2117 Main Street—originally the G.C. Warren Building—dates back to the early 1900s and first served as the West Tampa Post Office. Warren, a partner in the Beckwith, Henderson & Warren Real Estate and Loan Agency, constructed this building around 1905, along with another on 7th Avenue in Ybor City, where Hotel Haya now stands.

Mistretta Bros. Grocery became the building’s longest and best-known tenant. Founded in 1910 by Calogus Mistretta, the market passed to his nephew, Sam Ficarrotta, in 1933. Their store operated as part of the F.R.O.G. cooperative—one of 100 member shops—and remained a neighborhood fixture for more than 65 years. Sam and Angelina Ficarrotta, along with other family members, ran the grocery and were deeply involved in the community, even sponsoring a championship Flop softball team in 1959.

By the late 1960s, West Tampa was slipping into decline. Buildings fell into disrepair, and residents moved away as the cigar-industry jobs that once supported the neighborhood disappeared. Mistretta Bros. Grocery eventually closed in the 1990s.

The early 2000s brought a new chapter—and controversy. The building housed Main Street Grocery, owned by Tampa resident Adil Abdel Hader. In 2005, Hader was arrested amid allegations of running a crime ring dealing in stolen cigarettes and attempting to hire undercover agents to procure minors under 12 for sex.

A year later, in 2006, a fire that started in a trash bin behind the store damaged the building’s rear. Records are unclear on how or when the original two-story structure was reduced to the single-story footprint seen today.

Since the store’s closure in 2019, the property has seen little more than code enforcement complaints. Public records show repeated citations for graffiti, debris, and overgrowth. The current owner resides in Orlando.

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved