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Everybody's business

From art of dealing to dealing in art

The owner of a new gallery used to sell cars. Now she wants to share her love of fine art.

By MICHAEL CANNING
Published March 4, 2005

COME DANCING ON MACDILL: At 45, Roy Stone, a longtime dancer, teacher and judge, knows his legs won't last forever.

So he opened Lavelle Hall in January at 5320 S MacDill Ave. in the hopes of some day turning it into a multipurpose venue that will allow him to ease up on teaching.

In the meantime, he's offering a full slate of ballroom dance lessons, including Latin and theatrical or cabaret styles, along with group classes and a Sunday tea dance.

The 2,800-square-foot building, at MacDill and Tyson Avenue, features a 1,200-square-foot wood laminate dance floor with rubber padding. Rather than make it a utilitarian dance school, Stone decorated the hall like a 1950s dinner club with gold and burgundy colors and draperies. In the future, he hopes to open a small concession stand.

Stone, who grew up in Pinellas Park, started teaching and competing in 1978. In the late 1980s, he and his former dance partner, Perri Adair Johnson, ranked first in Florida in the theatrical-cabaret division and third in the United States. Stone became a ballroom dance judge for the National Dance Council of America in 1990 after Johnson retired.

In 2001, Stone moved his teaching practice from Pinellas Park to Tampa, operating out of a small space on Henderson Boulevard. He closed it in October because he needed more room.

Lavelle Hall is named after Paul and Gerry Lavelle, his students and close friends. The St. Petersburg couple, ages 91 and 74, respectively, "started as my students, and became like parents to me," Stone said.

RASCALS OPENING ON BAY TO BAY: The longtime Italian restaurant on Bay to Bay Boulevard just west of MacDill Avenue has changed its name and owners again.

The restaurant at 3114 W Bay to Bay Blvd. will reopen as I Monelli Trattoria Italiana after a nearly two-year run as light and casual Di Vino. Before that, it was the dark and formal Caffe Italia for 10 years.

I Monelli co-owner Giorgio Vanzulli, who bought the business with partners in January, intends to make the restaurant slightly more casual than Di Vino. Hence, the "Trattoria" in the name.

Initially, it will serve only dinner, with prices ranging from $12 to $20. The menu will include snapper, salmon, sea bass, chicken, veal, lamb, pasta dishes, personal pizzas, salads and desserts. Lunch hours may be added in a few months, Vanzulli said.

The restaurant, which seats 120 inside and 50 on the patio, is getting a minor facelift including a pink paint job and new flooring and lighting. The imposing fountain in the dining room will remain a holdover from Caffe Italia.

Vanzulli proudly noted that Italy's north, central, and south regions are represented by I Monelli's ownership. He's from Turino, co-owner Stefano DeLeo is from Tuscany and co-owner William Filippelli is from Calabria.

Vanzulli moved to Bloomingdale with his family in December from Las Vegas, where he managed three Italian restaurants.

I Monelli means "the rascals" in Italian. Vanzulli confessed that his grandfather branded him a rascal in his youth.

Do you know something that should be everybody's business? Call 226-3394 or e-mail mikecanning@hotmail.com

[Last modified March 3, 2005, 09:12:11]