Friday, July 12, 2013

Tampa ‘Radio Bar’ Bombed

Someone opened up a back door Wednesday night and threw a bomb inside Radio Bar and Grill on Busch Boulevard, blowing doors off their hinges, coating the floor with shattered glass and sending one person to the hospital, according to tampabay.com.

Tampa police were still investigating the incident Thursday as the bar's management and staff gathered to assess the damage.

"We're just trying to figure out who would try to come in here and kill us," said Robert "Hoff" Hoffa, a disc jockey for the bar's on-site radio station. "We don't have any enemies here."

Hoffa had just finished his regular Wednesday night country music show when the blast happened about 10:30 p.m., he said.  Someone opened the back door of the small building, which stands two blocks west of Busch Gardens, and tossed in the device, Hoffa said.

Police described the bomb as a "homemade crude device."

The explosion sounded like a truck slammed into the building, Hoffa said. People were thrown off their feet. The restroom doors were blown out of their frames. Inch-thick glass surrounding the DJ booth shattered and rained down to the floor.

The explosion knocked out three computer servers the station used to stay on the air, Hoffa said. The total property damage to the station alone was between $5,000 and $10,000, he said.

The bar is owned by Leslie D. Brewer of Temple Terrace.  Radio Bar and Grill opened 18 months ago, Hoffa said. It operates as both a restaurant and a live radio station, broadcasting country and rock music on 102.1 FM and online. It has served as a venue for several country and rock bands. The bar has also held special events to raise money for cancer research and other charitable causes, Hoffa said.


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