April 23, 2021

Beans and Barlour bringing bagels and boozy desserts to Central Avenue

April 23, 2021/ Brian Zucker

Tampa Bay’s favorite craft coffee bar and dessert lounge is on the move! Beans and Barlour has just signed a lease at 407 Central Avenue in downtown St. Pete, just one block east of their current location at 538 1st Avenue North. Joe Esposito of KW Commercial represented the landlord and Jenna Malowany and Joe Esposito represented Beans and Barlour in the deal.

Owners Story Stuart and Steve Bliven opened Beans and Barlour in 2018 serving outrageously delicious and highly Instagrammable alcoholic desserts, ice cream, and coffee. Customer favorites include the Pina Colada Dole Whip Float and the Spiked Lavender Lemonade Slush.

April 22, 2021

23-story condo building, The Nolen, proposed for downtown St. Pete

April 22, 2021/ Anthony Close

The condominium market in downtown St. Pete continues to be red hot with high demand and low supply. For buyers, new units can’t be built fast enough.

Saltaire, a 35-story building under construction at 300 1st Street South, is over 70% reserved. And Reflection, an 18-story project planned for 300 8th Street North, is over 50% reserved. The buildings are not expected to be completed until 2022 and 2023, respectively.

The latest high-rise condominium project planned for downtown St. Pete is The Nolen.

April 21, 2021

Coquina Key Plaza and Lake Maggiore land set to become workforce housing

April 21, 2021/ Brian Zucker

St. Petersburg has never been more in demand. We have new businesses and residents moving to the city every day. At St. Pete Rising, we love reporting on everything new and coming soon to the Sunshine City.

But with growth comes growing pains. Right now, we have a residential supply and demand imbalance in St. Pete. For a variety of reasons, such as minimal supply and an influx of new residents, St. Pete is seeing an unprecedented rise in home values and rent prices.

According to a recent report from Realtor.com, the median rent in Tampa Bay increased 6.9% year-over-year to $1,375 per month, representing one of the largest rent increases in the U.S. and the largest among Florida’s major metro areas.

April 21, 2021

Pete’s General is expanding, bringing fresh bagels to the Grand Central District

April 21, 2021/ Samantha Flanagan

We often ask our social media audience what types of new businesses they’d like to see open in downtown St. Pete. And for the past few years, a bagel shop has been among the most requested. Pinellas County has great options outside of downtown St. Pete, such as St. Pete Bagel Co. and Clearwater Bagels, but no dedicated bagel shops currently exist downtown.

But we have great news! St Pete’s favorite local bagel shop, Pete’s General, and its beloved manatee mascot are bringing their fresh-made bagels and baked goods to the Grand Central District, on the outskirts of downtown St. Pete, as early as this summer. The business, which celebrated its second birthday last week, will open a second location at 2361 1st Avenue South.

April 13, 2021

TeBella Tea Company is coming soon to the EDGE District of downtown St. Pete

April 13, 2021/ Brian Zucker

TeBella Tea Company has recently signed a lease to open a specialty tea retail shop and full tea bar at 1445 Central Avenue in downtown St. Pete. The space is currently home to ARTicles Art Gallery and Custom Framing, which will be moving to 1234 MLK Jr Street North in Historic Uptown around mid-April. Jessica Dwyer of Klace & Company represented TeBella and Jake Wollman of KW Commercial represented the landlord in the deal.

Abigail StClair, the owner of TeBella, opened the first location on Davis Islands back in 2010. Since then, TeBella has expanded into Sarasota’s University Town Center, Tampa’s Oxford Exchange, and St. Pete’s Station House. However, the Station House location will close once the new location opens in the EDGE District.

April 12, 2021

Fo’Cheezy Twisted Meltz opening new location in downtown St. Pete

April 12, 2021/ Amy Kochek

Today is National Grilled Cheese Day and Fo’Cheezy Twisted Meltz is celebrating by announcing plans to open a second brick and mortar location this summer in Downtown St. Pete at 111 3rd Street North, formerly occupied by Five Guy’s Burger and Fries.

This location will be in addition to the Fo’Cheezy food truck and their first restaurant at 6305 Gulf Boulevard on St. Pete Beach.

To celebrate the new location and National Grilled Cheese Day, swing by the St. Pete Beach location from 3 pm to 6 pm today to grab a free triple OG. Be sure to bring the kiddos too -- kids eat free all day with a paying adult.

April 09, 2021

Fado to bring authentic Portuguese cuisine to downtown St. Pete

April 09, 2021/ Amy Kochek

The music, food, wine, and culture of Portugal is about to make its way into St. Pete’s ever-growing food scene with the opening of an authentic Portuguese restaurant – Fado (Fah-doo) – which is opening in May at 435 5th Avenue North. The building was previously home to Sake 23, a pan-Asian and Japanese-style restaurant.

The interior of Fado will be full of traditional Portuguese Azulejo décor, which is characterized by blue and white ceramic tilework embossed by colorful terra cotta trim.

Portuguese food is similar to Spanish food with simple, yet flavorful, ingredients that emphasize fish, meat, olive oil, bread, tomato, herbs, and spices.

April 06, 2021

A coworking company, COhatch, has purchased the historic Harlan Hotel in downtown St. Pete

April 06, 2021/ Brian Zucker

An Ohio-based coworking company has purchased the historic Harlan Hotel in downtown St. Pete. The 4-story, 14,000 square foot building, located at 15 8th Street North, will be converted into a coworking facility with a restaurant and bar on the ground level. The sale of the building closed on April 2nd for $2.25 million.

“We are going to make a significant investment in the building,” said John Watkins, Co-Principal at COhatch Regional Development Ventures, which is the development arm of COhatch. “We haven’t gotten permit approval yet, so I don’t know what the final cost will be, but it’ll be well into the seven figures.”

The Harlan Hotel was originally built in 1925 during a time of extraordinary growth for the city. The building was added to the St. Petersburg Register of Historic Places in 1997.

April 05, 2021

The Cake Drip, a unique dessert boutique, is coming soon to the EDGE District

April 05, 2021/ Amy Kochek

The Cake Drip, a unique dessert boutique that offers a DIY chocolate bar and cake decorating experience, is coming this summer to 1104 Central Avenue in the EDGE District. The space was previously home to Plain Jane, a women’s boutique, which recently moved five blocks away to 621 Central Avenue.

Get ready to escape into a magical world filled with bright colors, flowers galore, and dreamy decor that doubles as the perfect backdrop for Instagram-worthy selfies. Once you step foot inside The Cake Drip, the fun really begins.

A reservation guarantees you an hour’s experience of sweetness and enjoyment. When you book your reservation at The Cake Drip, you can choose one of two options — the DIY chocolate bar flight tasting or DIY cake decorating.

March 30, 2021

Orlando-based Foxtail Coffee is coming soon to 4th Street in St. Pete

March 30, 2021/ Brian Zucker

In the not-too-distant past, the only place to get a cup of coffee in St. Pete was from one of the big national chains. Today, it seems like there is a coffee shop on every block. Not only is the Sunshine City home to mass-produced drive-thru coffee for when you need a quick early morning jolt, but St. Pete also has carefully roasted small batch coffee for when you want to appreciate every nuance of this incredible caffeinated bean.

In a few short months, another coffee shop will be joining the fray. Orlando-based Foxtail Coffee Co. recently signed a lease at 730 4th Street North. The space was previously occupied by Mini Doughnut Factory, which closed its doors in early 2019.