Originally known as the Lamas Club, this place started in 1946 as a drive-in at the northeast corner of Dale Mabry and Gandy Boulevards, featuring “Old Plantation Barbeque.” By the 1950s, when this photo was taken, it had become a restaurant and bar. In 1959, it was remodeled, and the lavish Vagabond Room opened, transforming it into a 100-person supper club (dinner and dancing). Highly polished tables bedecked with captain’s chairs surrounded a sunken dance floor. The walls were lined with seafoam green draperies and decorated with art created by the Tampa Realistic Artist Association. Multiple live acts performed in the lounge. Stories swirled about the club being a prime pick-up place and a popular spot for soldiers from MacDill Air Force Base.

By 1988, the toney place was dilapidated. Termites, a destructive fire, and years of neglect had taken their toll. After numerous resident complaints, the owners bulldozed it.  The Gandy Mart, part of a Mobile gas station, now sits approximately where Lamas once was. The entire block has been subdivided. Behind this station sits a Target store, built on land that once held the defunct Expressway Inn. This Mobile station is an outparcel of that Target plot.

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved