Cafe Creole (Closed)
Tampa, FL
Photo courtesy Steve/Back on Tack

The vertical Cafe Creole sign hanging from the old brick El Pasaje building makes an inviting sight in Tampa’s Ybor City. It looks ready to point hungry visitors toward another plate of jambalaya, even though the restaurant has been closed for years. Signs like this have a way of keeping a business in the neighborhood long after its final customer leaves.

Cafe Creole opened in October 1987 following a substantial renovation of the historic property. Its New Orleans-inspired identity brought another flavor to a district best known for cigar factories, Cuban sandwiches, and Spanish restaurants. The brick surroundings and sheltered walkways provided a fitting setting for a restaurant borrowing some of the French Quarter’s atmosphere.

Cajun and Creole dishes gave diners a reason to linger, with gumbo, crawfish, oysters, and jambalaya among the remembered attractions. This was more than a quick roadside meal. The historic surroundings made dinner part of an evening exploring Ybor, while the projecting sign supplied an easy landmark for finding the restaurant again.

The Finger at Cafe Creole
Tampa, FL
Photo courtesy Andy Callahan

The building had already accumulated a remarkable history. Associated with Ybor City founder Vicente Martínez Ybor, it housed the exclusive Cherokee Club during the 1890s and later served as a hotel and restaurant. Its arcaded frontage helped inspire the El Pasaje name, meaning “The Passage,” and gave diners a sheltered connection between the building and the street.

Cafe Creole (Closed)
Tampa, FL
Photo courtesy Steve/Back on Tack

Historical accounts associate the property with visitors including Theodore Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. Its past also includes gambling and stories of Prohibition-era speakeasy activity, adding a little intrigue to those old brick walls. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, El Pasaje was already a recognized landmark before Cafe Creole began serving dinner.

UPDATE: Café Creole closed in March of 2003 leaving behind its sign as a historic landmark. Many thanks to Andy Callahan for info.

UPDATE: Cafe Creole closed in March 2003, ending roughly fifteen years in business. The historic El Pasaje building survives, and the restaurant’s blade sign was left behind as a reminder of its dining years. Its present condition could not be independently confirmed, but the sign pictured here preserves a colorful chapter in Ybor City’s restaurant history. 07-26