The Wooden Indian Expeditions

[ndv21]

I drive by fincks to and from work everyday. Its pretty fun on fridays since everybody comes out there to smoke after work. Their prices are amazing as well.

[Smoked!]

There are more expedition reports, updates on previous entries, and new debriefs to file.

Watch this space!

[Smoked!]

Episode #22 - Ybor City Series No. 1 – Ybor City, Florida… Hee Haw!

I was fortunate to have the pleasure of making this trip with the one and only badwhale during his sunny, funny visit to fabulous Florida. (Do not challenge him to a game of shuffleboard. Consider yourselves warned!) There is plenty of info online about the Ybor City neighborhood and the Tampa cigar scene in general. In light of the current economy and with the fact that Greater Tampa is flat on it’s financial a$$, the retailers and factories of Ybor are doing well just to stay in business after the collapse of the local real estate market.

Speaking of real estate deals, this area was revitalized in the late 90’s using the city center concept. What is “revitalization?” Well, I’m glad you asked. Revitalization is a process whereby well-connected landowners and politicians pitch an economic stimulus package in order to secure Public Funding, Government Grants, CRA tax exemptions, and subsidized Commercial Loans for the purpose of inflating the values of their slum property holdings and to build new malls nearby. Streets get resurfaced, new highway ramps are added, brokers and bankers float a mountain of debt to tax-advantaged yield hungry investors and unwitting REIT purchasers, politicians get re-elected, developers get rich and move to Vegas, and the targeted neighborhood gets a thorough cleaning along with a new paint job… plus a complimentary window wash and some coupons. Everyone wins. Except America. … Have you guys ever played Jenga? Never mind.

Ybor is one of the oldest Tampa-area neighborhoods. It was built back in the late 1800’s by real businessman with real profits from actual manufacturing and sales. Fascinating concept. (Sorry about the rant. I blame badwhale’s ADHD.) Ybor City currently attracts thousands of tourists, hundreds of local weekend revelers… and at least two cigar junkies.

We visited eight cigar shops on Seventh Avenue, which is the main road through Ybor. At the west end there was a mall-type shopping area called Centro Ybor, but we skipped that part. We also made a short excursion to Tampa ‘Closed on Monday’ Sweethearts, which is located a couple blocks away. They’re closed on Monday. Did I mention that?

Basically, the program worked like this: a) park and then walk both sides of the street, b) stop in and flirt with cigar girls, c) double back and buy stuff, d) snap a few photos. Things don’t always work out the way you think they will. We spent a few hours browsing and chatting with shop owners and staff. I didn’t take enough photos. Also, most of the cigar girls apparently had the day off.

King Corona was the first stop. This shop gets my “best overall cigar-related establishment” rank. I’m certain they’ll be delighted to learn of this prestigious award… or whatever. It is actually two businesses under one roof. There is a cigar humidor side and a café side with seating, beverage and bar service, and a café style menu. Wait. Did I say two businesses? There’s a third one if you include the barber shop. Yes, there’s a barber shop in the cigar store.


King Corona Cigar

There is a cool neon AF sign over top of the entry. I don’t know how long this sign has been up there, but the fittings look very weathered and the style fits the ‘period look’ the re-development people were going for. I would guess it is patterned after something from the late 1950’s or 60’s.



Outdoor seating – I’m pretty sure all six of those heavyweight banker types seated out front fell out of that sleek silver ’01 Saturn - clown car style. The excess weight may explain why the driver’s side rear hub cap popped off. Nice. … Classy.



At last! Finally, we have a cigar shop with an actual Wooden Indian statue made from actual wood! Oh, you can see the barber shop over his left shoulder. Here he is! Chief Corona:



King Corona is probably the most complete and spacious store/café/bar/barber shop on the street. They offer many national brands, but no house blend. There are private lockers behind display case. Check out this tourist trying to lift a few souvenirs on the five finger discount program. Miscreant.


Cool little window mural w/ street images/old tools/menus:



As we worked our way east on Seventh, We came upon perhaps the best non-cigar related display on the avenue:

Save the TaTa’s – this is my kind of town!



In the image below, check out the bra above the right side of the banner. That, my friends, is some serious rigging. All kidding aside, Save the Ta-Ta’s is a decent organization working toward an admirable goal. The Susan G. Komen organization has a bit more reverent approach, but you have to sell ideas to people in different ways. I am certain neither organization would mind me poking, um, making a little fun since I support them… fully… much like the devices in the display. In honesty, my own family has been affected by this scourge. Both are on my list for charitable financial support. I have enjoyed participation in a couple of the local Race for the Cure events sponsored by the latter group.




Next up: Ybor Cigars Plus. You’ll like this one, too!

[badwhale]

LOL. I give my gut a rating of 3.5 on a scale of 10....give it a few years

yBor was truly one of my vacation highlights. Thanks for hauling my butt around Smoked!

Not cigar related, but I think lunch was pretty noteworthy where 2 slices were ordered, and basically a 1/2 a pie came out...

Will

[Smoked!]

.

Yeah, I have a couple more shots of "The Shoplifter" coming up.

I forgot about the pizza! We ate all that, too. Holy Cow.


The other thing I would add was the stop by Tampa Sweethearts. I don't have enough material to make a separate post because they were closed on Monday. Did I mention that? There was someone in the office out front, too. I saw him at his desk on the phone. I'm pretty sure it was Artie or Lil' Carl. Really.

Here's the sign out front. Look at all the killer brands they manufacture. Wow. Frickin' Monday...




Thanks for joining me on the trip. Sorry for referring to you as a miscreant. ... Reprobate.

[ashauler]

Reprobate is taken. Buttpirate isn't copyrighted though.

[Smoked!]

Ybor Cigars Plus

Speaking of Ta-Ta’s… Ybor Cigars Plus is “Home of the Biggest Hoots in Ybor.” For those who may question such a bold assertion, the answer is: “Yes, I did check out every pair in town… just to be sure.” Talk about weapons of mass distraction! This cigar girl maintains the humidor, offers selection suggestions, and runs the bar. That’s talent! Once again, I failed to capture the moment digitally. <sigh> Moving right along…

Here’s the front of the store. You can see the basic set-up for most of the retail stalls on the avenue. Out front, they have a humidor in the display window on one side and a rolling table on the other. Many of them have a bar or café style set-up inside. This particular shop has a decent size bar specializing in Cuban Mojitos (is there any other kind?), and they have a small stage in the back for a band. Ms. Talented said they have live music in the evening on weekends. My guess is that the whole street is much more interesting in general entertainment terms on a Saturday night. Go figure.




Live roller –
This shop featured a live roller who was working on one of the house blend toros. Live rollers are much more proficient than deceased rollers or zombie rollers. You can see the photo detail of the table, press and other related tools. I give creativity points for the use of rain gutter for the scrap collector on the lip of the table. I take back the points because she was smoking a Marlboro light. That’s not right! It’s, like… a sacrilege.




I asked a few question’s about sourcing for leaf stock and wrappers, but neither of the ladies seemed to have any idea. In all fairness, both of the cigar girls were very pleasant and engaging. I bet Ms. Talented would be a great at a cocktail party. I bought a couple house blend cigars and I think BW picked up a couple, too.




There’s more to see in Ybor! Next stop: Nicahabana - home of the Cigar Pixie. Stay tuned!