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Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival is a 17-day sand sculpting festival that pays tribute to Tampa Bay’s two most valuable assets: our sugar sands and our sunsets! Festival dates are April 8-24, 2022

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Sam Dehghani

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Sam Dehghani

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Sam Dehghani

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Sam Dehghani

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Sam Dehghani

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Sam Dehghani

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Sam Dehghani

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Sam Dehghani

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St Pere Pier - Downtown St Pete View.JPG

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Sam Dehghani

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Who doesn't love lunch with a view?

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This place was so cool to walk up in the trees! We also were able to see alligators in their natural habitat - he happed to be eating a snapping turtle! Here are my kids up in the trees!

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This place is absolutely amazing! Plenty of walking, wild monkeys and of course glass bottom spring tour.

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This is one of my favorite places to watch the sunset! You stand on the tip of the island and watch dolphins and the sunset right on the water!

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This was our first place to eat when we arrived to Tampa

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Ulele - Tampa Restaurant Now Open On Tampa's Riverwalk

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Ulele is a native-inspired restaurant and brewery, using fresh fruits, vegetables, seafood and other proteins from Florida when they are available, just as my ancestors did.

Open since August 2014, Ulele sits on the banks of the Hillsborough River next to the Ulele Spring. It is adjacent to the Water Works Park, which has been transformed into a family-friendly park thanks to our Tampa Mayor and City Council.

For the rest, we use food harvested and raised in the United States, preferably from family-owned and independent companies. Our organic food is not genetically modified, and has no hormones and antibiotics. The wines we sell are from family owned wineries in the United States, as well as several private-label selections from family vintners in Spain (a nod to early Spanish explorers who came ashore in Tampa's waters).

We serve craft beers, available only at Ulele, made on-site at Ulele Spring Brewery by Brewmaster Tim Shackton.

Part of The Columbia Restaurant Group, the eatery and park has reenergized and built renewed pride in Tampa Heights. It is just four blocks away from where my grandparents, mother and brother lived on 7th and Central Avenue. It is 300 yards from where I was born at St. Joseph's Hospital.

We have come home.

***

This reminds me of my family's start in the restaurant industry, making beer in 1903.

My great-grandfather Casimiro Hernandez Sr. courageously left his home in Cuba with four young children, and very little money, because he saw opportunity in the U.S.

His dreams led him to the small town of Ybor City, which was becoming known as a world leader in cigar manufacturing. He took a job with the Florida Brewery based there.
Through dedication and hard work, he became general manager of the brewery. In those pre-Prohibition days, breweries would open small saloons to sell their products. That's how the Saloon Columbia was born on Dec. 17, 1903.

Casimiro Sr. dreamed of owning his own business, and he bought the Saloon in 1905, changing the name to the Columbia Café. The Café served cigar workers walking to and from work stopping for a coffee, beer or a small bite to eat.

In 1919, Casimiro Sr. passed away just as Prohibition was beginning. His oldest son, my grandfather, Casimiro Jr. inherited large debts and a business that had to reinvent itself since a large part of the Cafe's income came from the sale of beer and liquor, now illegal.

He merged with a small "Fonda" (dining room) next door to increase the ability to sell more food.

Tough times were ahead. One day the restaurant only sold $12. He told his best friend and employee Gregorio Martinez that he might be forced to close the cafe. The next day Gregorio offered Casimiro Jr. his life savings of about $500. He told my grandfather that too many families depended on him, those that worked for him and the families that he fed, even though they did not have the money to pay.

Through that generous act of faith, the Columbia remained open. During the Great Depression in 1934, a local banker who knew Casimiro Jr. as a man of integrity and a hard worker, loaned him $35,000 - on a handshake - to build Tampa's first air conditioned dining room, the "Don Quixote" Court room.

Casimiro Sr. and Jr. were very much Don Quixote dreamers, much like the title character of the novel. But through vision, hard work and a sense of community, sometimes dreams do come true - even if there are hardships along the way.

The Columbia went on to gain national acclaim and recognition with the help of Chef Francisco Pijuan and others. Two years later as the Depression was coming to an end, Casimiro Jr. built the Patio dining room, complete with a retracting skylight so patrons could enjoy and dine in the fresh air and under the stars.
In 1951, after years on the road, my parents returned to Ybor City to help my grandfather, who had suffered a heart attack that year. My father, Cesar, also believed he was Don Quixote.

Always dreaming grand ideas, he convinced Casimiro Jr. to build a 300-seat showroom, the Siboney Supper Club, in 1958 to showcase leading Latin American performers. It took awhile to succeed because Ybor City would struggle though the shuttering of many of the cigar factories as well as federal Urban Renewal projects in the 1960s that would rob Ybor businesses of their nearby workers and customers.

Cesar kept dreaming and looking for new opportunities. His vision took him to Sarasota in 1959, to a struggling, mostly vacant St. Armands Circle. It took years for the investment to pay off, but when it did, the dividends allowed the family to expand to St. Augustine in 1983 and then to other destinations in Florida.

***

My Don Quixote dream has been in my mind for over five years and on June 26, 2013, the journey finally began with the groundbreaking ceremony of Ulele.

I hope this will be my legacy, much like those of the previous generations of our family businesses left their marks on our company.

We opened Ulele thanks to so many: The Beck Group's Mark House and Beck's Architects Joe Harrington and Jeet Singh, our attorney Jeff Shannon, our CFO Dennis Fedorovich and COO Curt Gaither who make everything possible for our family, our Corporate Chef Jerry Bayona who restored the Columbia quality of our recipes and food preparation, along with all the men and women who are all part of our family business. Without them nothing is possible.

Keith Sedita, our vice president for new business, was key in the development of this dream, along with Ulele's Chef Eric Lackey and Brewmaster Tim Shackton.

I guess I take after both my grandfather and father. As with them, a lot of Don Quixote lives within me. Their history is frequently on my mind. It echoes in many of the choices we make in our business even as we create new memories and new history.

From the 1940s to '60s, the Columbia used ice cream from the Tropical Ice Cream Company, founded by Casimiro Sr.'s. third son, Gustavo.

Now Ulele makes organic ice cream, bringing back the famous coconut ice cream that was once made by a member of our family. It will be served in a halved coconut shell.

Think of it as fresh history.

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Home - Ulele - Tampa Restaurant Now Open On Tampa's Riverwalk

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Ulele is a native-inspired restaurant and brewery, using fresh fruits, vegetables, seafood and other proteins from Florida when they are available, just as my ancestors did. Open since August 2014, Ulele sits on the banks of the Hillsborough River next to the Ulele Spring.

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Real good fries and burgers

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Purchased by Richard Gonzmart and the Columbia Restaurant Group in 2014, Goody Goody™ is an iconic brand in Tampa specializing in burgers, fries and pies.

There's a street location in Tampa's Hyde Park Village and another location in Airside C at Tampa International Airport.

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Goody Goody Burgers South Tampa Restaurant | Diner & All Day Breakfast

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Purchased by Richard Gonzmart and the Columbia Restaurant Group in 2014, Goody Goody™ is an iconic brand in Tampa specializing in burgers, fries and pies. There's a street location in Tampa's Hyde Park Village and another location in Airside C at Tampa International Airport.

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Best Mexican place I've found yet! If you don't like Mexican, Armature Works has many different types of food in their food court area.

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Hiking, fishing, camping & nature viewing. Dog friendly park. 50 miles of trails for walking and hiking.

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A collaborative effort between Pasco County and Southwest Florida Water Management District, Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park is one of the larger pieces of public land on the Suncoast.

Named for the rancher who last ran cattle across these pine woods and prairies, it protects a massive landscape and watershed between the Pithlachascotee and Anclote Rivers.

The park itself is over 8,300 acres. Including adjacent Serenova and Anclote River Ranch preserve lands, there are more than 19,000 acres of watershed in the public trust as Starkey Preserve.

The proximity of Starkey Wilderness Park to densely populated New Port Richey means it is a popular getaway for recreation.

No matter whether you're looking for an easy hike with the kids, an overnighter in the backcountry, miles of offroad trails to ride, or paved paths to cycle, they're all here.

The park also features several camping options, too, for both groups and individuals.

There are day use picnic areas, a playground, an environmental education center, and a birding trail and bird blind constructed by the local Audubon chapter.

Resources

Overview

Directions

From the Suncoast Parkway, follow SR 54 west to Little Rd (CR 1). Drive north 2.2 miles. Turn right on River Crossing Blvd and go 1.3 miles, then make a left on Starkey Blvd. Continue a quarter mile to make a right on Wilderness Road, which leads into the park and ends at the very back of the park near the parking areas by the Nature Trail. Other trails begin near the day use area and horse corral area.

About the Park

While the park is named for Mr. Starkey, who was still running a ranch-based ecotour adjacent to the park when we first visited, ranching on this land dates back much farther.

James McNeill, an Ocala native born on land acquired by his family under the Armed Occupation Act of 1842, served as a Confederate officer in the Civil War.

He was likely able to obtain acreage along the Anclote River thanks to the Southern Homestead Act of 1866 making more homesteads available in Florida.

In 1882, he paid the state 90 cents an acre for the land he built his homestead on. Little remains of it today, but there is a historic marker in the woods and a family cemetery.

After McNeill, the land was purchased in 1906 and changed hands again in 1915. J.B. Starkey bought the expanse in 1937 and sold 8,000 acres to the state in the early 1970s.

Over more than a century, there were turpentine camps and timber operations, a raised bed railway for logging and bridges built across the rivers.

Archaeological sites in the park date back to Florida's earliest peoples, who would seasonally move in from the coast for hunting or agriculture.

Park staff and volunteers lead interpretive hikes to destinations within the park that are off the beaten path but historically significant to the region.

Trails at Starkey Wilderness

Starkey Wilderness Park is a place for trails. Since we first visited it in 2001 (and returned in 2009) to explore the backcountry loops and the nature trail for the first edition of 50 Hikes in Central Florida, its offerings have continued to expand.

Starkey Wilderness Nature Trail

The 1.3-mile Nature Trail extends from the northernmost parking area through lush hardwood hammocks into the Pithlachascotee River floodplain.

Blazed in green, it has numbered posts corresponding to interpretive stops along the walk. A spur ends amid cypress knees near the dark water of this sluggish waterway.

Birding Trail

When we last visited, near Shelter 5 there was a blue routed sign with a bluebird on it and blue blazes leading to a Bluebird Trail, which connected to the Nature Trail.

Along lily-dotted Grassy Lake is a very large bird blind, a project of West Pasco Audubon.

The group holds programs at the Starkey Environmental Education Building the first Saturday of each month, and leads birding hikes here.

Among the birds spotted at Starkey Wilderness Park are the Florida scrub-jay, sandhill crane, American kestrel, swallow-tailed kite, and, of course, bluebirds.

Starkey Wilderness Loop

Blazed orange, the Starkey Wilderness Loop is a chain of loop trails extending east across the central portion of the preserve.

It starts adjacent to the horse corral and campground and mainly follows old forest roads.

The nearest loop in the chain is 1.6 miles and circles a wetland, followed by a 3 mile loop marked by a sign and a prominent bench. These are considered the Day Use Loop.

Although we measured it at 1.6 miles from the corral trailhead, signs call the short loop the "1.9 mile loop."

Beyond these loops, you can continue along a 0.6 mile linear connector to the next loop of 5 miles, which is home to two primitive campsites.

Connecting to Campsite 2 by way of another linear connector that partly uses the paved bike path through the backcountry, there is one final loop at the eastern end of the preserve.

This final 3 mile loop is in a very open scrubby flatwoods landscape, and utilizes the paved trail for its northern side.

Putting all three loops and the two connectors together, you can hike 13.9 miles. Backpacking is welcome. There are three backcountry campsites, all of which must be reserved in advance either online or by phone.

Numbered hiker symbol signposts are at intersections, but we have yet to find an official map that shows how they correspond to the actual route.

Starkey Trail

A paved bike trail, the Starkey Trail spans 7.5 miles across the park, connecting cyclists with the 42-mile Suncoast Trail heading north to Brooksville.

Both are part of the statewide Florida Coast to Coast Trail between Titusville and St. Petersburg.

The paved trail parallels Wilderness Drive after leaving the woods and exits the park to join a side path down CR 1 to work its way through bike path connections to the Pinellas Trail.

Starkey Park Mountain Bike Trails

The SWAMP Mountain Bike Club has built 20 miles of twisting, winding backcountry singletrack through Starkey Wilderness Park.

Their trails interconnect with the Starkey Wilderness Loop but mainly stay to their own routes. Start your ride from Parking Lot 10 in the day use area.

Just after you cross the paved Starkey Trail, the first junction splits to the left for the 7-mile Rudy's Ramble and to the right for the 7-mile Twisted Pine.

The 1 mile Bobcat Trail connects these two routes together farther east.

At the eastern end of the bike trails is Deliverance, which winds around for 5 miles east of the power transmission lines to connect the two 7 mile trails together at their ends.

Download a map of the route from the SWAMP Mountain Bike Club website from the button at the bottom of this page.

Equestrian Trails

Marked equestrian trails extend 7.5 miles from the corral and parking area east to the south of the Starkey Wilderness Loop and the off-road bike trails.

These run through vast open scrubby flatwoods and along the floodplain of the Anclote River, and may be wet in places.

Camping

In addition to the backcountry campsites along the hiking and biking trails, Starkey Wilderness Park offers 16 tent sites and 8 primitive cabins in their camping area.

There is a picnic shelter for the use of the tent campers as well as a bathhouse with showers facilities. Camping must be reserved in advance. Do so online or call the park.

Park Map

Explore More!

Nearby Adventures

More worth exploring while you're in this area.

Our thanks to Al Force (FT Class of 2015) for tackling on-the-ground research and photos to help us bring our trail information up to date.

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A collaborative effort between Pasco County and Southwest Florida Water Management District, Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park is one of the larger pieces of public land on the Suncoast. Named for the rancher who last ran cattle across these pine woods and prairies, it protects a massive landscape and watershed between the Pithlachascotee and Anclote Rivers.

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Fun for all ages, about 3-4 hours to see everything the zoo has to offer.

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ZooTampa at Lowry Park | Things To Do In Tampa

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Are you looking for things to do in Tampa? Tap into your wild side at ZooTampa and connect with amazing species, learn about our conservation efforts, and more. Get ZooTampa tickets today!

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Fred Howard Park is like a quieter, smaller version of Clearwater Beach, without all the tourists!

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fred howard park tarpon springs fl - Bing

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Find high-quality images, photos, and animated GIFS with Bing Images

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Love theme parks and animals, so for me it's the best of both worlds!

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Honeymoon Island State Park. Beautiful beaches & sunsets!

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The white sand beaches and diverse nature trails of Honeymoon Island State Park make this barrier island an ideal place to get away from it all. One of Florida's best-loved state parks, Honeymoon Island has more than four miles of beach to explore along with a three-mile trail through one of the last remaining virgin slash pine forests.

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Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park. Great short hiking and kayaking.

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The Salt Spring looks small, but it is an amazing 351 feet deep. Gray fox, gopher tortoises and dolphins call this park and its waters home.

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Who doesn't love a good Cuban Sandwich!!  Pressed of Course!

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Who doesn't love a good Cuban Sandwich!!  Pressed of Course!

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Larry's Deli - Land O' Lakes Blvd

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Santander Consumer Odessa Location