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Ashley Cuban Bakery Opensby J. Fredrick Lawrence |
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On a cold February 14 in 1909, Jonathan "Jack"
Ashley with the help of his two sons Stephen and Robert, opened the
first drive-thru bakery in Ybor City.
"Hot cars and Cuban bread are going to be the future of Ybor," predicted the elder Ashley as he cut the ribbon to the entrance of his new bakery. "As more of them Army Air Corps boys down the street get cars, they are not going to want to get out of them to walk in to buy bread! " We might just even slide a bit of ham, pork and pickles into a few buns, wrap them up see if they sell. We will call them Cuban Sandwiches. There's going to be money in drive-thru Cubans, and that's the fact Mac." Unclear on the concept, opening day crowds lined up to walk past the "drive-thru" window to get served. The next day, everyone came back with their cars, causing the first traffic jam in Tampa's history. Brother Stephen would later go to seminary school, start his own religious cult, and build the famous Ashley Batmobile.
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