All present-day photos on this site are the exclusive property of Mike Wheeler and may not be used for any commercial purpose.
A Tampa landmark since 1929
The Goody Goody sports a brand-spankin' new look with its refurbished sign!
Click the buttons to see close ups of the sign before and after restoration.
Read about the "new old" look in the Sunday, April 11th Tampa Tribune.
This photo of the drive-in shelters was taken before the recent building improvements seen above.
The Goody Goody first opened in 1925, when Tampa was in the midst of the Florida land boom. In 1930, it moved to its new building on Florida Avenue downtown, where it operated until Nov. 30th, 2005.
Goody Goody just as exterior improvements were to begin
On the right, manager Yvonne Freeman
A scene from the recently made movie was filmed at the Goody Goody. Mike had just barely begun the exterior improvements by filling in some of the building cracks (photo above). "The production crew saw the place, contacted Mike and asked him to stop. They wanted it to look this way for the filming. The production company refurbished the counter so that now it is finished in aluminum. The above service counter photo was taken before the refinishing.
Yvonne started in 1947 as a "curb girl" about 2 years after she graduated from Hillsborough High, and now she is the manager, baker and half-day server.
In 1984 the Stayer family, which had owned Goody Goody for decades, sold it to local accountant Michael Wheeler. He leased it to Yvonne until the final closing day.
Click to enlarge
June 1997 photo from Tribune article
"When I first came to work, the whole area was full of car dealers; it was an unbelievably busy place," she said recently. In those days, curb service, or dining in one's car was popular, in part because women dressed up in hats and gloves to dine out, and when they weren't dressed up, they wanted to hide in their car. People ate less during the meal itself, they used to come in and order a hamburger, a cup of coffee and a piece of pie. Now, they order a double hamburger basket, with fries and everything." --Yvonne
At left is a reproduction of an original menu circa 1943, click the menu to see larger images of the complete menu.
See a current menu selection. Yvonne bakes eight flavors of pie by hand, including apple, coconut, lemon, banana, butterscotch, pecan, chocolate and pineapple cream.
See more Goody Goody nostalgia and read a detailed history of the Stayer years. Click photo >>>
The walls are covered with Goody Goody history.
The Goody Goody still has some of its original tables and chairs, and the original green tile floor. These date back to the 1930's. The original basket weave seat portion wore out and were replaced long ago with wood.
One of many newspaper articles about the Goody Goody
Panoramas of old Tampa during the goody ol' days
2002 Editor's Winner of Top 3 Hamburgers in the bay area
Read Steve Otto's April 23, 2004 column on the GG.
Read article in the March 13, 2002 St. Pete Times.
Read Cal Sparks' 1990 article "Food for Thought" which includes his ca. 1949 memory of eating a burger at the Goody Goody drive-in one rainy day.
See an interesting video from Dec. 2002 featuring the Goody Goody by DayTime 8 and Tampa's Downtown Partnership. Brian interviews manager Yvonne Freeman who has been with Goody Goody for 40 years. See the famous burger being grilled and learn about the secret tomato sauce used on the burgers. This is a RealPlayer streaming video. The first part of the video is about a Tampa book store, the second half features Goody Goody. Push the slider to the right about halfway to get to the Goody Goody part faster.
Looking south on Florida Avenue from across the street in front of the Goody Goody
GG p1 GG p2 "Goody Old Days"
The End of an Era: GG Last day p.1 GG Last day p.2 GG Last day p.3 GG destruction P.4
Scene from the movie "The Punisher" filmed in the Goody Goody
