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At Phillies' Clearwater Hangout, A Crisis Looms

Tribune photo by MICHAEL SPOONEYBARGER

Mary Caribardi of Hudson and John Dipietro of Oldsmar eat breakfast under memorabilia from the Phillies spring training stays are on the Philly wall at Lenny's Thursday.

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By STEVEN GIRARDI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 16, 2008

CLEARWATER - Owner Dan Farrell and his crew at Lenny's Restaurant are in a bit of a pickle.

One more victory against the Boston Red Sox, and the Tampa Bay Rays advance to the World Series.

That's all good, Farrell said.

It also would pit the Rays against the Philadelphia Phillies, who became National League champions Wednesday night

Now that gets tricky.

For almost 30 years, Lenny's has been the local hangout of the Phillies and their traveling band of fans who migrate to Clearwater each February for spring training.

"This is like their home," said Loraine Bronson, who has served their tables for the past eight years. "You see the same faces year after year. I've never seen anything like it."

Now, they could be coming back.

"If they play here, I'm sure we'll see them again," she said. "It will be crazy."

Though the restaurant, at 21220 U.S. 19 N., near Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard, is filled mostly with Rays fans these days, the walls are a constant reminder that the Phillies settled this spot decades ago.

Autographed shirts and bats from current stars such as Ryan Howard and Hall-of-Famers such as Mike Schmidt decorate much of the place. A couple of walls are painted Phillies red, and one bears a banner that says, "Winter Home of the Philadelphia Phillies," as if there were any doubt.

Even the menu says "Philadelphia,' with items such as scrapple and Taylor ham.

"If you don't know what it is, you're not from Philadelphia," said Bronson, herself dressed in a bright red Phillies T-shirt. "They stand in line to get in."

Outside, a row of red stadium seats from Jack Russell Stadium, the team's former spring training field, give customers a place to sit while waiting for a table.

Farrell said two of those seats belonged to his father, Lenny, the restaurant founder, who had season tickets at the stadium until he died in 1990.

The team now plays at Brighthouse Field, a couple of blocks north of the restaurant. A lot of fans stay in the hotels next to the restaurant year after year.

Farrell, 43, who has been running around Lenny's since he was 8, said his father opened the restaurant in 1980 after moving from New Jersey. He was a big baseball fan and began advertising at Jack Russell Stadium.

Before long, he was hosting minor league players for dinner at the restaurant and catering for the major league players at the stadium.

"You could see major league guys in here almost every day of the week" during spring training, he said.

Philadelphia fans began to follow and took over the place. A bulletin board is covered with photographs of children that the fans have been putting up for a couple generations.

"Some of those little kids are bringing in their kids now," Farrell said. "It makes you feel old."

Reporter Steven Girardi may be reached at (727) 451-2333 or at sgirardi@tampatrib.com.

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