and it's not uncommon for people to fly into town from Ohio or London, walk into the bar and ask for the cat, Schiller said. He sleeps in a space above the bar and climbs down through specially built tunnels when people want to see him.
When Tanker Ray dies, Schiller plans to have him stuffed and mounted on one of the bar's walls. But Schiller hopes that day is years and years away. Tanker Ray's mysterious illness gave him a terrible scare, and he considers the tumultuous week to be a dark time in Gaspar's Grotto history.
"Luckily," Schiller said, "nobody said to me, 'It's only a cat.'"