22 blocks of Central Avenue to close for 3rd annual Halloween on Central

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22 blocks of Central Avenue to close for 3rd annual Halloween on Central

Halloween on Central’s first two years were a massive success with over 100,000 in attendance last year, quickly becoming one of the largest annual events in St. Pete. The open-air festival is set to return for its third year on Sunday, October 29th!

This year, Halloween on Central is being put on by Grow Financial Federal Credit Union and in partnership with the Grand Central District, EDGE District, the City of St. Pete, LocalShops1, and St. Pete Pride.

Like last year, the free event will span nearly two miles of Central Avenue, from Dr. MLK Jr. Street (9th Street) to 31st Street, through the EDGE District and Grand Central District of downtown St. Pete. Halloween on Central will run from noon to 5PM.

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Local coffee shop and cafe, Sugar Baby, to open in Seminole

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Local coffee shop and cafe, Sugar Baby, to open in Seminole

Seminole residents will soon be able to enjoy another locally owned option for their caffeine fix when Sugar Baby opens later this month at 9191 Park Boulevard.

The coffee shop, whose website claims that “sandy feet and dogs are always welcome,” will serve Buddy Brew coffee in a variety of hot and cold beverage options, including espresso, latte, americano, cappuccino, flat white, and cortado. Matcha and chai lattes will be available for tea drinkers.

The food menu features an all-day breakfast, with dishes such as avocado toast, breakfast sandwiches, salmon toast, a granola bowl, and Sugar Baby toast, which is a soft-boiled egg, salmon spread, avocado, pickled red onion, and micro cilantro on a slice of sourdough.

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Dessert bar from owners of Mullet’s Fish Camp coming soon to south St. Pete

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Dessert bar from owners of Mullet’s Fish Camp coming soon to south St. Pete

The owners of Mullet’s Fish Camp & Market, located at 3901 6th Street South, are opening a dessert bar at 3910 6th Street South, formerly the home of Coquina Meat Market, directly across the street from their seafood restaurant.

In an interview with St. Pete Rising, Brian Rose and Nick Brown said they wanted to expand their business because it’s in an underserved part of the city where families need more options for doing things together.

“We have a very kid-friendly restaurant,” Rose said. “We have families coming in constantly. ‘Let’s go get ice cream’ — that’s one of the most straightforward family functions.” 

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Florida-based coffee shop Qargo Coffee to expand to downtown St. Pete

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Florida-based coffee shop Qargo Coffee to expand to downtown St. Pete

Qargo Coffee, a small but quickly growing coffee company that’s headquartered in Miami, is coming to the EDGE District of downtown St. Petersburg, with plans to open a café at 924 Central Avenue, inside the 930 Central Flats apartment building, by the end of the year. The space is currently home to My Choice Marketplace.

It will be Qargo’s second location in the Tampa Bay region — the other is a kiosk-style café at the International Plaza and Bay Street mall in Tampa.

The St. Pete location, according to Qargo Coffee Marketing Director Sebastian Garcia, will be about 1,200 square feet in size and will offer around 20 seats inside and additional seating outside. Its menu will feature espresso-based beverages, drip coffee, cold brew coffee, and tea in addition to specialty beverages that are unique to St. Pete. 

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St. Pete named one of the happiest towns in America

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St. Pete named one of the happiest towns in America

St. Petersburg is known as the Sunshine City for its average temperature of 74 degrees and an average of 361 days of sunshine per year, but could it also be the Happiest City?

According to Outside Magazine, St. Pete made the list of The Happiest Towns in America.

To create the list, Outside Magazine looked at things like outdoor access, affordability, a safe environment, diversity, and freedom for residents to be who they are.

These happy lifestyle traits were boiled down into technical metrics such as percentage of parkland, percentage of residents who live within a ten-minute walk of a park, and Municipal Equality Index Score, among other factors.

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