LAST CALL

Ybor City, with its cigars, cafe con leche and legacy of Cuban and Italian dancing, has always found Starbucks an awkward fit.

Yet one neighborhood group was torn by the news that the coffee chain's store in the Centro Ybor plaza is closing.

The Historic Ybor Neighborhood Civic Association is encouraging its members and Starbucks patrons to pressure the company to stay. Among other reasons, they worry Starbucks' closure will hurt business in Ybor City.

Still, even association President Tony LaColla acknowledges he's indifferent. That's not to say he wasn't surprised. "I can't see how the store is losing money," said LaColla, who buys coffee at the Starbucks every other week.

"It's a shock to us," said David Harvey, a partner at Chicago-based M&J Wilkow, Centro Ybor's owner. "It does pretty well."

Monday, a company spokeswoman said Starbucks would not reveal why certain locations, including the Ybor City site, are getting the ax. Nor would she give a date for its closure.

Starbucks is closing at least 800 stores in the United States and an additional 100 worldwide.

Harvey said he talked with Starbucks, and thought the company would remain at Centro Ybor, only to learn later it would close.

Harvey is hoping to fill the vacancy with another coffee shop. Unlike other cities where Harvey has shopping centers, Tampa has few strong locally based coffee shops that can take on Starbucks, he said. He said he will approach Tampa-based Indigo Coffee.

Tuesday, there was some debate among neighbors and workers in Ybor City about Starbucks.

David Bailey, a board member of the Historic Ybor Neighborhood Civic Association, said he hopes locally owned coffee shops in Ybor City will pick up some of the business.

However, Theresa Barry, a Starbucks fan who works nearby for the federal government, said, "Not everyone likes Cuban coffee. Starbucks is like a national enterprise."