Oak and Stone to Open Inside New Downtown St. Pete Hyatt Place

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Oak and Stone to Open Inside New Downtown St. Pete Hyatt Place

Downtown St. Pete will soon be the home of a new neighborhood-style pizza and beer joint with a modern twist — self-serve draft beer and wine.  Oak and Stone will occupy around 5,000 square feet on the ground floor of the new Hyatt Place at ONE St. Petersburg, directly across from the entrance to the popular music venue Jannus Live.  This will be Oak and Stone's second location -- the first restaurant is based in Sarasota.

“We’re literally in the heart of the downtown district. It’s a great throughway for people coming from the waterfront and downtown. The location is amazing,” says owner Joe Seidensticker.

Oak and Stone has an expansive menu that includes burgers, sandwiches, soups, salads, and of course pizza.  In addition to offering the classics, Oak and Stone also serves exotic pies, such as the Scampi which includes garlic shrimp, cherry tomato, arugula, white cheddar and parmesan and the Mac N’ Cheese which includes white cheddar, roasted garlic, caramelized onions, and goldfish crumbles.  Each 10” pizza is priced between $10 to $15.

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New Greek Restaurant to Open in Downtown St. Pete

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New Greek Restaurant to Open in Downtown St. Pete

It’s time to don your laurel crown and toga!  The Simple Greek, a new fast-casual greek restaurant, has revealed plans to open in Downtown St. Pete.  

The new eatery will occupy 2,000 square feet on the ground floor of the AER apartment building, which opened in May 2016.  The other 2,700 square feet will soon be home to Tampa Bay’s first Bento Cafe, an asian kitchen and sushi restaurant.

Think of The Simple Greek as Chipotle, but for greek food.  In other words, customers choose between a bowl or a pita and then follow their order down the counter as their meal is built.  After choosing a protein, such as traditional gyro, chicken gyro, grilled steak or grilled chicken, toppings and sauce are added.  There are ten toppings available — feta cheese, red onions, scallions, tomatoes, cucumbers, kalamata olives and more.  The sauce selection includes tzatziki, greek dressing, garlic cream, and hummus.

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Downtown St. Pete Scores Tampa Bay's First Bento Café

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Downtown St. Pete Scores Tampa Bay's First Bento Café

A popular pan-Asian eatery is coming to Downtown St. Pete at the base of one of downtown’s newest buildings. Bento Café, a Gainesville-based chain best known for their Bento boxes and boba tea, will soon open at 330 Third Street South, in the base of the AER apartment building.  The new eatery will occupy 2,700 square feet of space, leaving 2,000 square feet of retail to be occupied by another soon-to-be-announced tenant.

Since opening in May of 2016, the retail space at the AER building has largely sat vacant, often being used for storage during construction. With retail space at a premium throughout Downtown St. Pete, it seemed odd that this prime space was remaining vacant. But come to find out, the developers were just waiting for the right tenant.

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Popular Dessert Bar, (swah-rey), Opening 2nd Location

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Popular Dessert Bar, (swah-rey), Opening 2nd Location

Downtown St. Pete is about to get a little bit sweeter.  On Saturday, the owners of the beloved (swah-rey) dessert bar signed a lease for a second location on the 600 block of Central Avenue.

Gregg and Leslie-Ann Ciccone opened the original (swah-rey) in October 2015 at 2105 Central Ave in St. Pete’s Grand Central District.  At the time, it was St. Pete’s only dedicated dessert bar.  Offering delectable desserts such as cakes, pies, and créme brûlées as well as beverages such as beer, wine and Kahwa coffee, (swah-rey) quickly became the talk of the town.

While all of the desserts are fantastic, the star of the show has always been the Minis, the most delicious bite-sized cupcakes you’ll ever sink your teeth into.  They are baked fresh daily in about 13 different flavors, such as Chocolate Salted Caramel, Funfetti, and Strawberry Lemonade.  And if you’re feeling thirsty, upgrade to a “Mini Hook-up”, which pairs a Mini with a “shot” of beer, wine, milk, coffee, or another beverage.

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Lolita’s Wine Market Now Pouring in Downtown St. Pete

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Lolita’s Wine Market Now Pouring in Downtown St. Pete

Last year, when husband and wife Alex and Kelly Rodriguez adopted Lola, a Golden Retriever/Louisiana Catahoula Hound mix from Golden Retriever Rescue of Mid-Florida (GRRMF), they had no idea it would drive them and friend CF Hawkins to open a wine bar.  You see, Lola is sassy and has a penchant for trouble.  “When Lola is bad, we call her ‘Lolita’ and when she is bad, she causes us to drink. So, in order to afford to drink good wine, we had to open a wine market.  So here’s to Lola!” says Kelly with a grin.

Lolita’s Wine Market quietly launched last week at 16 18th Street South in the Grand Central District of St. Pete.  The space is a cozy 974 square feet — just enough room for around 25-30 people.  And the vibe is comfortable and laid-back.  “We want people to feel like they are coming to somebody’s house, not necessarily to a restaurant that they have to get dressed up for.  We like to describe it as a wine shop meets coffee shop concept,” says Kelly.  

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