Amidst tough economic times the restaurant, Acropolis Greek Taverna, is set to open this weekend in the Winthrop Town Centre at Bloomingdale Avenue and Providence Road.
The popular restaurant and bar concept which has two other locations; 1833 E. Seventh Ave. in Ybor City and at 14947 Bruce B. Downs Boulevard in North Tampa. Acropolis is well known for its hearty Greek and Mediterranean fare served in a unique and festive atmosphere. Their specialty is providing free entertainment for people who just want to get away from it all and try something out of the ordinary. The concept is toted to attract people of all ages, including singles, couples and families. The same food, entertainment and amenities are offered in all three locations.
On a recent trip to the Ybor location, the Big Dog observed a young lady covered with scarves and veils enticing restaurant patrons with her belly dancing while a musician strummed the bouzouki, a six-string instrument similar to a mandolin, and servers navigated through the lively dining room delivering Greek food and drink. A scene most different from the usual sports bars and wing establishments you find in the Brandon area.
Outside the restaurant, diners relaxed in an open-air lounge. Some smoked herbal tobacco from hookahs, traditional Mediterranean water pipes. The restaurant provides the pipes and offers more than 20 varieties of flavored tobacco for sale.
This restaraunt is different from any other place I have been to in the Tampa Bay Area, and it's now in the Brandon area.
Dave Tipton- AKA Big Dog
Re-printed from website: Diamond Dwellings Realty- Florida
813-653-1241
I consider myself an "old school" real estate agent, I started in 1985. I have seen numerous changes in the real estate industry over the years. Many of the changes had been in regard to license law, but since the mortgage melt down starting in 2006 and the eventual across the board financial difficulties our country has experienced, major changes have started to take place in the entire real estate industry. This evolution is not over but is changing as we speak.
What I'm seeing is that the traditional real estate franchise business i.e. C21, Coldwell Banker etc. are struggling. This business plan has been around for 50 years. You purchase a franchise, rent or buy a nice office, and you hire a bunch of agents. The more the merrier. The office and agents ran adds in the local paper and real estate magazines to sell homes. The agent belonged to the local board of Realtors and listed the property for sale in the local MLS. No one had access to the local listings on the MLS except members of the local MLS. The listings on the MLS were a valuable commodity and were guarded fiercely by the local board of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors. When a home sold, the listing agent would pay a portion of their commissions to the office and the franchise via royalty fees. After paying their business bills, MLS fees, MLS membership, advertising, business cards, flyers etc. Realtors kept what ever was left.
This real estate formula perked along nicely for some 40 or 50 years. Like the travel industry, stock brokerage industry and many others, the real estate industry was destined to change and evolve. Several factors have attributed to the change, not the least of which is the Internet. With the arrival of the Internet came the more widely distributed information on homes for sale. It became possible for a potential home buyer to sit in their home or office and research homes for sale in areas that they were interested in purchasing. This was wildly popular by the masses, because they were able to maintain their anonymity for the most part until they were ready to buy. Today, statistics show that over 87% of home buyers start their search for a new home on the Internet.
Unfortunately, there are many real estate practitioners left in the business after the great financial crisis we have been going through that are still holding on desperately to the old way of doing business. It is perfectly normal for a human being to fight change, but the early adapters to new ideas and technology are usually rewarded for their foresight and adaptability.
We at Diamond Dwellings Realty are a small group of like thinking early adapters who work diligently at being on the cutting edge of real estates future today and into the future.
Please stay tuned and read Part Two of this three part Blog on the State of the "Real Estate Industry".
Dave Tipton, Broker- Diamond Dwellings Realty- Florida
At this writing, the US House of Representatives and Senate are still scrambling to put the finishing touches on an economic recovery package, hours after reaching an apparent compromise on the measure President Obama hopes will jump-start the economy and create millions of jobs.
Negotiators of the stimulus compromise have most recently hit a snag in crafting provisions for education construction funding. The House already pushed off a vote until Friday the 13th. From there, the bill would head to Obama's desk for his signature.
Nothing has been made official, at this point the bill has still not been formally written and released in its entirety.
On a real estate related note, the proposed $15,000 tax credit for anybody buying a home over the next year was dropped from the package aimed at stimulating the part of the economy that started the economic down turn to begin with. Left in the bill would be a help for first-time homebuyers, allowing them to claim an $8,000 credit for homes bought by the end of August 2009.
Scaling back the bill to levels lower than either the $838 billion Senate bill or the original $820 billion House-passed bill caused grumbling among Democrats, who described the cutbacks as a concession to the moderates.
One thing is for sure though, when the final bill passes, we will be paying for the package for years to come. To quote the Beatles 1966 Revolver album song, “One thing is for sure though, the Tax Man Cometh”....
Dave Tipton- Diamond Dwellings Realty- Florida
813-653-1241
Our friend and associate Lane Bailey with Diamond Dwellings Realty of the Lilburn, GA office (near Stone Mountain) was recently interviewed by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about his unique niche in the home market and his ability to market homes via the internet and social networking tools such as ActiveRain, Facebook, Twitter to name a few.
Lane also specializes in what he terms Garages with Homes Attached. In case you didn't get it, Lane is a certified car nut, but all around good guy. In the area of web 2.0 and social networking, he is somewhat of a guru and has quite a following of others in the real estate industry who seek his thoughts and ideas.
The whole Diamond Dwellings Realty concept is built around the premise that in the "New Age" of real estate, internet marketing via what is termed web 2.0 platforms and the use of other 21st century tools such as using video and social networking is the wave of the future, but it's being utilized today by various Diamond Dwellings offices.
To hear more about the concept and how Diamond Dwellings Realty- Florida can market your home our assist you in finding just the "right" home for you, please give us a call or send us an e-mail. Careful though, this isn't your grand daddy's real estate company. Don't expect the huge brick and mortar office or our agents to drive a Mercedes Benz, just expect great service utilizing all of the marketing tricks we have learned thus far and great service. If you are in the real estate business, we offer an unprecedented opportunity for you to be cutting edge and to control your market area.
Dave Tipton, Broker
About the Author: Dave Tipton is a Florida licensed real estate broker with Diamond Dwellings Realty- Florida. Dave's office is in Brandon, Florida which serves eastern Hillborough County. Dave Tipton can be reached at dave@diamonddwellings.com or 813-653-1241.
If you are interested in a career in real estate or associating with Diamond Dwellings Realty, please contact Dave! All calls and inquiries will be held in the strictest confidence.
reprinted from: Brandon Florida Real Estate Blog
Who Wins Super Bowl XLIII? The Tampa Bay Area will be a definite winner as Joe the Plumber's and celebrities alike arrive for the big game.
Some of the recent celeb citings and near citings include: Bruce Springsteen, Kevin Costner, Ashton Kutcher, Kim Kardashian, Pamela Anderson, The Hooters Calander Girls, Tiger Woods, Pat Summerall, Mike Ditka, Don Shula, Steve Largent, Tony Dorsett, Marv Levy and Deacon Jones of NFL Hall of Fame just to name a few.
With all of the money being spent in the area on hotels, food, limos and entertainment, how can the local economy lose.
Dave Tipton- Florida's Beautiful Homes- Realtors
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Dave Tipton is the Broker for Florida's Beautiful Homes in the State of Florida. Dave has been a broker since 1986. Please call him with any questions concerning Florida's Beautiful Homes affiliation.
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