VIP Cut Rate Liquors & Bar

Stopped in here only once, and sat for about 5 minutes as if invisible… no service. The bar is 4 sided with barkeep in middle and I was in plain sight. Around the sides were a half-​dozen viejos/​bubbas, mostly speaking Spanish and apparently discussing fishing adventures. Perhaps it was just that I was a new face, but no one said a word to me… or identified who or where the bar-​tender might be.
There are remarkably few stand-​alone bars in West Tampa, other than those in restaurants. So it is a shame that one of the few neighborhood beer joints is so cool and unwelcoming. Unlike Cheers where everyone knows your name, at VIP they don’t seem to give a damn that you exist. So I slipped out invisibly and have never returned. Got much better treatment at Valentine’s the nearby gay bar.