Meet the Owner: Morris Kohl Enterprises

Before walking into Morris Kohl Enterprises, it would be helpful to know a few things. This a hobby shop, not a toy store. Kohl sells models of all sorts, and especially radio controlled, or r/c, vehicles -- things that people of all ages can make hobbies of, not just play with.

Toys, Kohl would explain to you, are what you get at Toys R Us, or Radio Shack, or Wal Mart. And while Kohl does a good deal of repair work, don't bring any r/c stuff you bought from those stores to him for fixing. He'll tell you flat-out: they're junk. “You'd be lucky to have it last more than three days. I tell them it's not repairable. You have to go back to Radio Shack. I don't lie to people. I'm very straight with them.”

Yes, Kohl does things his way. You know it immediately upon entering his shop, from the heavy clutter of merchandise and repair equipment, to the din of cigarette smoke that hangs in the air. But his way also includes a strong consumer advocate streak. When he's considering carrying an item, “I will buy one,” said Kohl, “and I will test it out. And if it doesn't hold up to my specifications, I won't sell it. There's many things out there on the market that aren't worth buying.”


Morris Kohl Enterprises
1202 W. Waters Ave.
813-931-1626

R/c stock: Includes cars, trucks, boats, battle tanks, ATVs, and helicopters. “I've given up on airplanes, basically due to the fact that airplanes just crash,” said Kohl. Prices range from $89 to a couple thousand.

Non r/c stock: Kohl also sells hobby trains, rocket kits, slot cars, and numerous categories of model kits. Prices range from $5 to a couple hundred.

Kohl's best brands: Kohl says he only carries brands that he personally trusts. “The oldest and best brand on the planet is Tamiya,” he said. His other favored brands are Losi, Associated, Duratrax, HPI, and Traxxas.

Come to race: R/c hobbyists are welcome to use the 50-by-100 foot asphalt race track in front of the store, or the oval dirt track Kohl set up on a vacant lot across the street.

Separating the wheat from chaff: “I've seen maybe 20 of them come and go,” Kohl of other hobby shops in the area. “Only the good prevail. This business is something where you definitely need to know what you're doing. It takes a lot of knowledge. What I do in here is very technical. Eventually, people just get tired of being ripped off by those shops  that sold them products they didn't know anything about.”

History: “I built models as a kid, 50 years ago,” Kohl said. But he didn't get into r/c racing until 1979, when a customer brought a broken r/c car to Kohl's jewelry design shop in San Diego and asked him to fix it. Gradually Kohl was pulled into the hobby, as a both a mechanic and racer. He moved to Tampa in 1987 to work at Hahn's Hobby Shop. In 1995, Kohl bought the business and renamed it.

Hours: Monday through Friday noon to 5 p.m., Saturday noon to 3 p.m., “Or by appointment or by chance,” Kohl said.