In 2016, Pete Boland and Ian Taylor opened The Galley, a nautical-themed tavern, at 27 Fourth Street North in Downtown St. Pete. At the time, the location was a risk due its proximity to Williams Park, which had earned a reputation for being a homeless hangout. However, being St. Petersburg natives, Boland and Taylor felt an obligation to help clean up the corner. 

And it worked! Over time, the PSTA bus hub relocated, WiFi was added, and the mayor started a monthly food truck rally in the park. Although there is still work to be done to clean up Williams Park, great strides have been made over the past few years. No doubt the opening of The Galley helped catalyze these efforts.

It didn’t take long for The Galley to become a favorite among locals either. “I pop by often, for lunch, meetings, or a quick pilsners-and-policy chat with other patrons,” said Councilwoman Gina Driscoll. “It’s such a popular neighborhood spot sometimes I have trouble finding a seat!” In fact, you’ll occasionally find me at the bar enjoying the cuban sandwich, fried ravioli and a frosty Guinness.

Less than six months ago, Matthew Matchin was working on opening a vegan ice cream shop in Charlotte, NC when he received a call from a high school friend in Pennsylvania. 

“Hey I’m driving down to St. Pete to visit Matt! I’ll be passing right through Charlotte. Do you want to come hang out with us for a few days?”

Always down for a new adventure, Matchin agreed. Ten days after returning home to Charlotte, he bought a one-way ticket back to St. Pete. “I absolutely love this city,” says Matchin. “When I visited, I realized how active the vegan community is here. And I also noticed there were no vegan ice cream shops. Not to mention the weather — it’s warm year-round and perfect for ice cream.”

A few weeks ago, Celine Duvoisin walked down Central Avenue with a handful of flyers and a box filled with decadent desserts. As she handed out cookies, cakes, and other sweets to unsuspecting businesses, she let them in on an another exciting surprise: Valhalla Bakery has arrived in Downtown St. Pete.

You can find St. Pete’s newest bakery at 1113 Central Avenue inside Baum Avenue Market, which also houses two other food concepts — Serene and Avocado Valley. Serene is a wellness bar featuring smoothies, smoothie bowls, and wellness lattes. Avocado Valley is a Mediterranean and Middle Eastern-influenced eatery that utilizes fresh healthful ingredients.

This is the second location for Valhalla Bakery, which debuted in Orlando in 2015. Over the past three years, Valhalla has evolved from selling out at farmers markets to opening up two storefronts and twice being crowned Orlando’s Best Bakery. 

Having spent her childhood in Cuba, Jen Miranda was always accustomed to locally grown products. When she was seven, her family moved to Tampa, and that’s when the American diet started to have a negative effect on her health. Ever since, Jen has had a fascination with health and wellness.

Her journey through nutrition is what inspired her to develop Serene, a wellness bar which quietly opened last month at 1113 Central Avenue in the EDGE District, formerly home to the Openhouse event space that has recently hosted a variety of pop-up concepts. Luckily for us all, Serene is NOT a pop-up!

Serene encompasses nutrition in every single way with a menu that features smoothies, smoothie bowls, and wellness lattes. “I want Serene to be a space where you can have a healthy, guilt-free meal,” says Jen. “I don’t want you to come here and have to count calories because I’ve already done that for you.”

It’s been over two long years since we first broke the news of Dr. BBQ coming to Downtown St Pete. And now the day has finally come. We have an opening date — October 17th. Located in the trendy EDGE District of St. Petersburg at 1101 1st Avenue South, Dr. BBQ is a New American smokehouse that celebrates regional and international ingredients by combining diverse flavors from around the world into classic barbecue dishes with a twist.

Dr. BBQ’s menu features dishes influenced by barbecue techniques seen not only across the country, but also across the globe. Diners can expect a range of flavors, including sauces like Korean gochujang and North African harissa. While Dr. BBQ will have a wide variety of meat including Certified Angus Beef and Compart Duroc pork, the menu will also be inclusive for guests of all diets, offering vegetarian and vegan-friendly dishes beyond the usual salad and mac and cheese.

After 18 months of careful planning and preparation, Pacific Counter has finally opened their doors to the public. The eatery is the latest addition to the 600 block of Central Avenue, adding poke bowls and sushi burritos to an area of town becoming increasingly known as a culinary destination.

But lets back up for a second. What is poke? By definition, ‘poke’ means ‘to cut’ in Hawaiian and it refers to diced raw, marinated fish that is tossed with veggies and umami-loaded sauces and then served over a bed of rice. You can think of it as deconstructed sushi. Or if the trend continues to rise in popularity, you could consider poke the future of sushi in America.

Pacific Counter is the brainchild of three heavy hitters in the Tampa Bay restaurant scene — Tanner Loebel, Chitthasack Noythanongsay (known as Chef Tock), and Eric Bialik. And although poke and sushi burritos are available at a few Tampa Bay restaurants, the partners at Pacific Counter take these chef-driven dishes to an entirely new level.

We were heartbroken last month when KINGS Street Food Counter announced plans to close their modern-style diner in Downtown St. Pete’s EDGE District. The eatery premiered three years ago at 937 Central Ave amid much fanfare thanks to a menu of creatively crafted grilled cheeses and hot dogs.

At the time, owner Stephen Schrutt was taking a big risk by opening KINGS in the EDGE District, which hadn’t yet gained the popularity it has today. The restaurant did well, but was ultimately overshadowed by Schrutt’s other Downtown St Pete concepts — theAvenue and Park & Rec.

If there is a silver lining to the end of KINGS, it is what comes next. We can now confirm that a brand-new restaurant and bar concept by the Hunger + Thirst Group will be opening at 937 Central Ave — No Vacancy. Get ready to soak in those vintage Florida vibes because No Vacancy is brining everything but the sand to Downtown St. Pete!

Back in May, the owners of Nitally’s took to Facebook to announce the closure of their popular Thai-Mex fusion restaurant at 2462 Central Avenue in Downtown St. Pete. News traveled quickly thanks to Nitally’s cult-like following. After all, where else in town can you go to get a green curry burrito or panang mole?

Owners Nit Jintaseranee and Ally Valdez have spent the last 10 years building an audience for their own brand of cuisine. But unfortunately for them, the decision to shut down was out of their hands. Their building had been sold and the new owners chose to go in a different direction.

I might be in trouble. Two of my favorite indulgences are about to make a head-on collision — ice cream and alcohol. In a first for Tampa Bay, a brand new craft coffee bar and dessert lounge is bringing alcohol-infused ice cream to Downtown St Pete’s Central Arts District.

Beans & Barlour (yes, Barlour) will be located at 538 1st Avenue North, flanked by St. Pete Brewing Company and Angelo’s Grill and Bar. The new restaurant concept is being brought to life by Story Stuart, former owner of Story Brooke Craft Coffee Bar in the Old Southeast, and business partner Steve Bliven.

“The food scene downtown is booming right now with new restaurants opening on what seems like a weekly basis,” says Stuart. “We saw a huge opportunity to compliment them with a dessert concept that is brand new to the Tampa Bay Area.” 

The 600 block of Downtown St. Pete continues its transformation into a foodie destination. Amigos Tortilla Bar, a Mexican restaurant that bills itself as the “Home of the Square Taco” will occupy two parcels located at 681 Central Avenue that have sat vacant for nearly a year and a half.

Owners Jack Anderson, Jesse Anderson and Eric Sindone opened up the only other Amigos location in Key West in 2010. The trio had always wanted to expand, but decided to patiently wait for the right opportunity. That opportunity presented itself when former Amigo's manager, Samuel Haverl, moved to St. Pete three years ago. Haverl will share ownership in the St. Pete location.

“We’re all very excited to see what’s happening in this city and are very much looking forward to being a part of it,” says Haverl. The St. Pete location will only serve lunch and dinner at first, but breakfast may be offered down the road.