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Hardware Store Owners Sorting Through Wreckage

Tribune photo by JAY NOLAN

Susan Roberts takes a stack of books from a Tampa firefighter at the scene of the family owned and operated Tampa Bay Hardware.

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By KATHY STEELE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 9, 2008

TAMPA – A day after a devastating fire, the owners of a World War II-era hardware store continued sorting through the charred wreckage in hopes of salvaging remnants of their business.

"It's just a unique little business," said Tom Roberts, who has been at his Tampa Bay Hardware almost constantly since the Sunday night blaze. "Kind of a dying breed, like mom and pop's drugstore."

The fire remains under investigation, although officials say the cause does not appear to be suspicious.

Heavy equipment was used Monday to knock down some walls that were threatening to collapse.

Nebraska Avenue, which had been closed between Hillsborough and Hanna avenues, was reopened this afternoon.

More than 50 firefighters fought the blaze that engulfed the store, 5511 N. Nebraska Ave., and eventually Sullivan's Holster Shop behind it.

The hardware store, a Seminole Heights mainstay since opening in 1941, is a total loss.

"I can't come up with words," Roberts said.

Greg and Fran Gutcher, owners of Sullivan's, moved their 75-year-old family business to the small shop on Nebraska in 1980. They make fine leather sheaths for Orlando-based Randall Made Knives.

"It's all gone," Greg Gutcher said, including leather, equipment and a personal treasure of collectible knives.

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