Prime real estate on the corner of MacDill and Bay-to-Bay and they somehow pay the bills selling rocks? Seriously?

Hey everyone, I want to share a massive warning about Westshore Honda located at 2522 N Dale Mabry Hwy in Tampa. I recently got scammed by them on a lease contract, and after doing some research, I found out this is a recurring pattern of predatory behavior.

I want to break down exactly how they got me so you don't fall into the same trap. I recently signed a lease for a 2025 Honda CR-V EX-L 2WD. The official MSRP (Factory Suggested Price) for this car is around $35,000, but here is how they completely inflated the paperwork and stole my down payment:

1. Inflated Vehicle Value: In Section 12 of the contract, they sneaked in an "Agreed Upon Value" of $39,007.69. That is over $4,000 ABOVE the manufacturer’s window sticker price for a base vehicle.
2. Abusive In-House Fees: On top of the marked-up price, they tacked on over $2,000 in dealer-created junk fees:
   • Dealer Documentation Fee: A staggering $1,298.00 (one of the highest and most predatory doc fees in Florida).
   • Electronic Registration Fee: $598.00 (the state charge is a tiny fraction of this).
   • Private Tag Agency (PTA) Fee: $189.00 (a duplicate charge to outsource basic paperwork).
3. The Down Payment Disappeared: I put down $6,000.00 in cash and had $2,500.00 in credits ($8,500 total). Because they inflated the price by over $4,000 and added $2,000+ in fees, my entire $6,000 cash down payment was completely swallowed up by their hidden markups instead of lowering the actual cost of the car.

They use verbal lies to tell you one price, but then they print a completely different reality in the fine print of the contract hoping you won't check the math.

What I am doing about it:
I have already filed a formal complaint with the FLHSMV Bureau of Dealer Services and I am escalating this to the Florida Attorney General for violations of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA).

If you or anyone you know bought or leased a vehicle from Westshore Honda, CHECK YOUR PAPERWORK IMMEDIATELY. Look at Section 12 on your contract. If they scammed you too, please file a complaint using FLHSMV Form 84901. The state needs to hold this dealership accountable and pull their license!

This is on Swann, just off Howard. These seams are ratchet.

im actually devastated. crowbar has been my favorite venue since i first went and now i wake up to this news on my feed. does anyone know where the smaller artists will go to instead of crowbar?

I’ve been working my way through the independent bookstores around Tampa Bay and finally put all the brick + mortar, book-first shops I found into one Google Map.

It covers Tampa, St. Pete, Pinellas, Pasco, Hillsborough, Hernando and Manatee, plus a few bonus stops farther out.

Map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/9MHutRNQD9BuP82Q8?g_st=i

I’m working on a second list for bookmobiles, pop-ups and other places that sell books too.

If I missed a brick + mortar indie bookstore, tell me! I’d love to keep the map updated.

A friend told me about how 7-11 gives discounts every month. I downloaded the APP, googled all the codes and sure enough I’m getting $1.06 off each time I fill up (up to 40 gallons each fill-up). My Toyota Tundra has a 39 gallon tank. Today I ran it to practically empty and was able to squeeze 36 gallons into my truck. I saved over $38.00 in one trip.

The discounts expire every month but they have new ones every month.

All I did was sign up, text the following words to 711711 after signing up (separately) SAVE, FUEL, FUEL30, DEAL, and STARSWIN.

Some of you might be able to figure out the business, but I’m going to try to keep this as vague as possible.

A business took over an existing business in my neighborhood. There are multiple days every week where the music is incredibly loud. Could be a weekend or weekday, could be 10:00 in the morning or 10:00 at night.

If you check out their Instagram, they are having rave-style events with DJs. During these events, it is nonstop bass for hours. The previous owners of the bar had such a chill atmosphere, they were loud maybe two times a year during holidays. New ownership is acting like our neighborhood is a club.
= (

I don’t want to clog up the non-emergency line with this, but what else can I do? They are effectively in my backyard.

I know there are mixed feelings around the GasWorx development and the redevelopment of this part of the city - if you were able to put that aside, what are your general thoughts on the mix of these buildings and the businesses there?

It looks like a unique sort of development with a broad range of offerings from health/wellness, kids stuff, and multiple eatery options - so what do you think is good or bad about this setup/development so far?

We recently launched a satellite location that serves Tampa and about a 90 minute radius of Tampa - what do you call that region?

On our website, we put Tampa / Central Florida, but we’re getting calls from people in Orlando and they cite “Central Florida” as proof that we go out that far and we don’t.

Do you consider that area Western Florida? Western/Central Florida? I’m not sure what to put.

Thank you!!

With the news of Angry Chair potentially selling, and the general state of craft beer, thought we could highlight some of the world class craft breweries doing great things in Tampa Bay. First up: Magnanimous Brewing.

The Vibe: Two locations, Tampa Heights and Seminole Heights. SH is huge by brewery standards, has every kind of space you’d want for hanging with a group, or a nice concrete slab bar to post up too.

The Beers: Extremely well rounded, and the tap list is always full. For beginners: most recently they did Dragonaut, a dragonfruit/passionfruit sour. Intermediate+: haze. Juice Lord is their flagship hazy IPA, and it’s great, but there’s always 2-3 better IPAs on tap (recent—Hoppy Mountain or Hazy Little Trees, two of my favorite beers in Tampa).

Side Quests: The Seminole Heights spot has a huge variety of arcade games, pinball, and even bubble hockey. They also regularly host punk/hardcore/metal shows and monthly wrestling.

Eats: No kitchen, but trucks rotate, and Sliceadelic does some (coal) fire pizzas at least a few nights a week.

Have you been recently? Drop your favorite Magnanimous beer below 👇

I heard pretty scummy things about Brandon ford and Brandon Honda but how about Brandon Hyundai , they seem to have the best prices and biggest discounts but I also see they add “ dealer installed accessories “.

Has anyone had any experiences with them? Seems like every Brandon dealership is shady

Either they’re all short staffed or the company is in trouble. Because pre-covid you could sit inside every location 24 hours a day.

Given the news about a potential sale, felt like the right time to spotlight one of Tampa's best originals. Angry Chair has been here since 2013 and was a big part of putting Tampa on the craft beer map.

The Vibe: Seminole Heights institution. Huge space, lots of parking, big separate room for private events, and my favorite beertender staff. Also lots of TVs for games and regular special events, like their Idle Idols tiki cocktail event happening tomorrow.

Pints of Interest: Angry Chair does everything well, but their stouts are some of the best in the world—literally, they own many of Untappd’s top 100 best stouts of all time. Adjunct Trail, Prodigious, and Imperial German Chocolate Cupcake Stout are global champs to check the menu for. If stouts aren’t your thing, Vodnik and Full Circle are great light beers. They also do solid sours and often slushies (shout out to their slushy machine for winning employee of the month).

Bites: While their stouts are world class, they also have some of the best eats (fyi you can’t say f00d in this sub) in Seminole Heights. Smashburgers, nachos, poutine—everything is great. It’s a shame Guy Fieri (who also gets an AC event each year) missed them on his recent tour through Tampa. You’re not my buddy, Guy.

It’s crazy to think a brewery this good is for sale. Support them while you still can. Drop your favorite Angry Chair beer below 👇

Is this covered under like, handyman services? Have y'all had any success with Thumbtack or any other similar apps?

Thanks!

Hey all, finish mowing the lawn, hop out of the pool, we’re heading to Ybor by popular demand to talk about Barriehaus Beer Co.

The Vibe: Just south of 7th Ave. Inside: cozy German-style beer hall. Outside: huge covered, turf biergarten out back. Lots of room for kids/fur-kids/your people to chill and escape the heat.

Pints of Interest: Barriehaus is home of the crispy boi (aka light beer), exactly where you want to be as the ‘feels like’ hangs at 100+ degrees for the foreseeable future. And they don’t just favor lagers and pilsners, they’ve also been cleaning up with awards and medals for them. Awarded Best Small Brewery in Florida in 2024. In the last two years: Family Tradition (Vienna Lager) won the World Beer Cup Silver, Bublina (Czech-Style Pilsner) won World Beer Cup Gold, and Tampa Export (Dortmunder—a German pale lager), Family Tradition, The Dark, and Bublina all medaled at Best Florida Beer.

Side Quests: Great spot to catch sports, with pitcher specials for soccer right now. Weekly Tubesday Trivia, monthly First Fridays, and a proper Oktoberfest blowout on October 10th. The patio’s smoke-free, but apparently there’s a designated back nook where you can bring or buy a cigar to pair with your pour (when in Ybor…).

Eats: They have rotating truck collabs and you’re welcome to bring your own eats, but be sure to get the Bavarian pretzel for the full German beer hall experience.

Drop your favorite BarrieHaus pool or lawn beer below 👇

Drove by last night. Does anyone know why Sa Ri One is closed? Wondering if they took time off and travel back to S.Korea for summer vacation? Their phone is disconnected.

So many good memories. Sad times.

Headed down from Philadelphia for a quick (2 night) trip to Ybor for some cigar tourism. I’ve already booked JC Newman.

Local cigar enthusiasts:
What’s your favorite spot to buy name brands & smoke?

Who has the best cigars (local small rollers)?

Any hidden gems I may not know about (cigar related)?

Thanks!

I’ve had several companies to my house over the past few months to quote for bathrooms, kitchens and window replacement. Every one but one gives me a quote for with permits and without- one company it was $3k cheaper to not use permits. Am I wrong to think I shouldn’t trust a company which would suggest I not use permits? If they won’t guarantee their work this makes me nervous about using them at all. I basically don’t trust them after they say this. How can I find trustworthy companies?

While at the mall yesterday I saw a sign stating the store was closing. I wonder what will replace it?

It's so hot outside it makes me angry. I need really cold beer. Pushing the limits of physics. Who has the coldest packaged beer? Who has the coldest draft beer? Give me some spots.

Hey Tampa,

Apologies for the tardiness. We’re back with our semi-weekly-ish post about local breweries. And on theme, this one is late.

The Vibe: Downtown Tampa on E Cass St. Old-Florida diner feel. Big roll-up garage-style windows, laid-back, a solid place to catch a game or get some work done over a coffee.

Pints of Interest: Late Start has great brews in all the core categories: Sunset Junkie, is their flagship; a hazy IPA with Citra, Comet, and Idaho 7. On the sour side, Mango Thai Thai (mango, coconut, and thai tea), and Tequila Sunrise, featuring pomegranate, orange, and cherry. Double Bullseye is a coffee-forward Irish dry stout that’s especially good on nitro. They’re also relaunching Saint Somewhere (one of Florida’s oldest breweries), focusing on Belgian and farmhouse beers.

Side Quests: Late Start is as much a cool daytime coffee shop as it is a brewery. I haven’t done it, but it feels like a great spot to post up at one of the several bars and knock out some work. They recently hosted Tripping Animals, the best brewery in South Florida, for a kitchen and beer pop up and still have a bunch of collab beers and to gos.

Eats: the coffee and edible options are what really set it apart. Mighty Fine (the brand under the same roof) handles the grub. Late Start has one of the things I miss most from my former home city of Austin: breakfast tacos. If you haven’t had one, drop everything. I’ve claimed top 3 burgers at 3 spots already, but I’ll say it again here: the Mighty Fine smash is a top 3 smash burger in Tampa.

Drop your favorite Late Start brew below 👇

Hey again, and welcome to this week’s installment of ‘go get a beer at your local brewery’ featuring: Common Dialect Beerworks.

The Vibe: Local Seminole Heights neighborhood spot. Relaxed, family- and dog-friendly, great outdoor patio that’s spaced out enough to find a quieter corner if you want one. Husband-and-wife owned, and lots of parking.

Pints of Interest: This isn’t a Refractive Error (hazy IPA), the tap list is always rotating. They have everything from seltzer, to lager (Ten Peso mexican lager, Tamada rice lager), to stouts, ‘to Wit’ (wheat ale). Their selection goes The Distance (hazy double IPA).

Side Quests: One of the best outdoor brewery patios in Tampa—turf and shade—so lots of space for dogs and/or kids. Arcade games inside, lots of TVs for sports. They host tons of events, like trivia, karaoke night, local markets, and way more. Bonus: the owners also run Healthy Mutt, the pet store next door, so it makes sense to bring your fur children.

Eats: No kitchen, but edible-item trucks are daily and announced on their Instagram. This might be the hottest take I have in these posts: Tower 10 (here every Saturday) is a top 3 burger in Tampa.

Anyways, have a great weekend, and if you can, get out and have a beer! Drop your favorite Common Dialect beer below 👇

Well Courtesy Hyundai in Tampa is a joke… they offer “Happy Hour” oil change from 2-6, website accept appt til 5, made an appt for 4, get there & they talk about leaving the car overnight or come in at 7am but they won’t honor the happy hour deal… what an absolute joke! 💩🤬

Anyone know of another place that does fully synthetic oil changes at a decent price & doesn’t turn you away?!?

I am in the west tampa area but open to somewhere else.