Nearly three years after The Melting Pot shuttered its long-standing location on 4th Street, the popular fondue restaurant has finally found a new home in the Sunshine City.

Front Burner Brands, the Tampa-based company that manages the Melting Pot brand of fondue restaurants, has confirmed to St. Pete Rising that it has leased 4,900 square feet of space at 695 Central Avenue in downtown St. Petersburg for a new flagship Melting Pot location.

The two-story, 16,000-square-foot building, which will house the future Melting Pot, is perfectly situated on Central Avenue adjacent to the Morean Arts Center and across the street from the Chihuly Collection.

A new pub and pizzeria is about to join the eclectic collection of locally owned retail shops and restaurants along Gulfport’s Beach Boulevard.

Owners Tom Lussiano and Larisa Curbelo are putting the finishing touches on Tommy’s Hideaway, located at 3121 Beach Boulevard South, formerly occupied by Dog Pier Hot Dog Shop (and Salty’s Sandwich Bar before that), and they expect the restaurant to open during the first week of February.

The menu is still under development, but Lussiano and Curbelo say they’ll serve a wide variety of pizzas, including gluten-free options, baked in a traditional ceramic, wood-fired oven, along with chicken wings and tenders, clam pies, cast-iron skillet shrimp scampi and a selection of Italian subs made with in-house, freshly baked bread.

St. Petersburg, already the nation’s most dog-friendly city, is about to become even more accommodating to canines with the highly anticipated Mutts and Martinis on track to open in March.

The brainchild of Natalie Conner, owner of Love My Dog Resort and Playground, which has locations in downtown St. Pete and northern Pinellas County, Mutts and Martinis, first announced by St Pete Rising in October 2020 and located at 2900 Central Avenue, will be the city’s first dog park and full-liquor bar.

With more than 5,000 square feet of space, the facility will feature a zero-entry splash fountain and water sprays. The fountain will be only about 10 inches deep so there’s no risk of drowning.

Fans of 11 Chicks Yummy Creations, the small restaurant serving Venezuelan cuisine at 199 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N. in downtown St. Petersburg, don’t fret: The eatery’s recent closure is only temporary as it expands into an adjacent vacant space.

The larger footprint gives 11 Chicks an additional 550 square feet, for a total of 1,030 square feet. According to the restaurant’s Instagram page, it plans to reopen on Friday, January 17th.

“Here at 11 Chicks, our journey never ends! We are temporarily closing for transformational proposes,” a January 4 post reads. “We are expanding our business next door and we can’t wait to unveil our new addition. Please stay tuned. We are excited to share our new adventure with our loyal and new customers. See you soon! Thank you for your support.”