Vintage cocktail bar and lounge Lost & Found to debut next month in the Grand Central District

/
Vintage cocktail bar and lounge Lost & Found to debut next month in the Grand Central District

I can recall an era when there were such things as VHS tapes, when people made collect calls, when the Rubik’s Cube was the ultimate IQ test.

Now, the entire world is in the palm of our hands. And while there is something incredible about such instantaneous information and interaction, I feel we’ve also lost something crucial – a sense of detachment from the world. A world free of social-media trolling, deep fake videos, and Zoom meetings.

Everything seemed simpler back then. Or maybe I’m just reaching the “get off my lawn” stage of life.

While I sometimes find myself decade daydreaming, I won’t have to any longer thanks to a new vintage cocktail bar and lounge coming soon to downtown St. Pete.

Read More

Mason's Famous Lobster Rolls to expand in Florida with downtown St. Pete location

/
Mason's Famous Lobster Rolls to expand in Florida with downtown St. Pete location

Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls plans to open its third eatery in Florida at 501 1st Avenue North, formerly the home of Cottage Café, in downtown St. Pete.

The fast-casual seafood restaurant chain, which was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland, has locations in Miami and Fort Myers. Its footprint also includes Delaware, Minnesota, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, D.C., Texas, Virginia, and Washington State.

In addition to its namesake lobster rolls, the restaurant’s menu also includes shrimp rolls, crab rolls, BLT rolls, New England clam chowder, lobster grilled cheese, lobster mac and cheese, lobster bisque, and salads, as well as Whoopie Pies for dessert.

Read More

Health and wellness businesses lease space at Camden Central in downtown St. Pete

/
Health and wellness businesses lease space at Camden Central in downtown St. Pete

Two new businesses that offer health and wellness services are opening on the ground-floor retail level of Camden Central Apartments at 855 Central Avenue in downtown St. Petersburg.

MiniLuxe has leased the space neighboring BurgerFi on Central Avenue.

MiniLuxe specializes in hand, nail, and body care, offering a wide assortment of services, from manicures and pedicures to nail polish, eyebrow shaping, and body hair removal. Customers can choose from getting work done in the studio or having a staff member come to their home.

Read More

New charcuterie concept Graze Craze to open in Grand Central District

/
New charcuterie concept Graze Craze to open in Grand Central District

Fans of charcuterie boards and other graze-style shareable foods will want to check out a new food concept opening in mid-December in the heart of downtown St. Petersburg.

Graze Craze, a brand founded in 2018 that began franchising last year, is coming soon to 2220 Central Avenue. It will be owned and operated by Alex Gonzalez, a native of Pensacola Beach and University of West Florida graduate who developed an affinity for cheese plates and charcuterie boards while studying abroad and traveling in Europe.

Gonzalez has been a St. Pete resident since 2011 and plans to open multiple Graze Craze locations in the area.

Read More

A unique event space and gift shop Hostess opens in Grand Central District

/
A unique event space and gift shop Hostess opens in Grand Central District

St. Petersburg’s Grand Central District, already full of boutique, independent restaurants, bars, and retail outlets, has attracted another unique business in the form of Hostess, a micro-event space and gift shop set in a 1950s bungalow and created by owners Shelby Pletcher and Michelle Whiting, who cultivated an air of mystery around the establishment prior to its opening this week at 2635 Central Avenue.

“We’ve been very vague about everything thus far,” Pletcher says, “But honestly, it was pretty unintentional. We’ve just been working overtime to get the space ready and didn't have the manpower to devote to marketing. Instead, we decided to soft open first and then launch marketing once images of Hostess were ready.”

Whiting and Pletcher, though, are known quantities. They own a clothing store called Canvas Fashion Gallery that has locations on 4th Street North in St. Pete and in Tampa’s Hyde Park Village. But Hostess, which will offer grab-and-go food, as well as wine and beer, for small gatherings, is a significant departure.

Read More

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

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

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.

Read More

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

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

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.

Read More

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

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

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.

Read More

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

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

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.

Read More

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

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

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.

Read More