In 1909, the owners of King’s were associated with the Economical Drugstore that opened in 1907 in the Curry Building three blocks away. Records indicate that J.P.B. King sold the store around 1915 and moved to a new location at Franklin and Twiggs Street. By 1924, Kings had moved into this former Tampa Book and News Co. store next door at 513 Franklin St. They operated a drugstore, lunch counter with a cold plate special of .35¢, and a tea room upstairs. Former Mayor Curtis Hixon, a pharmacist in the Navy and namesake of the current downtown park, bought King’s Drug Store upon his return from military service and ran it for a short time. In 1937, The Schwob Company moved here from its 615 Franklin St. location selling Schwobilt clothes and had a long run until the mid-1970s when the mass exodus of retail from downtown to suburban neighborhoods took place.

Beverly’s Cards and Gifts moved in and stayed until the early 1990s. Tampa Bay Art and Frame took over in 1995, lasting until the early 2000s. In 1914, Flynn’s Bar and Grill opened but only lasted about a year. In 2015, the Jerk Hut Jamaica Tropical painted the exterior its current blue color and opened here after moving from its location on Twiggs St. The building, still a robin’s egg blue, now sits empty.

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