In 1909, records indicate that owner J.P.B. King, who was associated with the Economical Drugstore, sold his interest there in 1915 and opened King’s Drug Store at the southeast corner of Franklin and Twiggs Streets. Advertising itself as a place for “the sick-hungry-thirsty,” King was competing against several drug stores in the downtown area. Dr. Hugh Farrior practiced dentistry on the second floor. In 1924, the store modernized when it moved next door to the former Tampa Books and News store seen on the right in this photo.

King’s went bankrupt in 1935. In the mid-1940s, the Downtown Cigar store smoked it up at this location. The corner eventually turned into a restaurant after languishing in the post-Franklin Street depression of the 1970s – 1990s following the installation of the pedestrian mall. In 2007, Paninoteca, a panini spot, opened. In 2019, owners Mary and Joe Khabbaz did a significant renovation and expansion and opened Dio Modern Mediterranean restaurant.  

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved