A Tampa restaurant owner says he is losing customers due to a foul smell near his business.
"Pure sewer," said Coco's Restaurant owner Carlos Carillo. "Pure sewer."
That's how he describes the manure-like odor outside his eatery on S 22nd Street. For the past 32 years, he has made a living serving up Cuban food near the Port of Tampa. But lately, things have turned foul.
The odor is from a privately owned facility near the Port of Tampa on nearby Hemlock Street.
"For the last week, we've had that bad smell," Carillo said. "You know, all my customers have been complaining about sewer smell."
Approximately 1000 tons of rice is in dispute from an unknown insurance issue on private property.
The local Environmental Protection Commission and Florida Department of Environmental Protection are currently investigating the matter.
In the meantime, Carillo's worry about the smell continues.
"The customers," he said. "You know, the customers think that it's coming from here and it ain't."