Pickford's Sundries — Restaurant in Tampa

I drive by Pickford's every school day while ferrying my Godson to school and I promised myself I would stop in one day. Yesterday was that day. I arrived before they were open (I knew I would be early), but waited for opening time. I was the first food customer (others had gotten coffee before me), so it is understandable that there was a bumpy transition when I told the gentleman that I wanted to eat. After some confusion on my part about where the menus were, where to order, etc., I placed my order (grilled cheese, tomato soup, and cafe con leche) and looked around the store. The cafe was ready first and I looked for the sweetener; I could see none. I asked the cook/waiter/barista/cashier Christian, and he directed me to a condiments area to grab the sweetener. Feeling like a silly old man at this point, I admitted I couldn't find the sugar (like, actual sugar, not a replacement). Christian advised that he would go in the back and get some for me. The amount he brought out in a tiny little paper dish was perfect for my cafe! After that weird start to the morning, everything went very well. Christian served me my sandwich and soup, which were both delicious! Be warned: the grilled cheese is a double-decker! I nearly had to unhinge my jaw to bite it! The soup tasted like the Campbell's soup from my childhood, except more spices and such had been added to make it even better. I eventually ate the giant sandwich and finished the cafe and soup, a...

The retail store portion of this establishment is ok. There are several novelty items that could make interesting gift ideas, etc. From a food standpoint it is so poorly executed that it is simply disappointing. We ordered a grilled cheese sandwich which would SEEM simple enough. The sandwich is toasted then assembled then briefly place in a panini style flat press. Cheese is low quality and it is a double decker sandwich. One sandwich hand an end piece of the loaf as the middle. It is essentially a relatively tasteless bread feast with a touch of cheese. Barely even crisp in any manner. Sandwich is advertised with a pickle that was not included in any of the 3 we ordered. For a $9 sandwich at least cutting it would look like effort. Our iced coffee came hot and our sweet tea came unsweetened. While waiting another customer asked to have the turkey sandwich on the menu toasted and was told "no it is a cold sandwich just the bread is toasted"??????????? I can't think of an easier request to honor but even that was above the competency level of the staff. In general this is a pretentious establishment that reeks of the overpriced gentrified Tampa pop ups that have become all too common in...

After visiting the Market on Florida which was set up in Pickford's parking lot, I went in to Pickford's Counter for a quick look. Should've known I couldn't just look.

Cute shop. I loved the combination of off the beaten path gifts and Seminole Heights/Tampa-centric merchandise. The items where spaced out so that there was plenty of room to move which helped create a sleek and clean aesthetic.

The food area largely consisted of two long counters. It seemed a throwback to the era of local pharmacies serving milkshakes and drinks. I was very tempted to pick up some vegan goodies (they serve We Vegan Eats brand) but opted for just a coffee.

Pickford's serves Commune + Co. coffee. Their menu lists a variety of different drinks, both iced and hot. My favorite part of the menu is that each drinks lists the ounces of coffee to milk. That way I could easily find an iced, more coffee heavy drink. I ordered an iced cappuccino with oat milk and took it to go. With tip, the drink was slightly more expensive than other coffee shops in the region, but the taste was worth the extra coins.

I can't wait to come back to experience some of the vegan items on...