Tampa’s Premiere Accessory: Centro Ybor
One of Tampa’s hottest night spots --- known for cigars, booze and family-friendly fare --- among other things, Ybor City is one of the most historic and eclectic districts in the city.
But that’s not what this area of the city is known for.
A stone’s throw from downtown, and a hop and skip from Tampa Bay, Ybor is host to Tampa’s “red-light district”, filled with nightclubs and bars, making for an extremely hopping evening and weekend spot for all the Bay area’s partiers.
Once a cigar Mecca, Ybor is named for cigar factory owner Vincente M. Ybor, as it was built to house his factories and their workers.
His factory was moved to the location of present-day Ybor City in 1886, when it moved there from Key West. Other manufacturers of hand-rolled cigars soon followed, and Ybor City and Tampa became the largest cigar manufacturing spots in the world.
Now, Centro Ybor features a huge mix of well-know, edgy retailers, world-class restaurants and one-of-a-kind entertainment venues around a plaza that represents the city’s cigar culture.
Anchored by the Muvico Centro Ybor 20 Theater and featuring such names as GameWorks, The Improv and Urban Outfitters, Centro Ybor is a fine escape while in Tampa, an experience unmatched anywhere else in the city.
Likewise, the city has poured millions of dollars into it over the past few years to make it one of the premiere Florida accessories that any visitor to Tampa can’t pass up.
Coming Feb. 24th, from 2-6 p.m., the International Bazaar features cultural items from more than 100 countries, dance classes and challenges including Chess, Backgammon, Dominoes, Mahjong, Cribbage, Poetry and a writers meeting, and master cigars rollers will teach classes on the art.
