After buying the property in January, the new owner of The Bricks has shared plans to keep the Ybor City staple open and invest in updating the concept.
As previously reported by Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, records from the Hillsborough County Tax Collector show that the deed for the property at 1327 E 7th Ave. was transferred on Jan. 9 to Joshua Pardue’s Ybor City Mixed Use LLC, which paid $3.14 million in the deal.
The Tampa investor’s JPRE Development is handling the next chapter of a restaurant and venue founded by owners of the Skatepark of Tampa 16 years ago.
A statement shared with CL says Pardue’s real estate investment, development, and advisory firm bought the property without outside investors. It was also immediately approached with requests to lease the space, “which would have been the easy decision.”
“ … [But I] wanted to do my part in protecting this Ybor institution, so we are taking pride in the process, investing in the business, and building on what people already love about it,” the statement added.
Pardue expanded on plans when reached by phone last Friday.
“Some folks are gonna look and say, ‘Yeah, developer.’ Part of why I’m being a little more vocal about this now is I want The Bricks crowd to know that I lived in Ybor for 20 years,” the 43-year-old told CL.
Pardue said he also started in hospitality 20 years ago, explaining that his past life involved working concierge VIP, bartending and serving tables at places like 1509, Club Skye, Prana, Twilight, and Lotus while he studied finance at the University of South Florida and renovated some properties.
“I’m a local developer. I built my business from nothing, with rental properties in Tampa and Ybor City where we started. And we’re still a small business,” he said, adding that JPRE’s name does pop up a lot because it is trying to make an impact in the area.
Immediate changes at The Bricks include a new website, enhancing the food quality, expanding hours and doing a little more online marketing, Pardue said. Expanded lunch service has already been added.
“But besides that we’re not going to jack up the prices. The customer should remain the same,” he added. “It’s a little bit elevated, but still going to be your neighborhood bar. We want to keep the current customer, and we want to bring crowds back to Ybor City especially the western end of the district.”
Pardue also said that he and Brian Schaefer—owner of the Skatepark of Tampa (SPoT) and co-founder of The Bricks—have been in discussions throughout the sale about his involvement in what happens next.
Afterparties for SPoT’s Tampa Am and Tampa Pro will still happen at The Bricks, preserving the venue’s connection to skateboarding.
“That keeps that culture and vibe and location,” Pardue said. “So we’re going to continue to partner with him. I’ll talk to him about design and different things like that, trying to make sure we keep the culture aligned. We put some of the original art back up and are doing those things to keep the heritage.”
Schaefer told CL that the transition has been great, adding that The Bricks’ Bird & Pig sandwich, salsa and queso are still up to his standards. “I couldn’t be more stoked since the transition in January and can’t wait for what’s ahead,” he added.
To drive the next phase of The Bricks’ history, Pardue has tapped Tampa hospitality veteran David Bromberg (Fly Bar on Franklin Street, Barcelona Wine Bar) to “lead strategy focused around refining the food program, expanding hours, and enhancing the overall guest experience.”
In the statement, Bromberg said The Bricks is special because it represents what makes Ybor City unique, adding that he’ll work on food, beverage and programming built around hospitality and music, reiterating a desire to “be Ybor’s elevated neighborhood bar.”
Under Bromberg most of the staff has stayed, Pardue added, with a few new hires to help with expanded service.
The Bricks in Ybor City is now open noon-midnight Wednesday-Thursday noon-1 a.m., Friday 11 a.m-1 a.m., Saturday 11 a.m.-1 a.m., and Sunday 11 a.m.-10 p.m. It is closed Monday-Tuesday.
When news of The Bricks sale broke, many in the community lamented the continued change in the district and expressed hope that the venue would keep hosting music.
The event calendar has remained active, and just hosted a hip-hop showcase headlined by Tampa rapper Nico Sweet. Virtuoustic guitarist George Pennington is on the schedule for the calendar that’s recently seen sets from indie songwriter Zack Keim, and other acts across multiple genres.
Others shared concerns that developers like former Blue Pearl Veterinary CEO Darryl Shaw were making Ybor City unrecognizable. Many longtime residents can no longer build businesses in Ybor City, some pointed out, because prices are out of reach (The Bricks property last sold in 2009 for $825,000, according to property records).
Shaw, 59, used to live above the old Greco Hardware store on the corner of 15th Street and 8th Avenue. The building is also the former home of Rock Brothers Brewing and MC Film, and is now Disco Pony, where a Paramore-themed concert and drag show is happening this weekend.
Ybor City’s ongoing Gasworx development is led by Shaw who has also planned an approximately 30-acre, mostly-residential development in East Ybor.
Pardue—who is part of the team working on three concepts at the old Hall on Franklin just over a mile away from The Bricks—added that JPRE’s team is proud that its brought other businesses to Ybor City. Those businesses include Tico’s Bakery and Social Status retail shop, and a forthcoming rooftop lounge, Tokyo Swim Club.
Tom DeGeorge—whose Ybor City music venue Crowbar will close this summer due, in part, to rising rents—commented that, “The streets that I walked for 25 years have only become more unrecognizable…” The 52-year-old who used to run the Masquerade on the corner of 15th Street and 7th Avenue has been an outspoken critic of the gentrification in the historic district.
Pardue told CL that he hears those concerns from locals who wonder if there is a future in Ybor City for dives like Reservoir Bar on the west end of 7th Avenue and The Dirty Shame just a few blocks east.
He said that Reservoir Bar and The Dirty Shame are well-run operations that have their niche and their customers. Ybor City, Pardue noted, is transitioning into a village with more residents, similar to the makeup of the neighborhood at its inception.
“If you look at larger markets like Miami or New York, they still have dive bars, but they’re well operated dive bars,” Pardue added. He said Ybor City needs a handful of dive bars, not 15-20 and reiterated comments from a new episode of the Tampa Bay Developer podcast about how institutions like Rez and the Shame have a path forward as he estimates that Ybor City will add more than 7,500 residents.
He also thinks that 7th Avenue, specifically between 15th and 22nd Streets, will continue to have entertainment and bars while the western end will be “a little bit more quaint, elevated experience, quieter, with more of a dinner crowd” while the east side will be more residential
“Those institutions… that’ve been around, that have a loyal customer, that do a good job, that have a fair price point, that have a great experience. They’re going to stay,” he said. “And they’re going to thrive more than ever.”
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This article appears in Mar. 19 – 25, 2026.