An era of LGBT history in Ybor City came to a close when employees and owners of Streetcar Charlie's found padlocked chains on the doors of the once-popular restaurant on 15th Street.
On May 23, the state closed the restaurant and bar after more than a year of financial issues that plagued the Ybor City staple. According to records from the Hillsborough Clerk of Courts, the restaurant originally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in June 2010 after it revealed it owed more than $120,000 in sales taxes. Early this year, management claimed the business had climbed out of bankruptcy, but it doesn't appear those back taxes were ever fully paid.
For the past six months the business had also battled allegations of not paying its employees and several of those employees took to the streets to protest outside the business at 1811 N. 15th St. Those allegations were founded, according to an investigation with the Employment Standards Administration Division of the U.S. Department of Labor.
The restaurant began to struggle in late 2009 and into 2010â┚¬â€Âshortly after Manny Alvarez, a founding partner, left the business.
â┚¬Å”I left in May 2009 because I just fundamentally didn't agree with how things were run.,â┚¬Â said Manny Alvarez, an Ybor City native and the commercial real estate agent representing the building's owners. â┚¬Å”The state of the economy didn't help either.â┚¬ÂÂ
When contacted for a comment, Streetcar Charlie's owner James Clark said it would be inappropriate for him to do so at this time because of possibleâ┚¬â€Âand likelyâ┚¬â€Âlegal action.
In late 2010, problems seemed to worsen for the once-popular restaurant when former chef Darlene Herrick claimed she was not paid for her services. An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor found in favor of Herrick and Streetcar Charlie's was ordered to pay employees at least applicable federal minimum wage for all hours worked. The investigation also found poor record keeping and one case of the restaurant violating the Child Labor Law.
â┚¬Å”The recent investigation disclosed one minor was found employed contrary to the child labor provisions of the FLSA,â┚¬Â U.S. Department of Labor Assistant District Director Jim Rogers wrote in a December letter to Clark. As a penalty, Streetcar Charlie's was fined $1,900. The employee, who was not identified, worked at the business in July 2010. Records show the unidentified minor was born in late September 1992 and therefore was under the age of 18 during his or her time of employment.
â┚¬Å”The employer failed to maintain dates of birth for minors under the age of 18,â┚¬Â Wage and Hour investigator Nicolas Ratmiroff found. â┚¬Å”Mr. Clark alleged ignorance of the law and reliance on a payroll company.â┚¬ÂÂ
When the eatery first opened in 2007 the GaYbor District Coalition was just in its development phase and Streetcar Charlie's was one of the only LGBT businesses in the area, except for MC Film Fest, which is located across the street. Many in the area suspected how the opening of Hamburger Mary's down the street in 2010 would affect the business at Streetcar Charlie's, but Alvarez believes the two restaurants were not in direct competition.
â┚¬Å”The demographic that was going to Streetcar Charlie's was a serious South Tampa and church crowd,â┚¬Â Alvarez said. â┚¬Å”When I started Steetcar Charlie's our marketing was toward that crowd. The Mary's crowd is totally different. They target a lot of the young people who like drag. They focus on a large demographic of people who are straight and gay who want to see the shows. There is no comparison between the two.â┚¬ÂÂ
Nearly two weeks after the sudden closure, the 1925-constructed building has â┚¬Å”For Rentâ┚¬Â signs in the windowsâ┚¬â€Âbut Alvarez doesn't think those signs will stay up long. He said there are three businesses looking seriously at the space and a new restaurant could open within the next month.
â┚¬Å”It's a great location and I know the owners of the building want to fill that vacancy as soon as they can with a viable business,â┚¬Â Alvarez said. â┚¬Å”Two mainstream restaurant chains are interested and there's one gay-owned business looking at it. That corner will remain active in Ybor City.â┚¬ÂÂ
