Nephew of the Week: Kenan Kucukozmen
Kenan is a full-time USF student. When he’s not working hard at Cristino’s Coal Oven Pizza Restaurant in Ybor City, he is out with his friends and family. P.S. He is a huge Buccaneer and Lightning fan too! This Halloween, he turns 21: watch out, Ybor City!
You Just Can’t Make This Stuff Up!
In the 1980s and early 1990s, the Tampa Police would often raid the area’s gay bars for drugs or whatever. Usually they would raid them all on the same night. In 1994, there was a seasonal police raid going down at the Howard Avenue Station Club and at others. A person was just walking toward the club and saw the police with TV camera crews right behind. He ran to a pay telephone booth (LOL) and called our friend, Jack, a bartender at a different club.
Jack quickly ran and locked all the doors to the Metropolis Club on Kennedy Boulevard. Then he told all the customers inside to get behind the bar and down on the floor. A raid was possibly going to happen! Then it happened. He was worried that the police might shoot the doors open.
You can just imagine what a crazy party was going on the floor behind the bar! The police arrived and were pounding on the door to open it right now! Everybody remained very quiet. The police finally gave up and left after 2 1/2 hours.
The club was saved. No liquor violations or arrests. Everybody still laughs that this was the “Night the Lights Went Out in Tampa.” LOL
MC FILM Has a Variety of Handmade Soaps for Fall
Fall football, falling autumn leaves, and tranquil midnight moon. These are a few of the handmade glycerin scented soaps that have arrived for the fall season at MC FILM. Always an aromatic treat for your home or as a memorable gift.
Thank You
With the 18-foot ceiling at MC Film, the space up top has become an unofficial “Tampa Bay LGBT History Museum” collection. This past week, a large framed piece that hung in the lobby of the old Suncoast Resort in St. Petersburg was donated. It was from the St. Petersburg Times, July 9, 2000. On the bottom is a big photo of our store, MC Film, on a fun, rainy night. Thank you!
Transylvania, Romania
Every Halloween when people hear Transylvania, people think about Dracula. Transylvania is an historic region, like a county, in the center of Romania. Directly to the West is the region of Banat, Romania. This is where our family is from. The town’s name is Sannicolau Mare, which translates to Saint Nicholas the Great. A documentary film called “A Thousand Dollars and Back: Recollections of Early Romanian Immigration to Minnesota” was just released. In this film there are eight photos from our family.
This would make the perfect holiday gift for anyone with roots in Romania. This one-hour documentary, narrated by Don Shelby, is the result of a collaboration between the Heritage Organization of Romanian Americans in Minnesota (HORA) and the Romanian Genealogy Society (RGS), and funded by two Minnesota Legacy Grants from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Find the preview trailer and more details at the project website, romanianimmigration.wordpress.com.
Cristino’s Coal Oven Pizza and Restaurant Shows Their PRIDE
One of the very first to step up to the plate and donate to Tampa Pride, Lenny and his team have donated over $1,000 and are planning on more fundraisers soon. Be sure to stop by Cristino’s this Saturday for the Streetcar Patio Party! When in GaYBOR, stop by Cristino’s for their famed Italian fare on the corner of 8th Avenue and 17th Street, and show them some PRIDE and love.
