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August 13th can also be written as 8/13, which makes it “813 Day”. This is when Hyde Park Village turns Tampa’s area code into a celebration of all things Tampa with exclusive offers from many businesses priced at $8.13, $8, or $13. They’ll also have live music and “surprise moments”.

You might think of phone area codes as a fairly established thing, but Tampa’s phone area code map has changed a lot over the past 80 years. When the first U.S. area codes were established in 1947, all of Florida was assigned to 305. Just five years later, someone realized that wasn’t enough number options, so they created the 813 area code in 1953. It originally covered much of Florida’s west coast, including the greater Tampa Bay Area.

In the decades since then, 813 got divided into at least 6 new area codes. The first 40 years of divisions are unclear, but in 1995, everything to the southwest of Hillsborough County was carved out into area code 941. That was supposed to be a long-term solution, but with the boom of dial-up modems, pagers, and cell phones in the late 90s, they had to redraw the area code map only three years later. That’s when they overlaid 727 on 813, but some technical limitations created a mess of that plan, leaving Oldsmar part of 813 while everything else in Pinellas and Pasco Counties got 727. All available 813 phone numbers got used up in 2022, at which point 656 was created and added on top of the 813 area.

Something to ponder: why do neighboring phone area codes have no numerical correlation— like splitting 813 into new area codes that also start with “8”— while most neighboring ZIP codes do have that correlation?

Walking into Alessi Bakeries Food Market is like discovering where Whole Foods got the idea to have a huge, ready-made food market section. Alessi has been here since 1912, so they were definitely first!

Their seemingly endless case of desserts includes many unique options, like cannoli and pastry horns filled with biscoff cream, guava cream, or nutella cream. But baked goods are only one half of their store. The other half makes savory foods to order, including a respectable Cuban sandwich, an empanada bar, and their uniquely delicious signature item, Scachatta pizza.

➡ If you capture a great photo of the meteor shower, please reply to send it to us for a chance to be featured next week!

If you’re going to take phone photos of the Perseid meteors or anything in the night sky, a phone tripod is essential to getting clear, focused shots during those long exposures. Phone tripods are surprisingly cheap and effective— if you know what features to look for. We’ve tested at least two dozen phone tripods from Amazon that look very similar but have significant functional differences. Here are the key features we recommend in a phone tripod:

It’s unbelievable you can get all of the above features with 2 fill lights included* for just $18.99! We’ve personally tested that model and still can’t believe it doesn’t cost at least $50 for the face tracking alone. There are also many other models* to choose from.

One great thing about living in Tampa is there are a lot of world-class resorts less than a 2-hour drive away with amazing pools, water parks, spas, golfing, and other activities. Normally, you have to be an overnight guest of a hotel to access their amenities. But it feels weird to pay to spend the night so close to home. The solution is day passes!

Many hotels— large and small, boutique and franchised— sell day passes through ResortPass*. There are beautiful properties to suit all kinds of staycation desires from Tampa to all the Pinellas County beaches, Sarasota, Fort Myers, Orlando, Miami, and beyond. The Orlando area has the highest concentration of unique amenities, like a water park with a lazy river, water slide, and wave pool. That’s where I spent a day last week, at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate. Last year, I chose the waterfall grottos and free paddlecraft lake at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Resort.

Make your first ResortPass booking over $100 through our referral link, and we’ll both get $20 off!

Roundtrip time away from South Tampa: full day

There are at least 9 named shopping areas within South Tampa, which vary from large to small and sell luxury to inexpensive items. We’re lucky to have such a variety in our neighborhood! Which shopping areas are your favorite?

Create a More Enjoyable Community: Our mission is to help you live your best life in South Tampa by creating a more fun and connected community. If you like this idea, there are several free and paid ways you can support it:

Independent & Transparent: The Scroll is independently owned and written by a South Tampa resident. Positive mentions can’t be bought. We only include things we have personally tried or trust the person who did doesn’t benefit from mentioning it. We do not include links to businesses unless they are not-for-profit or paid sponsors we have vetted and noted as such. Clicking on asterisked items (*) may provide us with affiliate compensation, which helps fund us to keep creating for you!

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!