Old Milwaukee beer, brewed by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company, came on the scene in the mid-1930s.  It was value-priced, with advertisements promoting it as a $.10 beer. In 1936, G. Ferlita and Sons, who had been connected with the company since 1904, held the Schlitz franchise in Tampa. They were the oldest Schlitz distributing firm in the United States at the time. The original bottling plant, constructed for $20,000, was built at 13th St. and Washington Street in what is now the Channelside district. Reports state that it had a capacity to produce 15,000 bottles of beer per day.

This building at 1102 North Rome Ave., bottled Schlitz and Old Milwaukee beer that was shipped to Tampa from Milwaukee. The company also distributed other brands, including Red Top and Falls City Beer. By 1945, Peter Doelger was doing business in the building as T and D Trading Company, a beer wholesaler. In 1970, Sutton Distributing acquired G Ferlita and Sons Inc. along with the Hillsborough and Pascoe County Schlitz distribution rights. In 1979, this property was listed as abandoned in the Tampa Tribune classifieds. In 1998, the Quicksilver Recycling Service opened a 27,000-square-foot facility to reclaim electronics. Records indicate they remain as tenants, but according to the commercial real estate website LoopNet, the property is for sale in the burgeoning NoHo district. Notice the north end of the building, in the far right in the photograph, remains the same.

In 1982, the Stroh Brewery Company of Detroit acquired the Schlitz and Old Milwaukee brands.

© 2023. Chip Weiner. oldtampaphotos.com