It was like every other night. Quiet. That was until they heard one sound that at any other time wouldn’t spark that much interest. But after 2 a.m., the sound of a solitary key striking the string inside of an old piano would catch anyone off guard. It was especially surprising to both since they were the only two left in the business and neither one was near the piano.

For Stone Soup Company owner Ilya Goldberg, the piano is a major contributor to the strange happenings that have been reported since he relocated his restaurant and bar to the building on 7th Avenue in Ybor City in 2017.

THE STONE SOUP COMPANY

Like many buildings in Ybor City, Tampa’s historic district, what you see isn’t always what was. The Stone Soup Company is a good example of that.

The bustling restaurant with amazing food is a two-story building that has played host to several birthday parties I’ve attended in the past. When the “Spookeasy” opened on the second floor appropriately behind a bookcase, I knew there had to be a story there.

I was absolutely right.

Stone Soup’s owner, Ilya Goldberg, took time out of his busy schedule to chat with me about the building’s history and its hauntings. Appropriately, we settled into a corner of the Spookeasy, covered stem to stern with macabre décor ranging from paintings of ghosts and ghouls to a chair perfect for a skeleton queen!

While the atmosphere is fun and playful, the history of the building is not. Mobsters once visited the building regularly and there’s a tragic story of a bar owner from the past who died tragically near the entrance of the bar … and she’s still seen today.

The Stone Soup Company is a place I regularly grabbed bites to eat before enjoying the atmosphere of Tampa’s most historic district. But it always thrills me to learn a little bit more about what came before us in these locations – and the history around this building is definitely tragic.