late night coffee fix in soho
jasonA few months back I heard from Bill Sharpe that the SoHo Starbucks was going 24 hours. Even though I live in South Tampa and typically love anyplace open all night I hadn’t made it to this place in part because I assumed it would be packed with all the nearby nightlife. So I tried it a couple of weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised to find it not only fully operational but a great place to chill out on a Tuesday at 1am when you have nowhere else to go.
According to the employees, they do a decent business every night, but they get the busiest when the University of Tampa finals are imminent. Every night of the week you will find a few folks sitting around sipping overpriced coffee and tapping away on their laptops. I am not making fun since I worship at the altar of caffeine, sugar, and chocolate myself.
Even on Saturday morning at 3am I found the crowd to be heavier but not packed even when the people pour in from Whiskey Soho which is right across Howard. It makes for a great people watching spot as well.
Well dressed patrons of the nearby clubs and bars stumble about. They make out, they laugh, they finds cabs to get home or look for some after hours action. They walk into traffic where cabdrivers dodge pedestrians looking for fares. Some people get angry and shout at cell phones for their missing comrades, boyfriends/girlfriends, or cars towed while they were inside.
Surprisingly, the parking is plentiful and free - either in the street or next to the Starbucks - and the bathrooms are large and clean. So the next time you are up late and bored with infomercials and itching to go someplace remember that SoHo doesn’t have to mean only bars and nightclubs, but instead can mean $4 and 1500 calories of yummy chocolaty goodness.
Loading ...
July 18th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
For even better people watching head to the Starbucks at Centro Ybor. Parking is two blocks away at the garage and you can get your ticket stamp for cheap parking ($2 usually). Free parking on weekdays.