{"id":244673,"date":"2026-04-24T12:49:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T12:49:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/244673\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T12:49:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T12:49:11","slug":"can-500000-bootleg-t-shirts-reopen-haslams-one-st-pete-artist-is-trying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/244673\/","title":{"rendered":"Can 500,000 ‘Bootleg’ T-Shirts Reopen Haslam’s? One St. Pete Artist Is Trying"},"content":{"rendered":"

ST. PETERSBURG, FL \u2014 \u201c499,533 T-shirts to go,\u201d artist Filipe Bergson wrote in a social media post<\/a> on Thursday, the latest in a string of similar daily announcements. <\/p>\n

What might sound cryptic is actually simple: In recent weeks, Bergson launched a nostalgia-fueled bid to buy and reopen the long-dormant Haslam\u2019s Bookstore<\/a> at 2025 Central Ave.<\/p>\n

To do so, he hopes to raise the money he needs by selling 500,000 \u201cbootleg\u201d T-shirts featuring a drawing he made in college about a decade ago of one of Haslam\u2019s infamous bookstore cats.<\/p>\n

Find out what’s happening in St. Petefor free with the latest updates from Patch.<\/p>\n

Bergson, whose professional background is predominantly in film, is popping up in front of the store on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., including this coming Saturday, which happens to be Independent Bookstore Day, to sell his T-shirts, art, stickers and zines. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m doing it one shirt at a time,\u201d he told Patch. <\/p>\n

Find out what’s happening in St. Petefor free with the latest updates from Patch.<\/p>\n

But is he truly in a position to buy the iconic Grand Central District bookstore? For now, he\u2019s approaching the idea with a wink and a smile \u2014 after all, Haslam\u2019s isn\u2019t even on the market.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m committed to the bit,\u201d the artist said, adding that if the opportunity to actually buy the store arose, he \u201cwouldn\u2019t say no.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haslam’s Goes Dark <\/p>\n

The family-owned bookstore, founded in 1933, went dark in early 2020, during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when businesses across the globe either shuttered their doors or pivoted how they operated. <\/p>\n

At the time, Haslam’s announced that it was \u201cclosing in the interest of public safety\u201d starting on March 22 that year, according to a message that remains on its website. <\/p>\n

It never reopened. <\/p>\n

According to Haslam\u2019s website, it covers about 30,000 square feet \u2014 though the Pinellas County property appraiser\u2019s office estimates that the building is about 8,100 square feet \u2014 with more than 300,000 books, many of which can still be seen when passersby peer through the windows into the darkened store.<\/p>\n

A St. Petersburg artist is living life as performance art as he sells “bootleg” Haslam’s T-shirts to try to buy the bookstore, which has been closed since 2020 and isn’t on the market. (Tiffany Razzano\/Patch) <\/p>\n

But there hasn\u2019t been a peep from the store\u2019s owners since 2021, when co-owner Ray Hinst told the Tampa Bay Times<\/a>, \u201cFor a variety of personal and professional reasons Suzanne [his wife] and I are still undecided about reopening the bookstore to the public. We appreciate everyone\u2019s interest and are trying to consider all aspects of the situation. In the meantime our kitties are very happy in their new homes in the area.\u201d <\/p>\n

There are no signs on the building acknowledging its closure, though there are several \u201cno trespassing\u201d signs, and nothing at the property changed until this past fall, when the building\u2019s murals, including one advertising \u201ctitles from art to zoology and \u2018A\u2019 to \u2018Izzard\u2019\u201d and another featuring the Haslam\u2019s name and logo, were painted over beige to match the outdoor walls\u2019 base color. <\/p>\n

Haslam\u2019s is listed as permanently closed on its Google business page and the phone number listed on its website is out of service. <\/p>\n

Despite this, the company\u2019s Florida Profit Corporation listing on Sunbiz.org<\/a>, the official website of the Florida Division of Corporations, is active and current. It\u2019s been updated regularly each year since the store closed at the start of the pandemic. <\/p>\n

Patch contacted an email address associated with Haslam\u2019s, but hasn\u2019t received a response. <\/p>\n

The massive bookstore, which takes up about half a city block, has been a giant question mark over the last five years. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat whole block has been a little shrouded in mystery,\u201d Chris Arnold, executive director for the Grand Central District Association, told Patch. <\/p>\n

Though many have tried to reach out to Hinst, including some interested in potentially buying the business, the property or both, \u201cthe owners have not been forthcoming about their plans,\u201d Arnold said. <\/p>\n

Impact of the Store’s Closure <\/p>\n

The uncertainty surrounding Haslam\u2019s has impacted other businesses on the 2000 block of Central Avenue, he added. \u201cOver the last six months or so, everyone left.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several nearby businesses in the building next door have closed, changed hands or gone quiet in recent months.<\/p>\n

Taphouse 61, previously Sly Bar before it was rebranded, closed in March after nine years. <\/p>\n

Little Philly closed at the end of last year. <\/p>\n

Love Food Central got new owners, who rebranded the business as FireWater Cuisine and Wellness, which opened at the end of last year. Its Google business page has the restaurant listed as permanently closed.<\/p>\n

Central Cycling, an indoor spin studio, changed owners during this timeframe, Arnold said. <\/p>\n

Sip Shop Hooray is temporarily closed as it refreshes its space to transform \u201cinto a curated gourmet pantry [and] elevated gifting experience,\u201d according to its website. <\/p>\n

And Tampa\u2019s Favorite Salon\u2019s new St. Pete location is under construction in this stretch. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to know what\u2019s going on over there, especially whenever you see a whole strip of stores disappear,\u201d Arnold said. \u201cThat is the only block in the district I have no idea what\u2019s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patch reached out to Brian Zucker with Axxos Commercial Real Estate, who is handling leasing for this strip of storefronts, for comment. This story will be updated if he responds.<\/p>\n

A number of stores near the long-shuttered Haslam’s have closed, changed hands or gone quiet in recent months. (Tiffany Razzano\/Patch) An Artist on a Personal Mission <\/p>\n

These and other major changes to the city, as St. Petersburg grows and attracts new developments, are the real reason Bergson has launched his bid to buy Haslam\u2019s. <\/p>\n

Fueled by personal nostalgia, he hopes to get people thinking about the city\u2019s rapid evolution. <\/p>\n

Born in St. Pete and raised in Pinellas County, he\u2019s always been a storyteller and was drawn to the bookstore even as a child. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe all went there growing up. I have very fond memories of my dad taking me there,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

He moved to Brazil with his family during high school, but returned to St. Petersburg to attend the University of South Florida. <\/p>\n

\u201cI came back here for college and I was going to Haslam\u2019s all the time,\u201d Bergson said. \u201cWhenever I was bored, I\u2019d just go there, find a book, flip through it, maybe buy one, pet some cats. It was a great place to take a date, honestly, and it\u2019s haunted.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cAnd now there\u2019s a whole generation of kids that don\u2019t know about it, which is crazy to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t a shock that Haslam\u2019s shut down during the pandemic, Bergson said. \u201cBut then it just remained vacant this whole time with the books still in it. And every time I pass it, I\u2019m always like, \u2018The books are in there, dude.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s also long been drawn to local lore and history, even working as an editor on the documentary \u201cRazed\u201d about St. Pete\u2019s Gas Plant neighborhood. <\/p>\n

\u201cI love local history and getting people to remember how things were and talking about the good and the bad, and then going into the future, how can we take the good, bring that back, emphasize more of that, and integrate it into the modern world, basically,\u201d Bergson said. <\/p>\n

Every time he passed Haslam\u2019s darkened door, he became more and more compelled to do something about it. As he plans to move north, to a bigger city, maybe Philadelphia or New York, later this year, he realized the bookstore could be his last big local project before relocating. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t I just say that I\u2019m going to try to open up Haslam\u2019s and see how far I can take this? My favorite thing is when a joke becomes reality. That is, I think, the epitome of storytelling for me,\u201d Bergson said. \u201cWhen you just, like, put something into the universe and you\u2019re like, \u2018What are you gonna do with this universe?\u2019 I\u2019ve said this out loud; now, let\u2019s see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to selling Haslam\u2019s T-shirts in a somewhat faux attempt to purchase the bookstore, he\u2019s also collecting content for a zine about the shop \u2014 stories, comics, drawings, photos, tattoos, memories. <\/p>\n

Bergson\u2019s accepting submissions for the publication through May 1 at haslamszine@gmail.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Throughout this journey, he\u2019s learned that many others love the bookstore as much as he does. An English teacher and aspiring writer who discovered a love of science fiction in the store\u2019s discount stacks. A woman who spent many hours at Haslam\u2019s with her late husband whenever they visited from Michigan. Many older residents who still look to the store as a local landmark. <\/p>\n

‘Shoot the Film or Live the Film’ <\/p>\n

As much as his desire to buy the bookstore started out tongue-in-cheek, Bergson is allowing for a tiny bit of hope that it could actually happen. <\/p>\n

\u201cLike I said, it started as a joke. It\u2019s about making people think it\u2019s reality until it becomes reality, because that is just manifestation; that\u2019s all it is. How do I make enough people believe in something to bring it into reality?\u201d he said. \u201cIf we can raise enough money and the stars align, cool. That would be dope. Again, I wouldn\u2019t say no.\u201d<\/p>\n

And he feels like deep down Haslam\u2019s owners want to see new life at the store. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey could have sold it, but they haven\u2019t. In my gut, it just feels like they want someone cool to come through and manage the bookstore,\u201d Bergson said. <\/p>\n

That could be the jolt of energy the ailing block needs, he said. \u201cEven if we just got someone in there to run the bookstore and spruce it up a little bit, that would be great for all the restaurants and stores on the block, as well.\u201d <\/p>\n

For now, Bergson lives his life as performance art, blurring the lines of reality. <\/p>\n

\u201cI can make a film about some guy trying to open Haslam\u2019s, or I can just be the guy trying to open Haslam\u2019s. I can just do the thing. I\u2019ll just live the movie,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ll do that and see what grows out of it. That should be a new motto or mantra for me: I could shoot the film or I could live the film.\u201d<\/p>\n

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