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By DAVE SCHEIBER
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 29, 2000
ST. PETERSBURG -- The two planks painted with daily specials are not standing at the little produce market on M.L. King (Ninth) Street anymore.
They are hanging now in a creative twist to a city sign saga -- and the future of a family business may no longer hang in the balance with them.
Two months ago, the Times wrote about the pair of plywood signs displayed by Abdelaziz and Gigi Ibrihim. The Ibrihims had relied on the 8- by 4-foot advertisements to attract passing motorists to their budding roadside stand at 3045 M.L. King (Ninth) St. N. Their simple messages leaned on either side of a pole that supports a permanent sign reading, "Fresh Produce."
The boards were helping the young Egyptian couple build their American dream, while making their spot, My Summer Garden, the first successful venture on the lot in years.
But the city's Code Compliance Division said the signs were in violation of a 1992 ordinance that forbids "portable" signs or "sandwich board" type ads. The city also said the signs were a hazard and an aesthetic problem and insisted that they be removed. If not, Abdelaziz, 27, and Gigi, 26, faced substantial fines.
According to the codes division, any advertising would have to be done on the permanent pole and marquis on the property -- unless a special permit for an attachment were granted.
The Ibrihims countered that the structure was old and in disrepair and would not hold portable letters to spell out the specials. They said it would cost thousands of dollars to repair the structure, and they are only renting the property from a car repair business next door.
In short: The wooden planks tripled their profits on weekdays and more than quadrupled them on weekends. Without the portable boards, they said, their business would go under.
After their story was published, the Ibrihims say, they were deluged with new customers from all over the Tampa Bay area, sympathetic to their plight. "We had so many people stop by -- from Tampa, the beaches, everywhere around town," said Abdelaziz. "People were coming with ideas and suggestions for the signs. We even had builders come here and offer to make permanent signs we could attach to the pole."
Abdelaziz said Gigi went to the city with one such proposal to attach small signs to the existing structure, but the plan was not acceptable.
In the meantime, the Ibrihims continued to display their planks. On Sept. 18, a code investigator sent a letter to the owner of the property, Caroline Spence of Wilsey Auto. It stated that if conditions were not corrected by Sept. 28, legal proceedings would begin "which may result in a lien against your property and/or a fine of up to $500 a day."
Spence had no choice: To avoid costly fines, she had the couple take down the planks. For the next week, business at My Summer Garden dwindled. Then, Abdelaziz had an idea. The answer was his 1989 Ford cargo van. He repainted the daily specials horizontally on the same boards, bought some nylon cord and attached the wood on either side of the vehicle.
Every morning since, Abdelaziz has hoisted the signs into place and parked his van on his property so the specials are visible to passing motorists. At night, he unfastens the planks and stores them until the next morning.
The van plan is working; business is good. Abdelaziz has also secured a plywood sign to the permanent marquis to update banana prices. On a recent Saturday, Gigi was home with the three children, all with the flu. Abdelaziz was alone at the register as customers flowed in.
"I just want to know if this case is closed now," he said, "so we can get on with our business without worrying anymore."
This week, Sally Eichler, director of the city's code compliance assistance department, was asked about the status of the dispute. She scanned the active files, but nothing came up. Then she found the file, with a new message inside.
Case closed.