Willie Bexley ran his Bar-B-Q Ribs and Soul Fried Chicken place at 2144 Main Street in West Tampa for years. The building once housed the 4th of July Coffee Shop and the Victory Cigar factory. He had another place at 3511 N 22nd St in College Hills. He also owned the Nite Liters Club across Main Street at 2113. That’s the building where he started his Bar-B-Q business in 1966, two years before he retired from the Tampa Police Vice Squad. He owned a pool hall next door and decided that he could feed his hungry customers. Bexley told the Tampa Tribune, “We felt like if we were going to entertain ’em, we might as well feed ‘em too.” The business also had a pool hall inside.

Tampa Bar-B-Q aficionados who sampled Bexley’s work may remember the grill inside the un-airconditioned part of the building. Bexley, standing over it with his sauce mop, was the West Tampa soul food king. Experienced diners knew not to order the hot chicken unless they were ready to take a journey into a mouth on fire. In the mid-1980s, the building experienced a large fire, but the business reopened. Following his tradition of club-owning, Bexley opened Mr. B’s Dance Hall around the same time. In 1988, Bexley moved from this Main Street location to 1602 N Howard Ave. He Died in 1993.

According to property records, the building was last sold in late 2021. A planned 1,637-square-foot office complex is in the works, with an anticipated completion date of late 2023.  Owners are currently making architectural revisions, updating electrical systems -including future car charging stations, and revising plumbing.

© Chip Weiner 2023. All rights reserved.