USF Librarian Andy Huse pulls artifacts from the History Center’s collection to help illustrate the unique culinary traditions, iconic restaurants and forgotten watering holes profiled in his new book “From Saloons to Steakhouses: A History of Tampa.”

 

From the publisher:

 

Since its early days as a boomtown on the Florida frontier, Tampa has had a lively history rich with commerce, cuisine, and working-class communities. In From Saloons to Steak Houses, Andrew Huse takes readers on a journey into historic bars, theaters, gambling halls, soup kitchens, clubs, and restaurants, telling the story of Tampa’s past through these fascinating social spaces—many of which can’t be found in official histories.

Beginning with the founding of modern Tampa in 1887 and spanning a century, Huse delves into the culture of the city and traces the struggles that have played out in public spaces. He describes temperance advocates who crusaded against saloons and breweries, cigar workers on strike who depended on soup houses for survival, and civil rights activists who staged sit-ins at lunch counters. These stories are set amid themes such as the emergence of Tampa’s criminal underworld, the rise of anti-German fear during World War I, and the heady power of prosperity and tourism in the 1950s.

 

Andrew T. Huse is the author of The Columbia Restaurant: Celebrating a Century of History, Culture, and Cuisine. A librarian with the University of South Florida’s Special Collections department, he lectures across the state about Florida history and foodways.