After 32 years serving customers along the Deuces corridor, Lorene's Fish House has closed, with local restaurateur Melissa "Melly" Gardner preparing to reopen the space later this month as a new concept called Love22.

Located at 927 22nd Street South, Lorene's Fish House quietly served its last customers on Saturday, May 30th.

Just days later, Gardner received the keys to the building.

Owner of the Three Generations food truck and Coasis restaurant in Tampa, the St. Pete-based chef and restaurateur is transforming the former Lorene's space into a new concept that will debut in phases over the coming months.

“I am extremely grateful to be entrusted with such a great legacy. Thank You Ms. Lorene for servicing our community for the last 30 years,” Gardner wrote on social media earlier this week. “Welcome Love22 to The Deuces, a new era of food fun and vibes.”

Gardner tells St. Pete Rising that Lorene's Fish House closed because its owner, Lorene Office, now in her mid-70s, has retired.

A new hangout for beer, wine, coffee, and dirty sodas is coming soon to Central Avenue.

Craft beverage bar Idyll Vice is headed to 667 Central Avenue, opening in the 935-square-foot space that formerly housed Sorrento Sweets, between The Lure and Graphi-ko Gallery.

Owner Witney Dupree, with the help of her husband Jeff and daughter Rene, plans to soft-open Idyll Vice sometime this month, with a grand opening celebration slated for July.

Dupree describes Idyll Vice as the “sweet spot between a daytime cafe and a bar, a multi-faceted concept serving both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.”

One of the bar’s biggest draws will be "dirty" sodas, which are a mix of soda, flavored syrups, purees, and cream that have surged in popularity through Utah-based chains like Swig and Sodalicious, and more recently gained national attention through the reality series The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.

“Our menu is going to be set up a little bit differently than most coffee shops,” Dupree says. “It's going to be more of a build-your-own kind of vibe, where customers will choose a drink base, whether that's coffee, espresso, tea, or soda, then they pick their flavors, syrups, or mix-ins.”

A restaurant from the team behind Michelin-starred Kōsen in Tampa quietly opened its doors in downtown St. Pete last week.

Mei is located at 320 3rd Street South on the ground floor of the Camden Pier District Apartments, replacing Bento Asian Kitchen + Sushi, which closed earlier this year after eight years in business.

Helmed by Executive Chef Alex Chamberlain and backed by Orlando restaurateurs Jimmy and Johnny Tung, Mei is a new fine dining concept combining French technique, Nordic influences, and Japanese ingredients.

Chamberlain previously served as Chef de Cuisine at Kōsen, while the Tung brothers are the founders of Bento and the team behind multiple Michelin-starred restaurants.

The restaurant is a deeply personal project for Chamberlain, named after his sister.

After nearly three years of planning and construction, Forbici Modern Italian has set an opening date for its highly anticipated St. Pete location.

The 12,000-square-foot Italian restaurant will officially debut on Wednesday, June 24th, at 183 2nd Avenue North in downtown St. Pete's Sundial retail complex.

Reservations for opening week are now available through OpenTable.

Forbici will open in the second-floor space formerly occupied by Sea Salt, which closed at the end of 2024 after nearly 10 years in business.

After a multi-million-dollar renovation, the restaurant now features an expansive outdoor patio, a private dining room, multiple TV-lined bars, and a sprawling dining space with seating for up to 350 guests.

The St. Pete restaurant will be the second location for Forbici, which first opened in Tampa's Hyde Park Village in 2019.