Nicko's Diner to Serve as Movie Set

on Florida Avenue is known for its delicious Greek-influenced food and old-fashioned feeling, but soon it may be known for its role in motion pictures.

The Seminole Heights diner has been identified by the directors and producers of an upcoming film entitled "Lift Me Up," a project that plans to film its trailer at the diner next month. The film's story revolves around a high school football coach who lives in the basement of his parents' diner. Given the fact that Nicko's borders the athletic fields, has a basement and is such a picturesque diner, the film's producers were ecstactic to find it, according to Nicko's owner Nick Liakos.

Plans to shoot at the diner have not yet been finalized, but the film's producer, who didn't yet wish to be named, confirmed that Nicko's will be involved. And it won't be the first film the diner has starred in, either. Actors Hayley Mills and Tom Skerritt once sat in a booth on the north side of the diner for the 1986 TV movie "The Parent Trap 2." More recently, the diner was featured in a commercial for CarePlus Health Plans.

And it doesn't stop there. Recently, Entheos Entertainment expressed its interest in using Nicko's for a film titled "Icky-Bird" about three insomniacs who meet at the diner every night and form an unusual relationship. It's a project that would be shot at Nicko's after business hours, one of four Seminole Heights-area spots to be used for the movie. Other locations already permitted for by the city will be hostel, Woodlawn Cemetary and Plymouth Park. 

"I never considered shooting in Florida, but the more we explored Tampa and in particular Seminole Heights, the more I felt like the place had a lot of soul," said Icky-Bird's producer, writer and director, who goes only by Palomino. "We were going to use some sets, but we're actually going to film completely on location. We're hoping to make a premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January."

For the past 32 years, Liakos has run Nicko's with the customer in mind before anything else. If he accepts the opportunity to be featured in Lift Me Up, it wil shut him down for a week in October and for a day on July 28 as they shoot a trailer, meaning his stable of regular customers will have to find a new place temporarily.

"I love that they want to shoot here, but I just hope that the studios take care of us, because I need my regular customers that are here all the time," Liakos said. "It needs to be worth shutting down for. We haven't had anyone interested in shooting something here for years and now, all of a sudden, two around the same time."

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