November 18, 2022

Sunrise Tacos expands beach presence with an upcoming location on St. Pete Beach

November 18, 2022/ Brian Hartz

St. Pete Beach is set to get a Sunrise Tacos restaurant when the Treasure Island-based establishment expands southward in early 2023.

The new location will be situated at 455 75th Avenue, the former home of Gayle’s Diner, a St. Pete Beach institution that opened in 1954.

Co-owner Kim Vandebogart says the restaurant should be open sometime in January and that it will feature some sort of tribute to the Kilpatrick family, who owned and operated Gayle’s Diner for decades.

November 17, 2022

Five-story food hall Central Park St. Pete reaches milestone as vertical construction commences

November 17, 2022/ Brian Hartz

After nearly a year of excavation work, vertical construction has begun on Central Park St. Pete, a five-level, 27,700-square-foot food hall that will include a basement speakeasy and a full-service modern Asian rooftop restaurant and bar when it opens next year.

The project broke ground last November at 551 Central Avenue, the former Dome Grill site. Hi Hospitality Group founder Natalia Levey originally estimated the project would open by the end of 2022, but construction delays have pushed the debut to the end of 2023.

Hi Hospitality Group currently owns and operates a collection of award-winning destination restaurants on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Speaks Clam Bar, which celebrates classic and crave-able Italian-American flavors in a fun, speakeasy-inspired atmosphere, has two locations in Lakewood Ranch and St. Armand’s Circle. The Asian-inspired Kojo, located in downtown Sarasota, features a pan-Asian menu with some European influences and has quickly become one of Sarasota’s most talked about restaurants.

November 15, 2022

Bayfront Health to build four-story cancer and orthopedic center in downtown St. Pete

November 15, 2022/ Brian Hartz

After announcing in September that it will build a three-story, 60,000-square-foot Women’s Pavilion at 700 6th Street South, slated to open in 2024, Bayfront Health St. Petersburg has announced plans for another expansion to its campus.

Bayfront Health St. Petersburg is teaming up with three of the state’s top medical specialists to build the new project, named Bayfront Health Medical Pavilion – Institute Square.

The pavilion will be a technologically advanced facility offering world-class care to the Tampa Bay region and beyond through partnerships with the Florida Cancer Specialists and Research Institute, one of the largest oncological providers in Florida; All Florida Orthopaedic Associates, one of the largest orthopedic practices in the state; and Women’s Care, which now counts more than 100 locations across the Unites States.

November 15, 2022

9-unit townhome community Canopy Oaks breaks ground in St. Pete's Euclid St. Paul

November 15, 2022/ Anthony Close

Vertical construction has begun on a new infill housing development in St. Petersburg’s Euclid St. Paul neighborhood.

St. Petersburg-based Backstreets Capital and Canopy Builders are developing Canopy Oaks, a nine-unit community at 1920 Dr. MLK Jr. Street North that will feature six luxury townhomes, two villas, and one single-family residence.

In having three styles of residences, the developer hopes the project appeals to different types of buyers.

November 11, 2022

Taylor Sam’s to bring homestyle breakfast and brunch to downtown St. Pete

November 11, 2022/ Brian Hartz

Taylor Sam’s, a café that specializes in home-style breakfast and brunch, has leased space at 312 3rd Street South, in the Camden Pier District apartment tower, with plans to open for business in February or March next year. The space had been occupied by a Simple Greek franchise.

It’s the second Taylor Sam’s location for Owner and Executive Chef Scott Spivak, who launched the concept in Brick, New Jersey, in 2013.

The St. Pete Taylor Sam’s, Spivak says, will be able to seat about 40 customers but will also have outdoor dining. It will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. most days.

November 10, 2022

Eight-unit luxury condo development slated for Tierra Verde waterfront

November 10, 2022/ Brian Hartz

One of the last vacant multifamily lots in Tierra Verde is being developed by Tom Rodgers and Gym Wilson, longtime business partners who, beginning in 1997, have developed more than 150 waterfront homes in St. Pete Beach, Tierra Verde, and Treasure Island. Their portfolio also includes beachfront custom homes, as well as retail and marina projects.

Located at 455 Pinellas Bayway South, the gated Quiet Cove Tierra Verde community is under construction and expected to be ready for occupancy in summer 2023.

“The developers are quite well known, with previous success stories like Sunset Watch and Hidden Lagoon on Tierra Verde and Boca Sands on St. Pete Beach,” says Blanka Prusova White, sales director at Century 21 Coast Alliance, the agency handling sales of Quiet Cove’s eight units, all of which are accessed via a semi-private elevator and offer marina and Gulf of Mexico views.

November 09, 2022

Five-O Donuts bakes up first St. Pete shop on 4th Street

November 09, 2022/ Brian Zucker

A popular Sarasota-based donut shop has signed a lease for its first location in St. Pete. Five-O Donuts plans to open in the space formerly home to Uptown Snoballs at 1003 4th Street North.

Owner Christine Nordstrom, a professionally trained pastry chef and experienced baker, debuted Five-O Donuts in 2017 on Ringling Boulevard in Sarasota. The donuts were an instant success, and a second location was added a year later. Today, there are four shops in Sarasota and one in Bradenton with locations coming soon to St. Pete in December and Ellenton in early 2023.

“We are so excited to be coming over the bridge,” said Nordstrom. “It's been a goal of mine for some time to bring our ‘arrestingly good donuts’ to St. Pete.”

November 08, 2022

Massive industrial development generates robust interest in St. Pete’s Gateway area

November 08, 2022/ Brian Hartz

Commercial leasing activity is picking up at the Gateway Logistics Center, a 61-acre industrial development under construction at the northeast corner of 28th Street North and Gandy Boulevard.

The Gateway Logistics Center is part of a 93-acre development that will also include a 425-unit, 18-acre apartment complex, of which 20%, or 85 units, will be income-restricted workforce housing for residents who earn less than 120% of the area median income (AMI).

November 07, 2022

The Canary continues the 600 block’s rich heritage of unique establishments

November 07, 2022/ Brian Hartz

Opening on Thursday, November 10th, at 655 Central Avenue, The Canary Home & Gift is the creation of Allie Padin, who studied art in college and has brought an artist’s sensibility to The Canary’s creatively curated collection of merchandise, which runs the gamut from furniture, rugs, and light fixtures, to gifts for all ages such as puzzles, picture frames, tablewares, coffee table books, toys, specialty food items, and much more.

“Gift giving is an art,” Padin says. “Receiving gifts has always been a bit complicated for me, but I absolutely love looking for and giving personal and unique gifts to others. It’s a joke in our family that whenever you get a gift, before you’re allowed to peel back the wrapping paper, you have to hear all the zany little anecdotes about the procuring of the gift from the giver… what happened when they were trying to park, who they ran into inside the store, how they accidentally swapped their shopping bags, etc. These are all the wonderful little things that happen with shopping at small businesses in your town, which is something we should all take pride in!”