📜 A Few Reasons to Scroll Today:
Local Businesses: New empanada place
Fun Things to Do: Where to try pickleball
Hidden History: An unaging part of Hyde Park
Site Seen: 2 Nightly bridge closures
Connect with Nature: Rocket launch and landing
Worth the Drive: Holy cannoli, it’s a waffle!
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Local Businesses
Businesses on the Move
Eleven80 Café recently opened on Dale Mabry, serving breakfast, lunch, and a lot of empanadas.
Renzo’s Argentinian Steakhouse has moved from Kennedy to the corner of W. Cleveland Street and S Howard Avenue, the former site of Rose Bar and ShoMi sushi & seafood.
Fun Things to Do
Meet New Friends
Tampa Bay Sports and Socials Meetup is hosting a Beginner Pickleball event on May 16 at Skyview Park.
Hidden History
Then & Now in Hyde Park
Dec. 2025 Google Street View of the commercial building at 1200 West Platt Street on the southwest corner of South Newport Avenue.
If you’ve ever driven on Selmon Expressway near Willow Ave, you may have seen this building on the corner of W. Platt and S. Newport and not realized how old it is.
Its architectural details are a bit ornate for a small commercial building. It’s outlined with iridescent sea green tiles, multiple crest shields, and has a Spanish tiled roof. We don’t really build buildings like this anymore, yet it has no obvious signs of age. Guess what year it was built before you scroll further…
One last hint:
This building is much older than everyone reading this!
The black and white photo was taken circa 1900, and that’s just the date of the photo. It doesn’t say when the building was actually built. These two images were taken 125 years apart, yet the building looks like it hasn’t aged a day! The med spas must be jealous.
➡ We couldn’t find this building’s origin story to figure out what prompted its unique details. If you know its origin story, please let us know.
Site Seen
Traffic Changes
Gandy Bridge: eastbound lane closures through May 16 from 6:30 PM – 6:30 AM.
Howard Frankland Bridge: lane closures through May 15 from 9:00 PM – 6:00 AM.
Connect with Nature
Upcoming Natural Events
Notable Weather Changes: Per usual for this time of year, starting on Monday, we are likely to get a late afternoon thunderstorm every day. It could be isolated or a long line covering the whole metro. The National Weather Service did confirm two EF-0 tornadoes in Pasco County on Tuesday, so keep an eye on whatever comes!
Hurricane Prep: The season officially starts in 2 weeks, so now is the time to find last year’s emergency kit and replace any expired items.
Rocket Launch & Landing
We should have a clear view of SpaceX’s Falcon-9 Dragon launch to resupply the International Space Station on May 15 at 6:05pm. We might also be able to see its autonomous landing back at Cape Canaveral 36 hours later, at 7:00AM on Sunday. The best views are from Bayshore Blvd, Ballast Point Park, and any rooftop with a clear view to the northeast. Our weather is looking mostly clear and sunny for the launch window.
➡ If you capture a great photo of this event, please reply to send it to us for a chance to be featured next week!
Worth the Drive
Tampa Bay Area Foodie Find
Cannoli Waffle at TOAST citrus p.ark
Having watched a few decades of food travel shows and eaten some of the best foods in 37 countries, it’s super rare when I encounter a dish I’ve not at least heard of. Enter the “Cannoli Waffle” at TOAST in Citrus Park. It’s a combo that makes so much sense and tastes so good, it’s puzzling why waffles aren’t served with cannoli filling by default! Just beware the tower is prone to falling in your lap.
Nearby Events
St. Pete Italian Fest on May 16 at 11am-7pm in Vinoy Park, downtown St. Petersburg.
Tarpon Rodeo annual catch-and-release fishing tournament is now accepting registrations for the tournament held on June 12 in Tierra Verde. It is hosted by Tampa Bay Watch, a nonprofit which benefits restoration projects and education programs.
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Your Local Writer & Founder: Danielle is a lover of food, craft cocktails, wine, travel, nature, and history. After living in Ohio, Dallas, New Zealand, and 37 countries as a digital nomad, Danielle decided South Tampa was the best place to settle in 2022. She blends a world’s worth of experiences with local expertise as a Meetup event organizer and marketing director to ensure The Scroll is always worth your read!