Less than six months after watching its beloved Corner Club dive bar close, residents of Tampa’s Old Seminole Heights neighborhood can once again walk back through the doors when it opens on Monday, April 5 at 8 a.m.
A lot’s going to be different, and you definitely can’t smoke inside anymore, but there’s still karaoke, beer and wine to go along with an updated aesthetic from Corner Club’s new owner Jeni Armstrong and new menu from chef Suzanne Crouch.
An Instagram post by Corner Club says that hours at 1502 E Sligh Ave. are 8 a.m.-11 p.m. and that masks are required.
Corner Club went up for sale in October 2019, but the former grocery store turned working class bar and neighborhood melting pot stayed open for another year before it finally closed, letting owner Fred Jett, who bought the property in 1972, and longtime bartender Patty Denmark finally go fishing.
Creative Loafing Tampa Bay hasn’t seen an official menu, but a recent rough draft from Crouch—who most recently ran kitchens at Cass St. Deli and Ella’s Americana Folk Art Café—includes breakfast items (bagels, biscuits, classics), apps (chicken yakitori, papas bravas, hand pies), share plates (smoked fish dip, sliders), boards (charcuterie, cast iron sliders), desert and vegan options, plus coffee and weekend brunch.
There’s also still PBR and boiled peanuts—you just have to smoke your cigarettes out back.
More details as they become available as the soft opening rolls out.
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This article appears in Apr 1-7, 2021.