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11:50 a.m., La Segunda Bakery
Ybor City is a small, walkable area — more on that later — but if you have access to a car, you can make a small drive north to 2512 North 15th St., and squeeze into La Segunda (lasegundabakery.com). Squeeze, because the takeout-only bakery is full of customers, a multi-ethnic mix of young and old, families and Spring Breakers, waiting to purchase 36-inch sticks of Cuban bread and other baked goods.
La Segunda dates back to 1915, and is operated by third-generation and fourth-generation relatives of the original owner, Juan Moré.
Another symbol of Ybor City is the food item known as the Cuban sandwich. “Cuban” isn’t the ideal name for it, because this sandwich, which people in Ybor City claim was invented there, holds ingredients from all of its main immigrant groups. The bread and the pork are Cuban, the mustard, dill pickles and Swiss cheese are German, the ham is Spanish, and the Genoa salami is Italian.
After consuming two delicious Cuban sandwiches, pressed and hot, we drove back to the centre of Ybor City.
1 p.m., La Setima
With some free time, there was an opportunity to walk along La Setima (7th Avenue), Ybor City’s main street. Stepping in to Tabanero Cigars (tabanerocigars.com) at 1601 E. 7th Ave., the nose was immediately struck by the scent of tobacco. About 12,000 cigars are rolled there over the course of a month.
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2 p.m., Statue of Vicente Martinez-Ybor
Local resident Lonnie Herman, who conducts walking tours of Ybor City (yborwalkingtours.com), was waiting at the statue, wearing his ever-present fedora. Over the next two hours, Herman took his group of a half-dozen visitors around some of the historic areas of Ybor City, providing entertaining commentary on the century-old structures. “Every building here has a story,” Herman said.
He explained that Martinez-Ybor (pronounced EE-bore) left Spain for Cuba at age 14, became successful in the manufacture of cigars, and eventually moved his business to this area. He invited fellow entrepreneurs to come and build in “Mr. Ybor’s city.”
Martinez-Ybor’s first cigar factory was built on the highest point in Ybor City, with a cupola at the top that had an unobstructed view of the nearby port to see when a shipment of tobacco was arriving.
To ensure that his immigrant workers settled down in his community, Martinez-Ybor constructed “casitas” — small houses — and sold them to his workers. Some of those casitas still exist, and are now used by government organizations as office space. The casitas have a long nail at the front door, on which years ago a delivery boy would hang that day’s supply of Cuban bread.
The immigrant groups — from Cuba, northern Spain, Sicily, Germany, and eastern Europe — coexisted peacefully. “It was a true melting pot back then,” Herman said. Each had its own social club building, with the Italian social club still operating.
During the day, as the workers turned tobacco into cigars in the factories, a lector would alleviate the boredom by reading to them from newspapers and books.
Ybor City was considered the cigar capital of the world in the early part of the 20th century, but Herman said the Great Depression, easier access to cigarettes, and automation led to the industry’s decline in Ybor City.
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3:30 p.m., Jose Marti Park
Near the end of the tour, Herman reaches Parque Amigos de Jose Marti.
Opening the metal gate, the group entered a small plot of land which officially belongs to Cuba. Marti was a journalist who advocated for Cuban independence from Spain in the late part of the 19th century. That made him unpopular with some, and after an assassination attempt, Marti stayed at the residence of the Pedroso family, who lived at the site.
The land was donated to Cuba in 1956, and remains that nation’s property.
4 p.m., Aboard TECO streetcar
After all that walking, it was time to take a break. Fortunately, we were able to do so, and also continue our sightseeing, by boarding a free TECO streetcar (tecolinestreetcar.org).
The 4.3-km electric streetcar system connects Ybor City with Tampa’s Channel District and its downtown. The Florida Aquarium and Amalie Arena, home of the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning, are on the streetcar route. Tip: Backs of the seat benches can be flipped, so that you can face forward during the trip.
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5:30 p.m., Columbia restaurant
There are many options for food and beverages in Ybor City, and we were fortunate enough to enjoy dinner at the historic Columbia restaurant at 2117 E. 7th Ave. (columbiarestaurant.com).
The restaurant opened in 1905, serving the workers at the cigar factories, and claims to be Florida’s oldest restaurant. Over the years, it grew, both in size at its original location (with seating for up to 1,700 people in a total of 15 dining rooms), and also to include a total of 13 Florida locations, but has remained family-owned.
The meal was complemented by a flamenco show, offered six nights a week for an $8 cover charge per person.
Late night, Ybor City
As we left the restaurant, the sun had set. The bright lights of the neighbourhood’s bars and nightclubs beckoned — the area turns into a party zone at night — but we chose to end our visit at that point. The roosters would be crowing again soon.
GETTING THERE
Ybor City is about a 15-minute drive from Tampa International Airport (tampaairport.com). There are direct flights to Tampa from Toronto, as well as connecting flights from Atlanta, etc. Ybor City also is about a 40-minute drive from the Toronto Blue Jays’ spring headquarters of Dunedin, Fla., and about a 75-minute drive from Orlando.
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