This is 1 of those places that we love to find and frankly makes all the rolling around worth it. It's a place that was made up mostly of immigrants and cigar rollers. Thankfully they left a lot of the original buildings and just repurposed them into places of entertainment, libations and nutrition. There are a few hand rollers plying their trade in shop front windows. There's ample parking, easy access from the highway and a street trolley runs through the neighborhood.
Like many towns in the US, it fell on hard times after WWII. But thanks to some savvy business people, it's now a vibrant community and a great tourist spot. 7th avenue, where most of the bars and restaurants are located, is 1 of the 10 great American streets per some association that cares to list such streets. The streets are well lit. It looks like there is a party going on somewhere with the strands of lights that criss cross the streets.
There are quite a few tattoo parlors dotting the streets. We watched a few of the cigar rollers. They make it look easy. The bar that we stopped at, Tequilas, has a brick facade but is actually an al fresco bar in a court yard. Chatting up the bartender, we got a local's opinion of the area on things to see & do. There's no shortage of places to grab a bite to eat or enjoy a relaxing beverage. Plenty of hispanic and Italian influence in the dining choices.
Now that we know this place exists, I'm looking forward to going back and getting to know it better.
Like many towns in the US, it fell on hard times after WWII. But thanks to some savvy business people, it's now a vibrant community and a great tourist spot. 7th avenue, where most of the bars and restaurants are located, is 1 of the 10 great American streets per some association that cares to list such streets. The streets are well lit. It looks like there is a party going on somewhere with the strands of lights that criss cross the streets.
There are quite a few tattoo parlors dotting the streets. We watched a few of the cigar rollers. They make it look easy. The bar that we stopped at, Tequilas, has a brick facade but is actually an al fresco bar in a court yard. Chatting up the bartender, we got a local's opinion of the area on things to see & do. There's no shortage of places to grab a bite to eat or enjoy a relaxing beverage. Plenty of hispanic and Italian influence in the dining choices.
Now that we know this place exists, I'm looking forward to going back and getting to know it better.
Ybor is like a (way) less grungy Fells Point with more interesting stuff - tons of bars and restaurants and shops. It has that Fells Point vibe, though. It would never have occurred to us to visit except that my Mom's cousin lives in Tampa and we had dinner with him and his wife, and because he knows things he chose Ybor City.
