Five years after walking away from the renowned Z Grille, veteran St. Petersburg restaurateur Zack Gross and his wife, Jennifer Gross, will return to the Tampa Bay culinary scene in early March with the debut of a new eatery, Uncle Funz Provisions, at 6640 Gulf Boulevard in St. Pete Beach.

Gross describes the menu as consisting of “people’s food, which is what I love to do.” He says it will be a small, simple restaurant, only about 800 square feet, and it will be primarily staffed by him and his wife.

“I’m not going to have a bunch of people working there,” he said in an interview with St. Pete Rising. “And I’m not going to be mass producing food. The menu will be ever-changing.”

After acquiring the next-door Backfin Blue Café, the new owners of Gulfport’s Peninsula Inn are preparing to rebrand and reopen the restaurant as The Wine House, which will offer a wide variety of wines available by the glass or bottle, as well as casual dining options that include charcuterie boards, craft cheeses, aged and smoked meats, and grab-and-go items.

Co-owner Gaston Gonzalez told St. Pete Rising that The Wine House is on track to open by the end of February at 2913 Beach Boulevard South.

“We don’t have a set date,” he says, “but we’re expecting to open by the end of the month at the latest.”

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.”