Independent venues that book live, original, music remain closed—and in big trouble—across Tampa Bay, but restaurants (including some which present live music) across the state have started to reopen in accordance with Gov. Ron DeSantis' phase one reopening orders.
In Tampa, Mayor Jane Castor's Lift Up Local Economic Recovery Plan allows cafes, restaurants and other businesses to expand their outdoor seating to better allow for six-foot separation and increased capacity. Many Seventh Avenue restaurateurs took her up on the offer this week (a few in SoHo and downtown had trouble with crowds on Cinco de Mayo).
Photographer, filmmaker and Creative Loafing Tampa Bay contributor Michael M. Sinclair was on the ground on Tuesday, May 5 and Friday, May 8 as Seventh Avenue came back to life after two months of quarantine. Some of his observations are below, along with his photos from the two days above.
Ybor City on a Friday night, there's a song with a line about that, right? —Ray Roa
Ybor City, Florida. 5.8.2020 A few musings: Having exotic pets on the streets on 7th Ave is not cool, monkeys or snakes. Code Enforcement dudes were chill and sparked up a conversation with me. Police offers gave me some mean stare downs when I was walking around. Dog's faces have more personality than human faces. If Ybor City is open, you know there will be 'born again' Christians yelling at people. Mother and son love can be a precious thing. I look up to the elderly who are still able to go out and enjoy life, means the bitterness of the world has not seeped into their souls. Shout out to Louis Junior for always being a friendly, smiling face who makes sure to say what's up to me. You too Laura Alisse Proenza. Numbers, such as 25% of x, should be an objective quantity. —Michael M. Sinclair
