8th Anniversary Special: Village Inn (Dale Mabry) - Tampa, FL
On this 8th anniversary of the GTB Area Retail Blog, we will be going on a tour of the South Tampa Village Inn. Village Inn 215 N Dale Mabry Hwy, Tampa, FL This is a 6,468 square foot restaurant with the following excerpt from Old Tampa Photos : Village Inn Pancake House opened its first outlet in 1958 in Denver, Colorado, and in 1961 began franchising the brand. That same year, Dow Sherwood opened the first franchised store in Tampa at 215 N Dale Mabry Hwy. The 160-seat restaurant broke with tradition and offered no stools or service lunch counter style. All customers were seated at a table. They offered 19 varieties of pancakes and a selection of 7 different waffles. The part of the building facing Dale Mabry had an undulating roof line to protect the windows from the sun. The inside featured exposed ivory brick walls, wall-to-wall carpeting, and the ceiling was acoustic tile. Opened 24 hours a day, it quickly became a favorite for locals, especially late at night and around the...