Our Rich History:

Mary Leto, born Mary Dino, was born in 1916 in a wood framed house that still stands in Ybor City on 19th Street. Mary’s father, Antonio Dino, arrived in Ybor City in 1896 from Sicily at age 15 following the American Dream. He came with his 17-year old sister, Rosalie. He started rolling cigars in the cigar factory and eventually bought some land and some cows and opened a little dairy farm. A few years later, he met and married Theresa, Mary’s mother. When she grew up, Mary married Joe Leto, where our story begins, because Joe’s business kept Tampa comfortable in a very unique way!

Joe Leto owned and operated an ice delivery service located in the heart of Ybor City during the 1950s. There was no A/C or refrigeration back then, so Joe’s ice delivery service was valued by Tampa the same way we value A/C now. Located on 7th Avenue, just down the street from Independent Air’s new home office, Joe Leto’s company would freeze and store chunks of ice to deliver around Tampa Bay to private residents and restaurants and to the shrimp boats docked in Tampa Bay to keep their catches fresh!

Blocks of delivered ice were the only way Tampa natives could stay cool and keep the food in their iceboxes fresh without refrigeration! Fishermen relied on Joe, too—he would deliver huge blocks of ice which would be ground up on the boats and packed around the shrimp catch! During the winter when the need for ice dropped, the Letos would deliver kerosene for heating—clearly keeping Tampa residents comfortable all year long is in our blood! We have to say though: we’re glad that technology has developed the way that it is so that we have modern and effective A/C systems! Ice is heavy!

Joe and Mary’s son, Tampa native Pete Leto, grew up to value hard work, integrity and dedication because he watched his father and learned how to run an honest business. Pete is now an expert electrician and has come a long way since he used to help his father deliver ice. In 1990, Pete founded Independent Air with the goal of providing the very best service possible—with such a long history in the Tampa area, the family behind Independent Air really sees the people of Tampa Bay as their neighbors, which positively impacts every interaction!

Now run by Pete’s son Joe, Independent air is one of Tampa Bay’s most experienced and respected air conditioning companies. The company continues to prosper with the knowledge and passion of three generations of Letos. With four generations living in Tampa Bay, and three generations dedicated to the comfort and wellbeing of Tampa residents, no one else can tell the story that we can tell and we’re so proud of that history. We’ve been keeping Tampa cool and comfortable in unique ways for decades, and we value our ability to leverage the latest technologies to provide the best A/C services. Independent Air has been owner operated since 1990 as a State Certified Air-Conditioning Contractor.

Whether you need to repair an existing unit or are looking to upgrade to a more energy-efficient system, we have the experience to make sure the job gets done right and on time! We take pride in our work because we want you to be comfortable and make sure that your system is always running at its best!

If you need help, call the Tampa-based A/C Company who knows the Tampa Bay area inside and out—Independent Air!