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Lending Itself To Change

JIM REED/The Tampa Tribune

Ben Cacciatore works behind the jewelry counter at Capital Pawn. The Family business owned by Joe Caccioatore on Busch Blvd. is a unique upscale pawn shop.

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By GEORGE WILKENS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 5, 2008

NORTH TAMPA - Capital Pawn is out to shatter stereotypes of the industry: chained rows of rusting bicycles at the entry of a dimly lit store full of dusty shelves crammed with old power tools and a clientele of shady customers.

Capital Pawn, which opened on Busch Boulevard in October, offers the same services as competitors in the age-old pawnbroking business, but that's where similarities end.

"We're trying to change the image of the pawnshop industry, and this is the new generation," said owner-operator Joe Cacciatore. "There's nothing like this" in the area.

Inside and out, Capital Pawn sports an upscale image, a major remodeling of a former Blockbuster video store.

Cacciatore chose an Ybor City theme for the exterior, a look incorporating cobblestone walks, decorative black metal fence and antique pedestal clock that looks like it once adorned a town square.

Inside the shop's showroom, jewelry, cameras, small electronics and other merchandise are in glass display cases, like at a retail store. Big-screen televisions are turned on, as at electronics dealers. DVDs are displayed on custom racks, like at a video store.

The metamorphosis was dictated by changing times and a changing economy.

"We've realized pawnshops are loaning more money to upscale, upper-class Americans than in the past," Cacciatore said.

Young professionals, business owners and others are discovering pawnshop loans as immediate solutions to temporary financial problems, he said.

"They're trying to get what they can to pay their bills," mortgages, property taxes, insurance premiums, tuition and other financial obligations, he said.

"These aren't just poor people coming in here," he said, citing customers from New Tampa, nearby Temple Terrace and other neighborhoods.

"It's amazing what folks bring in," said Cacciatore, who wears a Rolex wristwatch bought from a businessman who needed quick cash to make payroll.

Customers lacking sentimental attachment to their property can opt to sell it outright.

Pawn customers, however, have 60 days to redeem their property, or make an interest payment and extend the loan period. About 80 percent of pawn customers redeem their property within the initial period, Cacciatore's computerized inventory system indicates.

Pawned items in secured storage awaiting redemption include everything from pool cues and guitars to amplifiers and antiques.

Elsewhere in the shop, a safe within a vault protected by an elaborate security system and $12,500 stainless-steel bank door holds jewelry, watches, coin collections and other small valuables.

The upscale motif is paying off. During its three months, the Busch Boulevard store has made more pawn loans, dollar wise, than has the first Capital Pawn, 9501 N. Nebraska Ave., since Cacciatore opened it seven years ago, he said.

"We only take high-end stuff," is one explanation Cacciatore offered, not discounting how the remodeled building on a high-traffic boulevard near busy Busch Gardens is garnering ample attention.

"I wanted to bring a flavor of Ybor City out to Busch Boulevard," Cacciatore said.

A $12.5 million improvement project for Busch Boulevard from Florida Avenue to 56th Street is expected to start in spring. It will include repaving, landscaping and reconfiguring the road's medians.

"I figured if I was a leader on the boulevard, people would follow," he said of neighboring businesses, several of which have initiated extensive remodeling projects.

Still, industry studies indicate the vast majority of Americans have never been inside a pawnshop, an audience the new Capital Pawn hopes to attract, Cacciatore said.

Cacciatore, 54, a retired auto body shop operator, learned his business by working for three years at Value Pawn & Jewelry, a large Florida-based chain.

As a result, Capital Pawn offers things competitors do not. Most unusual, perhaps, is that it shares the remodeled building with two tenants: a lawyer and a hairstylist.

Bellissimo Salon, which has its own entrance and three employees, is operated by Cacciatore's girlfriend, Rita Anderson, formerly with Mane Tamers in Lutz.

Lawyer Dominic O. Fariello, based at 1100 W. Kennedy Blvd., operates a staffed satellite office off the pawnshop showroom. Out back, Crystal Klean Mobile Detail operates from the parking lot.

Also, Capital Pawn is an eBay "power seller." Online sales are especially useful for marketing specialty items, such as a Tiffany cigarette case, circa 1920.

The pawnshop, which has an automated teller machine, takes collectibles, something many competitors refuse because of the tedious authentication process. Items in stock range from a Civil War sword and an autographed Elvis Presley photo to ample sports memorabilia, including baseballs signed by Ted Williams and other legends.

"You name it; if we don't have it, I'm going to get it," Cacciatore said.

There are exclusions. Capital Pawn does not accept firearms. The shop has yet to receive a bicycle, but if a customer brings in a valuable model, the shop will consider it, said Stuart Stoops, director of operations for both stores.

Members of the Capital Pawn staff are quick to dispel the perception that stores like theirs are clearinghouses for stolen goods. A plaque on the shop wall awarded by the Florida Law Enforcement Property Recovery Unit recognizes Cacciatore as 2007 Pawnbroker of the Year.

Authorities monitor pawnshop transactions, and full disclosure required of sellers includes valid identification, thumbprint and signature. "We've caught some big players and put them in jail," Cacciatore said.

"If it wasn't for pawnshops, half of these people wouldn't get caught," said Stoops, 44, who met Cacciatore when both worked at Value Pawn.

"We're not a low-lighted shady place; we're an upscale business supplying the needs of the people," Cacciatore said

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Capital Pawn

WHERE: 2525 E. Busch Blvd.

WHEN: Open from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday

INFORMATION: Call (813) 933-5555.

Reporter George Wilkens can be reached at (813) 865-4847 or gwilkens@tampatrib.com.

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