In 1970, Hattie's named Ross Giunta its general manager and opened Uncle Ed's Restaurant one block away. By 1979, Giunta had purchased controlling interest in Hattie's, and his $250,000 investment helped Hattie's battle a withering tourist trade and escalating coffee prices. But in 1980, a rodent from a University of South Florida construction site came calling.
"I felt as though a needle was going through my (middle) toe," said Marilyn Mindon, who was wearing sandals and dining when the rat struck. "His back legs were dragging."
As stunned customers watched, Mindon's father stomped the rat to death, wrote Paul Tash, now editor and president of the St. Petersburg Times. The incident gained nationwide attention; Hattie's lost 75 percent of its business.
And so on. Torn down in 1988.
