Empire Oyster is, without a doubt, the talk of the town. For the uninformed, I’m referring to the raw oyster bar that opened up at the beginning of March inside the EDGE District’s Intermezzo Coffee and Cocktails.  Coffee, cocktails and oysters.  It seems like an unlikely trio does it not?  Certainly I would’ve never predicted it, but the combination has proven to be a smashing success at 1111 Central Ave.

Intermezzo Coffee originally opened as a pop-up coffee bar in September of last year — planning to only be open for 3 months.  However after much success, owner Jarrett Sabatini resolved to keep Intermezzo Coffee open permanently. 

In January,  Sabatini decided that instead of closing the coffee shop in the afternoon, he would simply transition the space into a cocktail lounge at 5pm every day.   Sabatini developed a fantastic drink menu that offers his own innovative creations as well as tried and true classics.  Again, he found success. 

Three months later, a new decal went up in the window — “EMPIRE OYSTER”.  It was then that St. Petersburg was introduced to an incredible raw oyster experience courtesy of Kevin Joseph, Master Mermmelier at Empire Oyster.

From New York City to Los Angeles, Montreal to Atlanta, one of the latest food trends to sweep the country is rolled ice cream.  This summer, St. Pete will join the craze as Sweet Charlie's debuts at 1010 Central Avenue in the EDGE District.

The movement began last year when ice cream shops started springing up across the U.S. serving cups stuffed with small rolls of ice cream and topped with an assortment of extras, including fruit, candy, drizzles and more.  Lines regularly snake around the corner at establishments like 10Below in NYC and Hi B3ar in Boston.  Although the trend is brand new here in the States, this method of making ice cream has been around on the streets of Thailand and other Asian countries for quite a while.