Meet the Owner: Front Porch Grill

5924 N. Florida Ave.
813-237-5511
frontporchgrill.com

Front Porch Grill & Bar co-owner Patrick Purpura reckons he and his fellow Seminole Heights restaurant owners have certain things in common.

 "We're probably all hard-working, hard-headed, stubborn individuals who have a dream," he said.

The deep recession persists, but a clutch of independent restaurants seems to be doing just fine in the Heights, and Purpura sees customers from South Tampa, Dunedin and Orlando.

"I think we're on the map now," Purpura said. "Without a doubt."

His perspective is aided by the fact that his restaurant recently passed its 10-year milestone. "We've been through some tough times," he said, "but now we're doing fine."

The historic Victorian two-story house cuts a stately figure on an unglamorous stretch of Florida Avenue. The longtime neighborhood landmark did a stint as a frilly tea room before Purpura and his wife and business partner Cristi Purpura fashioned it into a more pedestrian relaxed eatery and tavern.

"Honestly my inspiration (for the Front Porch) is the Pepe's Cafe in Key West," Purpura said of the humble establishment that dates to 1909. "I used to live on a boat with my wife and we used to go there a lot, and I love the fact that you could walk in [wearing] sandals and shorts."

Owners: Patrick and Cristi Purpura

Opened: June 14, 2002

Built: Depends on your source. Purpura said 1898. Judy Barton, whose family owned the house until 1993, has been quoted as saying the house was built in 1896. The property appraiser's website says 1900.

Family affair: Many of Purpura's progenitors worked in the food service industry. Now his daughters Marisa, 15, and Mayla, 12, occasionally help out in the restaurant.

Cuisine theme: "It's all over the map. We've used the term 'New Florida Cuisine.' "

Top sellers: Chicken chèvre, Baha fish tacos, chicken tacos, and fish and chips.

Seating: 50 inside in dining room and bar, and approximately 80 outside on the porch and courtyard.

If the walls could talk…: "It’s got quite a history," Purpura said of the house. "It was actually built by a blind carpenter." The house stayed in Barton's family until it was sold in 1993 and converted to Tiffany's Tea Room. Then the Purpuras took it over in 2002.

…maybe they'd tell ghost stories: Purpura said an 8-year-old girl once came running down from the second floor, "bawling," Purpura said. "She said, 'I don't want to play with that boy anymore.' Long story short, there was no boy there." Patrick added that a former chef claimed to hear unexplained children's screams at night, and a server quit because of what she referred to as "the spirits in the house."

Hours: Opens at 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, noon Friday and Saturday, and 9 a.m. Sunday. All closing times are listed as "late."