Hyde Park Village’s Cake Drip is reopening Friday night after harassment from neighbors forced the boutique bakery and dessert shop to temporarily close. Owner Faronda Davis was hoping to get her store moved to a different location, but it seems that is not happening.
“They have not done anything at all but try to come back into my space and sound proof it again for the second time,” Davis told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. “And they said unfortunately they cannot accommodate us and move us to another space.”
CL reached out Hyde Park Village for confirmation and explanation about why they cannot move Cake Drip, and will update this post when a response comes in.
Davis told CL that Cake Drip—located at 1625 W Snow Cir.—is the only Black-owned business in Hyde Park Village, and added that upstairs residents have complained that the business’s music is too loud since she opened in March. (Nearby Social Status has POC ownership, but is two blocks away.)
A post on the shop’s social media page said Cake Drip is going to reopen, even bringing back the DJ that Davis got rid of to appease the neighbors who complained about "noise."
Davis previously told CL she thinks it goes beyond the sound. Especially after a neighbor was caught on video berating Davis and her daughter. The video was captured after the neighbor allegedly entered Cake Drip, was told to leave, yelled at the employees, called Davis a “Black bitch” and then hit Davis.
“I had to get to get an attorney because I feel like I’ve been bullied and I’ve been dealing with this since the day I moved in,” Davis said. “I don’t think it’s about music.”
“Progress has been made finally with the woman in the video and TPD. @hydeparkvillage has stated that they are unable to accommodate our request to move, SO we have decided to boldly re-open,” the Instagram post stated. “We have also put measures to protect our family and staff but also our customers. We have opened our reservations starting this Friday.”
Another post from yesterday also shows the same woman who had allegedly assaulted Davis still creeping outside the store. “This is absolutely insane,” the post stated as it shows the woman sitting on a park bench close to the store.
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