A chef-driven wine bar with global cuisine is set to debut next month in St. Petersburg’s Crescent Heights neighborhood.

Calida Kitchen & Wine will be located at 2909 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street North. 

Dayna Bennett, owner of Calida Kitchen & Wine, says the menu will feature sharable plates, a few entrees, and some specials that will rotate in and out.

The restaurant’s opening menu will contain starters like beef and chorizo empanadas with French salsa verde and lemon crème; and beef ribs served in a bone broth and topped with a pickled chili and endive slaw. Entrees will include options like Chow Noodles with market vegetables, fresh ginger and garlic, tamari, sesame oil, and chili flakes; and Branzino with carrot soubise, chili oil, potato, and market vegetables.

A beloved Tampa-based coffee roaster and beer brewer is expanding — and it’s coming to downtown St. Petersburg, specifically the COhatch co-working space, located inside the historic Harlan Hotel building at 15 8th Street North.

King State, which opened its only other location on Floribraska Avenue in Tampa in 2019, will be located on COhatch’s ground floor. Nate Young, who owns the business with his brother-in-law Tim McTague, says King State initially focused on coffee and added beer along the way, but it’s also known for its food, offering a robust selection of sandwiches, salads, pizza, and even breakfast items.

“Obviously, coffee is still our main thing, and now that we have distribution of beer, you can get our beer all over, which is great,” he says. “But coffee and food are the driving forces. What’s been cool about King State is that we haven’t latched onto one specific thing. We’ve focused on a number of different offerings and I think that’s worked in our favor.”

A new nautical-themed bar and full-service restaurant will soon launch on the 200 block of Central Avenue, known as the most popular destination for nightlife in the Sunshine City.

Segreti’s Hospitality Group, the owner of Yard of Ale and 260 First in downtown St. Pete, hopes to open the 7,000-square-foot establishment, dubbed the Nauti Duchess, in mid-April. Located at 217 Central Avenue, it’ll takes the place of Caddy’s on Central, which closed in 2020 after COVID-19 shut down all restaurants and bars in Florida.

Segreti’s Hospitality Group originally proposed a dual-restaurant concept, The Brickyard and Pizza N’ Brew, for this space in 2020. However, the group has since abandoned that plan in favor of the Nauti Duchess, which will occupy the entire 7,000 square foot space.