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Talking Politics Over Dinner

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By WILLIAM MARCH

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 29, 2008

TAMPA - When John Kerry visited Tampa during his 2004 presidential run, one of his stops may have seemed surprising - a hole-in-the-wall restaurant on North Armenia Avenue, the West Tampa Sandwich Shop.

Videographers banged into one another and reporters crowded patrons at the dozen or so small tables. They had done the same in the past for Tipper Gore, Sen. Bill Nelson, the late Gov. Lawton Chiles and others.

That's because the West Tampa Sandwich Shop is one of a dozen or so spots in Tampa known as political hot spots that attract candidate visits.

For various reasons - usually the clientele, the owner's political sympathies or the neighborhood - certain restaurants, hotels and meeting facilities get reputations as political stops along the campaign trail.

Some even have political leanings.

West Tampa Sandwich Shop is predominantly Democratic, for example, while Fred's Market Restaurant in Plant City is mainly Republican; Gov. Charlie Crist held a couple of events at Fred's during his 2006 campaign, and it's a regular hangout for U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis and Republican county commissioners.

Others cater to both parties.

La Teresita, a larger Cuban eatery on Columbus Drive, has hosted Kerry, Mitt Romney, Crist, Crist's 2006 Democratic opponent Jim Davis, and many others.

Tucson's Southwest Grill, on Ulmerton Road in Clearwater, has scored a bipartisan coup. It hosts monthly meetings of both the Pinellas County Democratic and Republican parties, plus candidate visits. The most recent big name was GOP presidential primary candidate Rudy Giuliani.

A good-sized meeting room, decent catered food and an owner willing to accept the disruption of news coverage are some of the ingredients that make up a political hangout, said Greg Truax, spokesman for the Hillsborough County GOP.

But some are also access points to politically important demographic groups.

West Tampa Sandwich and La Teresita, for example, are places to contact the politically energetic West Tampa Hispanic neighborhood, while Fred's connects politicians with the rural and suburban conservatives of East Hillsborough.

When Crist had a breakfast there during his 2006 Republican primary race against Tom Gallagher, his opponent's local backers waved signs and exchanged friendly taunts with the Crist backers.

Proprietors' Leanings

How does a restaurant become a hangout?

Often, it starts with the owner's sympathies.

Mise en Place, a trendy downtown bistro, may be the top choice in Tampa for upscale Democratic gatherings - fundraisers, luncheons and, most recently, a speech by Barack Obama's sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng.

The proprietor, Maryann Ferenc, accommodates political gatherings in the Kennedy Boulevard restaurant's meeting room. It became almost a second headquarters when her friend Frank Sanchez, now a leading Florida Obama fundraiser, ran for mayor in 2003.

It's not exclusively Democratic, Ferenc noted; she also held a fundraiser for Republican County Commissioner Rose Ferlita's 2006 race.

"A restaurant tends to be a gathering place for the community," she said. "It's a joy to me to have an opportunity to provide such a place."

Deborah Cox Roush's family company operates a string of meeting facilities including the Alfano Conference and Banquet Center near the University of South Florida, and Roush is events coordinator of the Hillsborough Republican Party.

So the Alfano Center hosts the party's monthly meetings - she offers a discount as an in-kind contribution - and has hosted candidates including Mitt Romney.

She said, though, that she's open to customers of all political stripes: MoveOn.org held an event there in 2004.

Fred's is owned by Fred Johnson, brother of Hillsborough Elections Supervisor Buddy Johnson. They're committed Republicans.

Near the front is a large, round table where 10 to 12 people gather for breakfast and political discussion each morning. The group started with about a handful and has grown since, Johnson said.

"People who were interested in the political scene started coming," he said. "They forced me to put a round table so they could all talk.

"I'm passionate about this country and my community and the direction it goes, and that's really where it comes from," he said of his role as a political facilitator.

A Trailblazing Diner

West Tampa Sandwich Shop, opened in 1994 by Willie and Nidia Barrionuevo, was a hangout for the late Michael Scionti, a Democratic activist and county party chairman and father of state Rep. Michael Scionti Jr.

That, in turn, made it a gathering place for neighborhood political activists who love to talk politics over coffee and pastry.

David Earp of Earp Brothers Inc., which owns Tucson's, said his restaurant's political role grew out of his and the company's community involvement. He doesn't like to talk about his own political convictions in connection with the business, but said he's happy to host both parties.

"We're truly across-the-aisle here," he said.

There's an element missing from this scene - a restaurant or space that's an access point for the black community.

"There's not a place like that; it's unfortunate," said former state Sen. Les Miller, husband of Tampa City Councilwoman Gwen Miller. "To meet black voters, you go to a church on a Sunday morning."

Some ministers are beginning to retreat from the role, though, because of concerns about infringing on their tax-free charity status, Miller said.

Meanwhile, the rise of Barack Obama is helping spur formation of possible black political hangouts, he said, including the Jerk Hut and the HipHopSodaShop on Fowler Avenue, and the Harbour Club on Nebraska Avenue.

Reporter William March can be reached at (813) 259-7761 or wmarch@tampatrib.com.

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