ST. PETERSBURG — For decades, Dave's Aqua Lounge was a fixture on Gandy Boulevard, hosting live bands, disco dances, pin-up contests and even ghost-busters investigating spirits there (the non-alcohol kind).

But like so many relics of Tampa Bay's colorful past, Dave's is being torn down — to make way for a new 7-Eleven.

Developer Grady Pridgen, who plans a residential project nearby, sold the property for $1.8 million in March to a Texas company that recently took out a permit to build the store and gas station.

"Having convenient coffee, food, drinks, household supplies and gas contiguous to our planned communities will enhance the residents' experience," Pridgen said.

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But those who once frequented Dave's doubt many experiences could top it.

"Anybody who's ever been in Dave's has an interesting memory," said Marie Schorsch, a longtime St. Petersburg resident. "Dave's was the type of place with the old swivel bar stools, the parquet floors, the small stage with broken mirrors in back — everything you would expect in a smoky, seedy bar. It was just an institution."

Schorsch recalled an indie filmmaker who tried to make a movie there, hoping to include some of the regulars. They were so tipsy, she said, "they forgot their lines and what they were supposed to be doing."

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David Mamber Sr. started his namesake business in the 1960s near the Derby Lane greyhound track, ensuring a reliable customer base of race-goers and track workers. But the lounge with its distinctive rock facade also drew boaters, fishermen and other working-class fans of live music and strong drinks.

Grammy winner Derek Trucks, a member of the Allman Brothers Band, played at Dave's when he was a child prodigy wowing audiences with his slide guitar. In 2009, Dave's hosted the vinyl release party for two blues numbers produced by Grammy winner Jack White and the underground rockabilly Dex Romweber Duo.

And "when the blues fest was in town, or any type of blues event, the musicians would all go to Dave's and sit and perform," Schorsch said. "The history of Dave's with musicians is really overlooked. It's looked at more as a lounge but in truth it really was a venue for blues."

It also was the place where teenagers partying on the beach near the Gandy Bridge would send an adult friend to get the beer and booze.

Mamber, whose lounge included a package store, "would not sell to anybody not old enough, but you knew that if you wanted a bottle, you had to get somebody to go to Dave's," Schorsch said. "Dave's was part of every teenager who grew up in St. Petersburg."

One of those teenagers was Bridget Mulholland, who tried to use the bathroom at Dave's because there was none on the beach. She wasn't 21 so a bartender named Shirley refused to let her in.

Two decades later, when Mulholland herself became a bartender at Dave's, "Shirley was still there," she said. "And I was still so mad about being carded, I carded everyone, too."

Mulholland also remembered Dave's for its breakfast club with "its very interesting set of locals" and an "awesome" disco floor that lit up.

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After his father died, David Mamber Jr. took over what he fondly called a "joint." In 2008, he brought in paranormal investigators, convinced the lounge was haunted by the ghosts of the elder Mamber and several colorful customers. (No word on what they found.)

By 2012, the recession and growing entertainment opportunities elsewhere had taken their toll. That year, Mamber sold the property for $400,000 to a company owned by Pridgen and started an "artifact" sale the day after Christmas. Former customers grabbed $25 bar stools and $1 sheet music.

Three years ago, Mamber died at 64. His memorial service featured live music, toasts — and of course, plenty of stories about Dave's.

Anyone with old photos of Dave's Aqua Lounge who would like to share them with the State Archives of Florida can contact Mark Nicolou, director of the archives' Florida Memory Program, at Mark.Nicolou@dos.MyFlorida.com or 850-245-6706.