by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Attorney. Sportsman. Seafood importer. Rancher.
All those titles describe Lawrence “Larry” Rolfe of Rolfe & Lobello.
When he’s not practicing consumer and commercial law, you’ll find him at the gun club or possibly at his ranch in Madison, Fla. where he raises longhorn cattle.
You might also find him downstairs at the Blackstone Building on Bay Street. Rolfe’s office has been there since 1982 and in addition to the seventh-floor suite occupied by the law firm, he also has space on the ground floor that years ago was a restaurant called the “Jury Room.”
Rolfe said when he invested in a crab meat importing business five years ago, he renovated the former restaurant space into a small office that was going to accommodate the sales and administration for the seafood concern. The canned crab from Colombia soon caught the attention of a distributor who now buys every can Rolfe can import.
“Between the crab meat and the cattle, I’ve got surf-and-turf covered,” he said.
With no need for a marketing department, Rolfe decided to convert the former kitchen area into his own private club room. It’s a comfortable study/lounge furnished with leather chairs and part of Rolfe’s extensive University of Florida sports memorabilia collection that’s not in his office upstairs. Since the original industrial-strength kitchen ventilation system left over from the restaurant still works, Rolfe said it’s also a good place to enjoy a fine cigar.
One thing that is conspicuously missing, especially considering Rolfe’s devotion to Gator athletics, is a big-screen television.
“There won’t ever be a television in here,” said Rolfe. “This is where I can get away from the news and all that. This is my sanctuary.”
Photos by Max Marbut