After 40 years, iconic Tampa Bay music venue and restaurant Skipper’s Smokehouse will close after a final show Sunday, Sept. 27.
The 1.6 acres of land Skipper’s sits on will be transformed into an outdoor special events space. The venue will open occasionally for private events and sporadic concerts are possible, but the restaurant will be permanently closed, Cricket Larson, Director of Marketing and Public Relations at Skipper’s Smokehouse, wrote in a press release.
“The overarching theme is that we really want to see the brand continue,” Larson wrote. “And we’re open to scenarios that involve that.”
Owner Tom White is currently in the process of finding a joint-venture partner or new owner to take over the space. Although White is open to playing some role in the business moving forward, the press release adds that White is “ready to go fishing.”
In a phone call with Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, Larson said that the closure is a result of a combination of a lot of different things—the financial impact of the pandemic being one of the most significant.
“COVID was the nail on the coffin,” Larson said.
The Skipper’s closure announcement came hours after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill to allow restaurants and bars in the state to open with no restrictions.
Larson said that this news would not have changed the fate of Skipper’s—located at 910 Skipper Rd.—and that reopening at this point is not socially responsible as the number of positive COVID-19 cases continues to rise. She said for the team at Skipper’s, the decision to close during the pandemic has never been political, but for the well-being of the Skipper’s staff and its customers.
Over the last 40 years, Skipper’s played host to several generations of music lovers. Its Thursday Grateful Dead nights with Uncle John’s Band were a rite of passage for any Tampeño. The stage—tucked safely beneath the canopy of a oak trees that made up the “Skipperdome”—also played host to bands like The Black Keys, Avett Brothers and Mofro. The venue and restaurant have also been featured on stations like the Travel Channel, Golf Network and CBS Sports.
“It’s really awful, we’ve known for about a week and a half we were going to do this. It weighs heavy on us,” Larson told CL. She said that some employees have worked at Skipper’s since the land was bought. Others have been there for over 10 years.
“Our employees have become our family, it kills us to be in this spot,” she said.
And while there's potential for special events and a new owner, today is still a very sad day in Tampa music history.
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