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Letter to the editor

An old friend is back: T-Bones Bar & Grill

By Times Staff Writer
Published November 10, 2007

LARGO - After an absence of five years, Tom Soares and his sister, Linda Soares, have re-opened T-Bones Bar & Grill.

The restaurant is in a 2,648-square-foot freestanding building at 2745 East Bay Drive. Like the original T-Bones, the menu includes everything from sandwiches to steak and seafood dinners, raw oysters, chicken wings, a full bar, live entertainment and dancing. There is seating for 150.

Tom Soares originally opened the business in 1980 as El Capitan on Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard in Clearwater and later re-named it T-Bones. He closed in 2002, he said, following the 9/11 decline in tourism.

He decided to open again, he said, "because so many of my old customers kept saying they needed a place like T-Bones. It was like a family nightclub, everybody knew everybody and even had their favorite places to sit."

Soares, 52, and a native of Bermuda, said he invested $100,000 to open the doors. Remodeling work is ongoing, he said.

T-Bones is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Soares said he soon plans to offer a buffet Saturday and Sunday. Call 727 230-6944.

Judge appointed to state committee

Sixth Judicial Circuit Judge Irene Sullivan has been appointed to a 25-member statewide "Blueprint Commission" charged with developing a plan for reforming Florida's juvenile justice system.

The commission will address such concerns as juvenile recidivism, over-representation of minority youths in the justice system and trends involving girls. It will report to Gov. Charlie Crist and the Legislature.

Sullivan hears delinquency and dependency cases and related family and truancy matters in the Circuit's Unified Family Court section.

Contractor hires pre-construction manager

Dirk Heller has joined Creative Contractors as manager of pre-construction services. He has 20 years of experience in the construction industry, including construction cost estimating, systems analysis and value enhancement.

His previous construction projects included High Point Elementary School near Largo, Mitchell Elementary School in Tampa, Dimmitt Community Center in Belleair and various facilities for LifePath Hospice and Palliative Care based in Tampa.

Creative Contractors, a commercial construction firm headquartered at 620 Drew St., Clearwater, was established in 1974 by its chief executive officer Alan C. Bomstein.

Prominent lawyer starts new firm

George E. Tragos, a longtime criminal defense lawyer in Pinellas County, has formed the firm of Tragos & Sartes with Peter A. Sartes, and opened the practice in the SunTrust Bank building, 601 Cleveland St., Clearwater. The firm will practice criminal defense and personal injury law.

Tragos had been a sole practitioner since 1985. He is board certified in criminal trial law and has worked on such high-profile cases as Terri Schiavo and Gen. Manuel Noriega's co-conspirator, Enrique Pretelt. He was formerly chief of the Criminal Division in the U.S. Attorney's Office and chief of the Felony Division in the State Attorney's Office. He has represented the United States in European courts and lectures extensively on national and international criminal law for the Florida Bar and the American Bar Associations.

Sartes has had several articles published on criminal law for the Appellate Section of the Florida Bar and the Clearwater Bar Association. He is a board member of the Young Lawyers of the Florida Bar and a past president of the Young Lawyers Division of the Clearwater Bar Association. He serves on the Florida Bar's rules of judicial administration committee.

Business seminars, classes, assistance

- Pinellas County Business Development Center, 13805 58th St. N, Suite 1-200, in the Icot Business Center near Largo. Programs are free and meet from noon to 2 p.m. To speak with a business counselor or register for classes and seminars, call (727) 453-7200.

- How to Start a Business meets every Wednesday. The introductory workshop offers information on how to conduct feasibility studies and develop business plans, how to obtain licenses and permits to be a legal business in Pinellas County and more.

- Understanding Entrepreneurship meets the first Thursday of each month. Find out if you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur and discover the challenges and rewards of owning your own business. Evaluate your business acumen.

- Understanding Accounting and Tax Procedures meets the second Thursday of each month. The seminar is designed to help small-business owners understand proper record keeping and accounting methods to satisfy federal and state requirements for taxes and payrolls.

- Marketing Your Small Business meets the third Thursday of each month.

- Financing Your Business meets the fourth Thursday of each month.

- Business Assistance Center at the Palm Harbor Library, 2330 Nebraska Ave. Meets from 1 to 3 p.m. every Tuesday and also from 5 to 7 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month. For an appointment, call (727) 784-4287.

The center provides information on starting and growing a business in Pinellas County. Assistance includes business plan development, permitting, zoning, government-regulations information and more.

The business assistance specialist also provides information to assist local companies looking to export their products and foreign companies wanting to establish operations in Pinellas County.

News of businesses and businesspeople can be faxed to the Business Digest at 445-4119, e-mailed to cosdon@sptimes.com or mailed to Business Digest, 710 Court St., Clearwater, FL 33756. We are interested in new and unusual businesses, promotions, expansions, commercial sales and major new contracts. Photos can be mailed or e-mailed by jpeg file.

[Last modified November 9, 2007, 23:21:36]