J. R. Mickler Cash Grocer, 1001-5 Franklin Street

J. R. Mickler Cash Grocer, 1006 Franklin St.

J. R. Mickler Cash Grocer on northeast corner of Franklin (1000 block) and Tyler (100 block) Streets. 1922. Burgert Brothers. Courtesy, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System

Table Supply Store, 1001-5 Franklin Street, front facade of building undergoing refurbishing. 1934. Burgert Brothers. Courtesy, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System

Northeast corner of Franklin and Tyler Streets. 2021. © Chip Weiner

By 1923, grocer J.R. Mickler had 14 Grocery Stores in the Bay Area and one in Orlando. This photo in 1922 shows store number four at 1006 Franklin St in the downtown section known as Upper Franklin. The store appears to have closed in the late 1920s. Mickler’s son, JR Mickler Jr., was editor of the Hillsborough High School paper, The Hillsborean in 1916, a Tampa Times staff writer in 1930, and a former vice president in his father’s grocery business. In 1930, he ran for the House of Representatives unsuccessfully.

In 1934, the building was refurbished and opened as another chain grocery, Table Supply, which closed in 1947. The Outlet, a women’s fashion store, opened in 1948 and lasted until 1961. In 1967, Luggage Service, Inc. moved in selling luggage and distinctive leather novelty gifts. They closed in 1970. According to some reports, it sold in 2019 for $140,000. The building sits stewing in disrepair, but there’s a new energy on the block with a renewed effort to revitalize upper Franklin. No plans for the property have been publicized.

From Burgert Brothers: Look Again, Vol. 1