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Haberdasher Sammie Argintar, Ybor Icon, Dies

Jay Nolan / Tampa Tribune

Sammie Argintar operated Argintar Men's Wear in Ybor City.

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By JANIS D. FROELICH, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 12, 2007

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TAMPA - Sammie Argintar, a trusted Ybor City merchant who followed his father into the menswear business, died Thursday.

He was 87.

The Ybor City native began working full time in his father's Seventh Avenue shop after graduating from Hillsborough High School in 1937.

Max Argintar Men's Wear closed in February 2004 after 96 years in business, considered to be the longest run in Ybor City retail history.

'It broke my heart when we had to close,' Sammie Argintar told The Tampa Tribune in March 2004. 'I can't ride through Ybor City anymore; it hurts too much.'

Andrew Argintar, who gave up a law career to take over the family business in its last 10 years, said his father kept busy with family and friends the past few years. He called Andrew and his other son, Barry, several times a day. The Navy veteran was robust, meeting for lunch regularly with men he had known for decades.

Then he suffered a massive stroke in December.

'But lo and behold, God made him better,' Andrew Argintar said.

Although he no longer could drive, his father was able to get around with a walker, but he fell and broke his leg Tuesday, causing him to slip away.

'Nobody lives forever,' Andrew Argintar said. 'And fortunately, he was not in pain.'

Sammie Argintar visited his wife's grave in September and told his son he wanted the words 'Together Again' added to the marker when he died.

'He missed his wife dearly,' Andrew Argintar said.

Max Argintar, born in Romania in 1883, opened the family store to cater to workers during the cigar-making boom.

In the early days, he sold straw hats for 98 cents and linen suits for $12.50.

'A man rarely left his house back then without a coat, tie and hat,' Sammie Argintar recalled in 2004. 'Dungarees were considered work clothes in those days.'

Max Argintar, an avid golfer and violinist, was a founder of the Palma Ceia Golf and Country Club and president of the Jewish Community Center. He died in 1964.

Like his father, Sammie Argintar was active in his community. He was a member of Congregation Rodeph Sholom, the Masons and Egypt Temple Shrine.

He and his son Andrew blamed the surging nightclub business and the end of free parking for hurting retail in Ybor City.

'The store should have been a national historic monument,' said retired physician Dennis Pupello, who bought his first sports jacket there in 1951 at age 13 to wear in a talent show. 'It was everything to Ybor City.'

Susan Argintar, of Portland, Ore., said she and her sister, Lauren, developed a deeper relationship with their grandfather after his wife, Dorothy, died in September 2003 at age 81.

'My grandmother was vivacious and a strong force,' she said. 'My grandfather stayed in the background of our care. So when she was gone, it was a blessing in disguise that we became very close.'

SAMMIE ARGINTAR

BORN: March 10, 1920, in Tampa

DIED: Oct. 11, 2007, in Tampa

SURVIVORS: Sons, Andrew Argintar of Tampa, and Barry Argintar of Rockville, Md.; brother, Arnold Argintar of St. Petersburg; sisters, Lena Coolik of Wilmington, N.C., and Florence Lebos of Raleigh, N.C.; and four grandchildren.

SERVICES: 2:30 p.m. today at Congregation Rodeph Sholom, 2713 Bayshore Blvd., followed by interment at Rodeph Sholom Cemetery.

MEMORIAL GIFTS: In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the charity of choice.

Information from Tribune archives was used in this report. Reporter Janis D. Froelich can be reached at (813) 835-2104 or jfroelich@tampatrib.com.

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