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Tavern Owners Hope To Open Restaurant In Seminole Heights

Tribune file photo by JULIE BUSCH (2007)

John and Veronica Vellines, pictured here, opened the Independent, a high-end beer hall, in St. Petersburg.

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By KATHY STEELE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 26, 2008

TAMPA - A restaurant trend is unfolding in Seminole Heights.

Owners of a St. Petersburg tavern — The Independent — want to open a restaurant on Florida Avenue where Van Gogh Signs Displays and Graphics has operated since 2006.

The restaurant would join a growing list of proposed or under-construction restaurants: Richy's Themes Sports Lounge and Ella's on Nebraska Avenue; and Sangria's Spanish Tapas Bar & Restaurant on Hillsborough Avenue. A sushi lounge and pub could join Sangria's in a rehabbed auto repair shop.

Cappy's Pizza and Bungalow Bistro opened within the past two years on Florida, near Van Gogh, 5016 N. Florida Ave.

The Independent owners Veronica and John Vellines have a contract to buy the 1935 masonry building from Van Gogh owner James Ciaccio, pending Tampa City Council approval of beer and wine sales. A hearing is scheduled Jan. 15.

The restaurant would be similar to The Independent but with a light food menu, probably seating about 40 people inside and 18 outside. The St. Petersburg tavern, 29 Third St. N., serves mostly Belgian and German drafts but also imported and microbrews in the bottle.

Once the historical building in Seminole Heights is sold, Van Gogh's chief executive officer, Keith Schaller, plans to move the shop.

Reporter Kathy Steele can be reached at (813) 259-7652.

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