By T. Bennison

Tampa’s historic Ybor City district has become famous for its vibrant New Orleans-style nightlife, when each weekend the main thoroughfare, 7th Avenue (or La Septima), is closed to traffic and the place becomes a miniature Mardi Gras as drunken kids wander from club to club. Revellers know vaguely that Ybor had something to do with Cuba and that cigars were made there long ago, but for the most part, they’re wholly unaware of a colorful past which began not in Cuba, oddly enough, but in Key West.


Among the largest of the thriving cigar factories in Key West during the late 1880s was “El Principe de Gales” owned by Spaniard Vincente Martinez Ybor. When “El Principe” was destroyed by a fire in 1886, Ybor picked up and moved over 500 Cuban cigar workers to Tampa to start again. The area grew up around the new “El Principe” factory and came to be known as “The Cigar Capital of the World” and later, “The Havana of the U.S.” An influx of Cuban, Spanish, Italian and Jewish immigrants came to work for the large employer establishing their own newspapers, restaurants, businesses, and social clubs along the way.

Though the area flourished for decades, a combination of several factors, including the rising popularity of cigarettes and an increasing reliance on automation, brought about the decline of the cigar industry and, subsequently, Ybor City itself. Factories shut down, unemployment soared and families moved away. When Ybor City was named a National Historic Landmark district in 1990, new businesses moved in and started the ongoing re-development of the area.

The Ferlita Bakery, now a museum within the the Ybor City Museum State Park (1818 9th Ave.), once supplied the community with its bread (over 1, 500 loaves per day), and among its brick ovens the cigar-rolling demonstrations, photos, and in-depth displays provide good background on Ybor’s history. Also within the museum complex is a “shotgun”-style cigar worker’s house and large ornamental garden.

Much of Ybor’s charm lies in the great food available, rooted as it is in so much of the area’s history. Though technically not in Ybor City proper, Latam Restaurant (1913 N. Nebraska Ave.; 223-7338), a beautifully preserved, 400-seat basement cantina with a 42-foot marble-and-onyx bar, is just on the outskirts of the wrought-iron gate of La Septima. La Tropicana Cafe (1822 E 7th Ave; 247-4040) serves up a good Tampa-style Cuban sandwich (with Genoa salami), and Carmine’s (1802 E 7th Ave.) is toasty enough, but their devilled crab and empanadas are the main draw. The eastern end of La Septima is dominated by the original Columbia Restaurant (2117 East 7th Ave.; 248-4961) opened by Casimiro Hernandez in 1905. The richly decorated interior is jam-packed with old photos and tidbits about the restaurant’s role in Ybor’s formation. Back west and down 4th Avenue in the heart of the residential district is Cephas (1701 E 4th Ave; 247-9022), a unique Jamaican dive. The friendly owner, Cephas Gilbert, serves goat and chicken curry, jerk, and spicy seafood dishes. Ask to sit in the back garden.

No visit to Ybor would be complete without a visit to at least one cigar shop. Established in 1929, El Sol (1728 E 7th Ave.; 248-5905) is the oldest in Ybor, but Metropolitan Cigars (2014 E 7th Ave.; 248-3304), essentially a huge humidor itself, is the best around, and the up-close cigar-rolling demonstrations held at Gonzales Y Martinez (2025 E 7th Ave.; 247-2469) are truly fascinating. It’s much more difficult than it looks to shape a firm, evenly-packed cigar and rollers spend years perfecting their technique.



Bars are what makes Ybor tick these days, and at last count there were around 60 (including clubs) in the district. Though a little too touristy, the garish Green Iguana (1708 E 7th Ave.; 248-9555) serves good frozen drinks. The upscale Big City Tavern (1600 E 8th Ave.; 247-3000) is housed in the former Centro Espanol social club, one of the Ybor’s best preserved. It’s worth a look for the grand ceiling and historical displays leading up the main stairway. If you weren’t looking, you’d miss The James Joyce Irish Pub (1704 1/2 E 7TH Ave; 247-1896) up a steep flight of stairs near the Iguana. Suitably dark and woodsy, it’s a great place for a reflective pint and a squint through the old windows on La Septima below.

When the sun goes down on Ybor City, I head for the car before the party begins. The Ybor I enjoy is bathed in light and sunshine, the better to read its unique story and see its lasting impression on Florida’s Cuban identity.