Water Street's felt grocery store, Tampa Fresh Foods, makes good on long-promised public art
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Feb 4, 2022

At Water Street Tampa, a grocery store stocked entirely with handmade felt food items is as meaningful as the district’s Publix GreenWise Market.

Tampa Fresh Foods is an immersive art exhibit by British artist Lucy Sparrow that delivers on a promise that Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik and his wife, Penny, made years ago: accessible public art. Vinik, a partner in Water Street developer Strategic Property Partners, has spoken for years about Water Street’s public art component — and brought three major exhibits to the city in the meantime.

The Vinik Family Foundation brought The Beach, an “ocean” of 1.2 million white plastic balls, to the floor of Amalie Arena in 2016; Art of the Brick, a Lego exhibition, to the former District 3 event space in 2017; and in 2018, the foundation was behind Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Room “Love is Calling.” The foundation also donated $5 million to the Tampa Museum of Art in 2019.

“As longtime fans and collectors of Lucy Sparrow’s ingenious felt artwork, it is our great pleasure to bring Tampa Fresh Foods to the city of Tampa in 2022,” the Viniks said in a statement. “VFF has a strong history of bringing inclusive and interactive art installations to the Tampa community, and Lucy’s upcoming site-specific installation is no exception. We look forward to sharing this immersive art experience with as many people in our community as possible.”

The felt grocery store at 1050 Water St. is open daily through Feb. 20. It features a felt take on a variety of Florida-grown proteins and produce, including citrus fruits, peppers, watermelons, snap beans and potatoes, as well as a full seafood counter with mullet, clams, shrimp, blue and stone crabs. There’s even a humidor with felt cigars and felt loaves of Cuban bread.

“Tampa is such an inspirational location, with a backdrop of so many strong and varied local stories — from the beautiful fresh seafood and vibrant citruses to the proud Cuban influences,” Sparrow said in a statement. “These elements will all come together in felt in my most colorful, creative and interactive installation to date. I launched my U.S. art career in Florida, and it holds a really special place in my story — I can’t wait to come back and continue the next technicolor chapter in Tampa.”