Jack and Gerry Freidenreich opened Freid’s Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge in October 1946. It was also a drive-in for diners on the go. The $30,000 facility was built to handle 230 people inside and 150 cars in the drive-in. By 1955, the Freid’s started a new concept in the building called the Freid Hideaway Club, a membership-only space to dance and be served at an exclusive bar. In order to obtain a membership card, interested parties needed to contact the owners. They continued to operate the drive-in outside.  In 1958, the business had another grand reopening with the name Freid’s Supper Club featuring the new Cypress Room dining room. They also added a mezzanine with a second lounge and “cozy dance floor.” They continued their tradition of offering live entertainment as well.

The lounge operated until around 1990. In 1991 it was called Gene’s Village Station. That same year it changed to Rumors Lounge, where Tampa Bay Buccaneers Broderick Thomas, a 1989 first-round draft pick, was shot. He survived. The area became run down, and a string of businesses took over as crime increased in the area. In 1993 it was called the Level II Lounge when three men were shot during an argument at the bar. By 1999, it was the Jaguar Club, a topless bar. Around 2009, the building was demolished, and the new Chloe Coney Urban Enterprise Center, a one-stop place for job searches and business development for the underserved, was built.

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