The Cuban Sandwich Shop That Started in Ybor City in 1947 Has Landed on West Fletcher Avenue
October 29, 2026
October 29, 2026
On October 3, the takeout line at 1727 W. Fletcher Ave. ran around the corner and out the door. Inside, Nelson Valdes sang along to oldies and made more than 100 Cuban sandwiches, along with trays of hand-rolled devil crabs. A few days earlier he had predicted that number, because about 100 people had already stopped in once the Silver Ring sign went up to ask whether the café was really coming back.
It is coming back, and in a spot that would have seemed unlikely for most of its history. Silver Ring is now a small counter in a former Domino's on Fletcher with limited seating and a long menu. It is a few minutes from the house Valdes has lived in for decades. For almost 80 years the café went wherever the crowds were. This time it moved closer to its owner's neighbors.
Silver Ring has moved more often than most restaurants stay open. The Tampa Bay Beacons' October 19 profile lays out the history, summarized here:
| Year | Where | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| 1947 | Seventh Avenue, Ybor City | Angelo Cacciatore opens the original café |
| 1957 | Ybor City | Tim Booth's father starts supplying the meat, and Booth handles the deliveries |
| 1987 | Land O' Lakes, Lakeland, Bartow, Riverview | Booth, who took over after Cacciatore, begins franchising |
| 1996 | Downtown Tampa | The original location moves out of Ybor |
| 2006 | Ybor City | It returns to Ybor for two years |
| 2008 | Franchise locations | Every franchise except Riverview has closed |
| 2012 | Wesley Chapel | The original's last stop closes |
| 2024 | Westshore Plaza food court | Valdes and Booth reopen in a former Jersey Mike's space |
| 2026 | 1727 W. Fletcher Ave., Carrollwood | Reopens October 3 |
Nearly every stop on that list is a business district, a tourist strip, a growing suburb or a mall. Those are places picked for the people passing through. Riverview, which Booth's niece runs, is the only franchise location still open from the 1987 expansion.
The Westshore Plaza counter ran into the problem that follows a business that depends on foot traffic. Valdes told the Beacons that as the mall's big tenants closed, "there was no traffic to me," and that "the writing was on the wall." The mall was sold earlier this year, and he started looking for a new location. Third Lake Partners bought the nearly 54-acre Westshore Plaza site for about $135 million, WTSP reported.
The new space is about the opposite of a food court. It is a former pizza-delivery storefront on a busy road, set up for takeout first. It sits in the neighborhood Valdes calls home. Valdes grew up in West Tampa and graduated from Tampa Catholic in 1977, and he expected his old crowd to show up. He told the Beacons that West Tampa did show up, "but it was Carrollwood that really showed up."
He also said he has no plans to step back. "I just couldn't stay retired," Valdes told the Beacons, and he said he will be "hands-on, all the way." For a small counter that will rely on repeat lunch customers from nearby, an owner who works the kitchen himself is a big part of the business.
The Cuban is the same one Silver Ring has made since 1957: smoked ham, Swiss cheese, roast pork and salami, with the meat from Four Star Meats. Valdes described the connection between the Cacciatore and Booth families, and the sandwich itself, this way in the Beacons:
"This is fourth generation, you know? It's the same families that have been a part of Silver Ring, its products, since 1957. And I've been making that sandwich since I was 13 years old."
One thing on the Fletcher menu is personal to Valdes. The roast pork uses recipes he learned in his early 20s at his grandmother's West Tampa restaurant, El Rinconcito. Besides the Cubans and the hand-rolled devil crabs, the menu includes palomilla steak sandwiches and the 1987 Salad, and the café now serves breakfast. Centro Tampa Bay's Spanish-language story on the reopening also notes the new breakfast service.
The Fletcher location is built for grab-and-go, so plan your first visit around that:
Silver Ring fits a pattern among the area's other recent openings. Most are small, quick stops tied to trips people already make.
Buddy Brew Coffee opened inside the Sprouts at 15110 N. Dale Mabry and held its grand opening Friday, October 2, after its Westchase location, according to the Citrus Park & Carrollwood neighborhood newsletter. That puts a Tampa-roasted coffee counter on a regular grocery run.
Cook Out opened September 11 at 16215 N. Dale Mabry Hwy., in the former Boston Market across from Gaither High School, and the same newsletter reported that the drive-thru was running.
The bigger retail news is at Citrus Park Plaza, across from Citrus Park Town Center. HomeGoods opened first, Total Wine & More followed on October 9, and Nordstrom Rack's 24,700-square-foot store was scheduled to open October 22, per the Tampa Bay Beacons and the newsletter. Those are stores you plan a trip around. A Silver Ring Cuban, a Buddy Brew latte or a Cook Out tray fit into a day you already had planned.
The neighborhood calendar has two dates coming up. The free Halloween Jam at Carrollwood Village Skate Park is Friday, October 30, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Registration opens at 5:30, and the evening includes costume and best-trick contests, a coffin race, food, drinks and prizes, according to Hillsborough County's event listing. Bad weather canceled the October 17 Fall Fest at Carrollwood Cultural Center, so the next big gathering there is Holiday Village on Saturday, December 5, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Carrollwood Village Phases II & III HOAs present it, with holiday crafts, activities, food trucks, music and decorations, according to the Cultural Center's event page. If you're picking up lunch for a group, Fletcher Avenue is a short drive from the Cultural Center at 4537 Lowell Rd.
If you're thinking about a move within Carrollwood or nearby and want to know which streets put a Silver Ring Cuban or a Buddy Brew stop a short drive away, The Stuben Group is glad to help. Work With Us.
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