Historic grant money is on the line as Ybor City bookstore fights to open doors

After launching their book business several years ago, the owners of Bookends: Literature & Libations thought they were taking all the right steps to open a storefront in a historic Ybor City bungalow.

But after 14 months and counting of back-and-forth permitting issues with the City of Tampa, the women-owned local business is at serious risk of losing essential grant money.

On the line is about $100,000 in historic matching funds, which will be used to finish repairs and transform the 1920s shotgun-style bungalow into a bookstore.

What the two Rodriguez sisters didn’t realize when they bought the property, located at 2208 E 2nd Ave., in April 2022 were all the hurdles to opening Bookends’ doors.

“Of course, we’re naive thinking, ‘Oh, we’re going to slap a couple of coats of paint on it; do this, do that, and then we’ll open a bookstore,” Laurie Rodriguez said. “We had no idea.”

“All we want is a bookstore,” she said.

Teresa and Laurie are third-generation Tampeñas. Their great-grandparents settled in Ybor City and worked in the local cigar industry and box factory. Both longtime educators, they attended Hillsborough Community College and have fond memories of trips to the Cuban Club, Centro Asturiano, the Italian Club and Guavaween.

The duo has big dreams for Bookends, which currently operates as a pop-up trailer shop at local events and through book clubs at Gasparilla Distillery around the corner. Besides being a place to shop for books of all genres, their plans for Bookends include a small kitchen to whip up baked goods.

“I wasn’t even planning on working this long. I thought I would leave and be able to work in the bookstore,” Laurie said. “We just thought we’d come in and, I mean, “What’s the big deal? It’s just a bookstore.’ And then we got a rude awakening.”

The two were thrilled to be approved for several Hillsborough County and City of Tampa grants to help fund restoration work on their bungalow. A 2022 Historic Preservation Matching Grant helped fix the building’s foundation and roof. The two grants awaiting permit approval to begin and finish the work include a Facade Improvement Matching Grant from the city and a $99,999 Hillsborough County Historic Preservation Matching Grant.

That grant expires in December, and the deadline to request a 90-day extension is Nov. 30. Laurie and Teresa worry construction on the building won’t be complete before the grant deadlines are up—with an extension, in the spring.

Their permitting woes are rooted in complex bureaucratic speedbumps: the historic status of the building, where the bungalow sits in a mixed-used area, and the Rodriguez’s plans for a small oven.

“Our experience with the city was great until the permitting,” Teresa said.

As of today, the two have invested nearly half a million dollars in the property. That includes the purchase of the building and hiring an architect and other experts to get the place up to the standards of the Barrio Latino Commission (BLC) and the city. They anticipated pushback from the BLC to keep the bungalow’s historic roots. But working with that body and the people behind the grants “was a breeze.”

“Everything that they want, they tell you, and then you do what they ask you to do,” Laurie said.

Laurie and Teresa can’t say the same for the permitting process with the city. Opening a new business in a historic building isn’t quick or simple, but the sisters see their situation being dragged along by a lack of clear communication and the differing perspectives of those tasked with reviewing the architect’s site plans. The onslaught of post-hurricanes permit inquiries is not helping

According to the building’s renovations record, applications for permits were first uploaded in August 2023. The biggest hurdles appear to be plans for mechanical, plumbing and natural resources like trees and landscaping. Because Laurie and Teresa want to have a small oven, they’ve faced arguments about whether this makes the bookstore into a restaurant—a status that requires another bathroom, a hood for the oven and other amenities.

“But we’re not opening a restaurant. We’re opening a bookstore and we’re asking for permits to open a bookstore with a small kitchen to bake our cookies,” Laurie said. “It’s like, every time you turn around, you think you’re almost there. It’s been almost two years and…(they’re) waiting till the end to tell us we need to go back and do all of these things.”

Laurie and Teresa are active in the community of small businesses in Ybor City and asked others about their experiences with permits, repairs and opening their doors. They know it’s not an easy process, but feel their project is taking unusually long to be approved.

“Converting a single-family home in a residential area into a bookstore with a commercial kitchen is a complex process. Although it’s taken some time, the adjustments being made are essential for compliance to ensure a positive experience for the new owners and the surrounding neighbors,” a City of Tampa spokesperson said in an email to Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.

The two are adamant about making sure their bookstore is renovated safely and to historical standards. But as the weeks fly by, the sisters become increasingly worried they’ll never get to open the bookstore they’ve worked so hard for.

“We’ve been patient and to me…whatever it takes, as long as it takes,” Laurie said. “But now what’s happening is…the amount of money that this has cost. Now it’s more. I don’t have it. I have just what I have and that matching grant (if we don’t lose it).”

While the Rodriguez sisters cautiously hope their permits will get approved soon, Bookends—which maintains its presence on Facebook, Instagram, Bookshop.org and Libro.FM—remains alive and well through its traveling trailer of books. They host book clubs and author events at Gasparilla Distillery and are planning a midnight release party for the next Rebecca Yarros book, Onyx Storm. They say the community of readers keeps them going.

“We love Ybor and can’t wait to open our bookstore there,” Teresa said.

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This article appears in Nov 7-13, 2024.