Many landmark restaurants, bars won't reopen after virus

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — La Tropicana Cafe has been a cornerstone of Tampa’s historic Latin-influenced Ybor City neighborhood since the 1960s, well known as a gathering spot where movers and shakers and even mobsters mixed with construction workers over Cuban coffee and sandwiches.

Now its doors are likely closed for good, like so many other bars and restaurants done in by the coronavirus pandemic.

Every neighborhood loses something precious when local eateries and hangouts get shuttered, but as infections spread and the economic fallout continues, the loss of iconic establishments like La Tropicana is particularly hard to swallow.

“In Tampa, if you were a politician, La Tropicana was where you would show up," said Patrick Manteiga, editor and publisher of La Gaceta, a local newspaper that publishes in English, Spanish and Italian. For years, his father, Roland Manteiga, kept a corner table reserved for himself, with a special red telephone to call in scoops.

There are photos of the elder Manteiga with Presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush, Florida Govs. Bob Martinez and Lawton Chiles, and local politicians of all stripes. It was also frequently reported in local media that Tampa's longtime mob boss, Santo Trafficante Jr., sometimes stopped by.

“La Tropicana become a favorite hangout. You could go in, talk a little politics, get your name in the paper,” Patrick Manteiga said. “If you’re a powerbroker trying to have lunch on the cheap, it was the place to go.”

The Ybor City landmark is hardly alone in shutting down for good. Iconic spots from San Francisco to New York also won’t be back.

Restaurants are traditionally low-margin businesses in high-rent locations, with little in cash reserves. They depend on liquor markups and high cash flow to...