Old Los Novedades Restaurant
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Images
Los Novedades before being turned down
View of 7th Ave. An X marks where the restaurant once stood
Another view of the restaurant before being demolished
Los Novedades when it was the Steak and Brew in 1973
Los Novedades in the 1960s
Novedades coffee spot in 1954
Novedades dining room in 1953
Novedades in 1947
Dining room in 1946
7the Ave. Noveades on left with new sign. 1937
Dining Room in 1929
7the Ave. Novedades on right in 1926
7th Ave. in 1899. Novedades is marked (fourth from right)
Rough Riders in Ybor City, 1898
1892 Map of 7th Ave. Novedades marked in red
Marker where Novedades once stoods
First staff of Los Novedades in 1895
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Established in 1890 by Manuel
"Canuto" Menendez, Los Novedades was established as the Ybor City's
first Spanish restaurant when Ybor was then a tiny village. The small
restaurant quickly became a favorite locale for Cuban workers of the nearby Sanchez
y Haya Cigar Factory. However the building was destroyed by a fire the next
year, but was quickly rebuilt. In 1898 after the Spanish-American War began,
the residents of Ybor City were astonished and entertained by the Rough Riders
as they trotted through the main streets of Ybor. Menedez treated the
liberators of his home nation with meals and drinks. The residents called the
scene of the Rough Riders "The Charge of the Yellow Rice Brigade"
owing to their colorful names, personalities, uniforms and free meals of
yellow-colored rice the Riders were treated with.
In about 1920, ownership changed hands to Manuel
Iraoloa. During the 1930s and 1940s, Los Novedades was raided by
Prohibition Agents for violating Prohibition Laws of the time, but remained
open. Around this time, another Latin-influenced restaurant, mainly of Cuban
origins, opened: La Columbia, was constructed and soon rivaled Los Novedades as
the area's prime restaurant of Cuban goods. While Novedades survived
Prohibition well enough, La Columbia barely survived. Los Novedades, despite
this, began to struggle as the 1940s came about and was purchased by
a Manuel Garcia. After this, the restaurant was moved the corner of 7th
Ave. and 15th street in 1946, when previous it was on the 1400 block of 7th Ave.
The new building to house Los Novedades would remain standing for about another
30-40 years. During this time other Los Novedades would be established in
Tampico and St. Petersburg.
In 1953, internal strife arose as workers and
owners argued over split shifts, causing workers to walk out. Luckily the
matter was soon resolved. During the 1960s Ybor City demolished much the Latin
Quarter to renovate and modernize, with Novedades and Columbia only somewhat
affected. In 1970, Los Novedades was purchased by their competitor, La
Columbia. In 1972, Novedades was then sold to a New York based company, turning
Novedades to the Steak and Brew. Again in 1975 was the home of Novedades sold,
this time becoming the club, El Goya. The club foreclosed in 1984 and the building
saw life again a few years later as an entertainment mall, also called El Goya.
The building changed hand a few more times until in 1990 it was finally
abandoned and then torn down a few years ago. A marker sits where the famous
restaurant once stood proudly.
In 2015 plans were in the works to erect a grand
hotel in Novedades location.