There are at least three people who’ve had their ashes spread at Tampa’s Tiny Tap Tavern, and Casey Powell plans on doing the same when his time comes. But for now, it’s time for him to retire from the seven-days-a-week job of keeping the place up.
The sortied South Tampa dive bar at 105 W. Morrison Ave. has been in the 67-year-old’s family for 50 years, but Powell, who acquired Tiny Tap Tavern from his father in 2004, recently sold it to a new owner.
“I’ve had other offers where people haven’t been sure what they were going to do. And if they had plans to tear it down, then we were done talking,” Powell Powell told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.
Powell came really close to selling the bar in 2019, but something felt off about the buyers as the close of the deal materialized. “As soon as I had that chance to cancel the deal I did, because I knew it was not right. I was even losing sleep at night,” he added.
This time, he feels much better about this sale to Pavan Pediredla, the owner of Duckweed grocery who orders peach High Noons when he sits down at the Tiny Tap bar.
“Pavan, he’s somebody who I am 100% confident is going to basically keep the party going,” Powell said.
Pediredla plans to get a liquor license, Powell noted, and will make little improvements to the bar which originated as a gas station office in 1934 before starting to sell beer and wine in 1951. New ownership will also keep the bartenders, Powell said.
CL is waiting to hear directly from Pediredla and will update this post afterwards.
On Jan. 2, a few days after this article published, longtime Tiny Tap barkeep Kasey Mitchell said she was unexpectedly let go.
“I spent 18 years at The Tiny Tap. I showed up, worked hard, and cared deeply about that place and the people in it. After the bar sold, I was told just last week that I wasn’t going anywhere. Today I drove in for my shift and was fired as soon as I arrived. They took my keys with no explanation so I can’t give you one, either,” Mitchell wrote on social media. “I’m processing a lot right now. Mostly I’m holding onto gratitude for the memories and the incredible regulars who felt like family. Thank you to each and every one of you. I’ll forever be grateful for each person I met, all the stories you shared, and the parts you all played in mine.”
Mitchell’s regulars have planned a “proper send off” at The Retreat near the University of Tampa, set for Friday, Jan. 9 at 10 p.m. Anyone who was barred from entering Tiny Tap Tavern or The Retreat is still not allowed to attend.
And don’t expect Powell, who has what he called a “stubborn case” of atrial fibrillation, to completely disappear.
He told CL he’ll be back at the bar for many of the holiday traditions like fried turkey on Tiny Tapsgiving or smoked hams for Christmas—but for now he plans on living life with his wife Michele who is a retired school teacher.
“We want to travel” he said. “And I don’t fish as much as I would like to.”
For now, Powell and patrons of one of Tampa’s last old-school dive bars can rest easy knowing his pub won’t go the way of the wrecking ball like so many other local favorites.
“My wife said my dad would be proud of me for keeping it for so long and for selling it to the right person,” he told CL when asked about the future of the pub. “I hope it’s still here, because it’s one of four places that, when my time comes, where I want to have my ashes spread.”
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UPDATED 01/06.26 11:37 a.m. Updated after longtime bartender Kasey Mitchell said she was unexpectedly let go.
This article appears in Dec. 25 – 31, 2025.