Thanksgiving Weekend 2009

It really rained on Wednesday night. And it seemed like it would never let up.

Mateo's (formerly Tacqueria Quetzlcoatl) had their opening night with a loyal crew of wellwishers. They are one of the very few locations in the US that has Negra Modelo on tap. This is a darker Mexican beer that is very good. Try it and find out.

All the SOHO establishments were slow until about 10 when things began to dry out and the crowd came out. While it was not as strong a night as everyone had hoped it at least turned better than it could have been.
The remainder of the weekend stayed pretty busy as many out of town visitors returned to say hello.

It has been very slow in the restaurants and bars across Tampa and most had hoped for what should have been a very busy weekend. Most were disappointed.

The rain has seemed to continue to track the usual busy days. One long time SOHO bartender said their income was off by over 30% in comparison to previous years.

Economic conditions do seem to be improving in the neighborhood, but we still have a long way to go. Plenty of new restaurants are opening and many are offering some great prices. See you on the street.