The Scozzari Building, built in 1905, was built by brothers Pietro and Jose. The top floors were residential, where the Scozzari families lived, and the first floor was storefronts. The land was part of the original grant to V.M. Ybor. Giroloma Scozzari-Diaz-Caccitori-Fernandez-Adamo owned it from 1912 until she died in 1965. This photo, part of the Historic American Buildings Survey, was most likely taken in the early 1970s.

The building's most celebrated tenant was La Tropicana Café, owned by “Cowboy” Ippolito in the 1960s.In 1968, the building owner B.J. de Guzman planned to rehabilitate the two-story building by sandblasting the exterior, removing and replacing the second story canopy with a narrower wrought-iron balcony, and converting the second-floor rooming house back into four two-bedroom apartments. Records indicate those modifications never occurred. In the early 1970s, the city condemned the building and slated it for demolition. It was saved from the wrecking ball, placed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the balconies were reconstructed.

Another notable eatery, The Ovo Café, took up residence in 1991 and lasted until 2003. In 2014, entrepreneur Alberto Torres opened his 1600 square-foot coffee shop Blind Tiger with attached co-work space. In 2023, he moved farther west on 7th Ave.

In 1966, Angel “BeBe” Menendez bought La Tropicana from Ippolito, and four years later, purchased a tract of land across the street and built the restaurant a new home. It became a beloved hangout where locals, politicians including presidents George W Bush and Jimmy Carter, and most importantly Roland Mantiega, publisher of the tri-lingual newspaper La Gaceta, held court at his dedicated table. After nearly fifty years of Cuban sandwiches and café con leche, La Tropicana closed in 2020.

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved