A St. Pete native and former USF basketball star is preparing to open what he calls a love letter to his hometown.

Love Language 727 Restaurant & Lounge will open in October at 3063 Central Avenue in the Grand Central District.

The space was previously home to 31 Grand, a sports bar that closed in late 2024 following back-to-back hurricanes. Before that, it housed Punky’s Bar and Grill, an LGBTQ-friendly establishment that closed in 2022 after nearly seven years in business.

Owner Jimmy Devon Baxter is returning to St. Pete after nearly two decades in Atlanta, where he said he was inspired by the city’s experience-driven restaurant and lounge scene.

After graduating from Boca Ciega High School, he played basketball for the University of South Florida from 2000 to 2004.

During his senior year, Baxter received the NCAA Award of Valor for helping rescue two men trapped inside a vehicle following a violent crash. The City of Tampa also presented him with a key to the city for his efforts.

A popular Venezuelan food concept known for its stuffed arepas and empanadas will soon open its first brick-and-mortar restaurant in St. Pete.

Carúpano Kitchen plans to open by mid-November at 1040 4th Street North, a 1,070-square-foot space previously occupied by a catering kitchen and Urban Canning Company before that.

Andrea Osorio debuted Carúpano Kitchen at Foodie Labs, a commercial kitchen incubator in the Warehouse Arts District, in 2025 with her mother, Diann Cedeño, and wife, Lauren Haley.

The menu centers on arepas, naturally gluten-free Venezuelan corn cakes that are grilled or fried, sliced open, and filled with meats, cheeses, seafood, and vegetables.

Osorio said the new restaurant will keep Carúpano Kitchen’s core recipes while adding new, healthy options for the lunch crowd.

“There’s a lot of changes coming, but overall it’s the same menu and recipes,” Osorio said in a conversation with St. Pete Rising. “It’ll just be an elevated version that caters to this new location.”

A new family-owned restaurant serving pizzas, burgers, empanadas, and other Argentinian dishes is preparing to open in Pinellas Park.

Pizzardis will open at 7820 49th Street North, near England Brothers Park and the Pinellas Park Performing Arts Center. The building was previously home to Pinellas Park's Fresh Produce.

Owner Victoria Fecarotta said she and her husband expect to welcome their first customers during the last week of September.

For Fecarotta, the restaurant is rooted in memories of food bringing people together in Argentina, from long Sunday lunches to Friday nights spent sharing pizza with family.

She moved to the United States in 2001 and, after years in the restaurant business and previously owning a restaurant with her husband in Chicago, is ready to open a place of her own in Pinellas County.

More than 1,500 panels of white Brazilian granite are now being installed on the Museum of the American Arts and Crafts Movement’s five-story expansion at 355 4th Street North in downtown St. Pete.

The 11,300-square-foot expansion will add four galleries to the 137,000-square-foot museum, which opened five years ago in September 2021.

The Arts and Crafts movement emerged in the late 19th century as a response to mass-produced goods, placing an emphasis on handcrafted objects, natural materials, and simple, functional design.

The St. Pete museum is the only museum in the world dedicated exclusively to the American Arts and Crafts movement.

The existing five-story museum includes more than 40,000 square feet of gallery space, along with a grand atrium, skylights, and its signature spiral staircase.

Peacock Home, a shop specializing in vintage finds, globally sourced décor, and locally made goods, will open October 1st in St. Petersburg’s Grand Central District.

The 1,100-square-foot store will occupy the second floor of the building at 2635 Central Avenue, home to Hostess, a gift shop and event space.

It is the first brick-and-mortar retail venture from longtime St. Pete resident and interior designer Erika Basher.

Peacock Home grew out of a five-day pop-up Basher held at Hostess six months ago.

She rented a moving truck, brought in a collection of furniture, décor, and other finds, and sold nearly everything within five hours of opening.

“I’ve always been into interior design. It’s 100% a passion of mine,” Basher said in a conversation with St. Pete Rising. “I’ve made my living doing it, but I’ve never opened up a retail store.”

CASA Pinellas, the county’s certified domestic violence nonprofit, has purchased the former Cellarmasters wine bar and bottle shop at 1005 1st Avenue North in the EDGE District for $1.75 million, creating room to expand its neighboring thrift store and generate additional funding for survivor services.

The 2,190-square-foot building, which CellarMasters vacated after closing in November 2025, sits next to CASA’s 17,000-square-foot building at 1011 1st Avenue North, which houses the nonprofit’s thrift store on the first floor and Family Justice Center on the second.

CASA, which stands for Community Action Stops Abuse, will turn the newly acquired building into a donation-receiving, sorting, and processing center, relocating back-of-house functions now housed within the thrift store.

The move will allow the nonprofit to expand the thrift store’s sales floor by about 20%.

CASA CEO Lariana Forsythe said housewares are the store’s biggest seller and generate its highest margins. The additional sales floor will allow CASA to carry more merchandise, particularly in that category.

The thrift store generates about $1 million annually in unrestricted revenue for CASA, according to Forsythe. The organization estimates the additional retail space could produce roughly $200,000 more each year.

Demolition is expected to begin in October at the James B. Sanderlin Neighborhood Family Center in south St. Pete, clearing the way for a $25 million, 40,000-square-foot building designed to expand the nonprofit’s education and family-support services.

The new facility at 2335 22nd Avenue South will replace the aging, 25,000-square-foot building, which was never designed to accommodate the center’s current programs.

The organization offers pre-kindergarten, after-school tutoring, job training, weekly food distribution, and financial-literacy programs for students and their parents.

At a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday, Executive Director Celeste Collins said the project is personal to her. Before leading the organization, she brought her own children to the center as a parent.

“When we talk about creating a space for families, I know what we are talking about because I’ve been on the other side of the fence as a parent,” Collins said.

Bocelli Modern Italian, the South Tampa restaurant known for its housemade pastas, live music, and Utica-style chicken riggies, is opening a second location in downtown Largo.

The restaurant is planned for 40 West Bay Drive at Horizon West Bay, Largo’s new mixed-use development anchored by City Hall.

Managing Partner Michael Mythack said Bocelli hopes to open between March and April 2027.

The 6,400-square-foot restaurant will include a full-liquor bar, private dining room, outdoor seating, and a larger kitchen than the South Tampa location.

Mythack said the Largo location, which is currently in the design and permitting phase, will carry forward the feel of Bocelli’s South Tampa restaurant, which he describes as an approachable, family-oriented neighborhood restaurant rather than a white-tablecloth fine-dining destination.

“We’re not upscale. We’re mid-scale,” Mythack said in a conversation with St. Pete Rising. “We’re a neighborhood restaurant in South Tampa. It’s nice inside. The aesthetic is beautiful. We have live music three days a week.”

STORM, a Tampa-born drink shop whose colorful, clean energy drinks regularly go viral on social media, is coming to St. Pete.

The shop is known for 32-ounce electrolyte drinks available in more than 20 flavors, with options for carbonation, extra flavor, creatine, collagen, and varying caffeine levels. It also serves plant-based protein shakes all made with their unique protein formula.

STORM is expected to open before November 1st at 2600 4th Street North, replacing Grand Kitchen and Bath, which is relocating to the other side of the building.

For STORM founder Molly Mills, the opening is a return home.

Mills grew up in St. Pete and initially hoped to open the company’s first location here. But as a new business, she and her fiancé, Cole Schaller, could not find a space they could afford near downtown.

After years of planning, Craft Kafe is targeting an early October opening for a new cafe and commissary kitchen in St. Pete’s Skyway Marina District.

The homegrown eatery and bakery, known for specialty coffee and a scratch-made gluten-free menu, is putting the finishing touches on its third St. Pete cafe at 4725 34th Street South in the Marina Village shopping plaza, just south of the Marina Walk Apartments.

The 4,700-square-foot space will include a 1,000-square-foot cafe and a large production kitchen designed to supply Craft’s existing stores and support future expansion, according to the owners.

“We’ve planned this one month after opening our first store in St. Pete. Because of the pandemic, issues in logistics, and losing my home from the hurricanes, this has taken so long to open,” founder and owner Teddy Skiadiotis told St. Pete Rising during a private tour.

Reverie Room, a new bookstore and lounge with themed rooms, reading nooks, and much more, is expected to open in the Warehouse Arts District later this month.

Owner Nichole Coronado is bringing the concept to 655 31st Street South, where she hopes visitors will come not only to find a book, but to stay awhile.

The 2,200-square-foot shop will share a building with FYI Dance Co. and a parking lot with Beech Kombucha. The space previously housed House of Vegano and The Body Electric Athletic Company.

Reverie Room is named for the idea of being pleasantly lost in thought. Inside, Coronado has divided the bookstore into four rooms, each with its own personality.

A children’s room leans into a whimsical mix of dragons, princes, princesses, bean bags, and a unicorn rug. The romance room has vintage furniture, floral touches, and darker, gothic-inspired decor. Coronado gave the nonfiction and adventure room a nautical feel inspired by the Tampa Bay area.

A separate lounge will host private events and smaller gatherings.

What began with bouquets at Tampa Bay markets is becoming a place designed to carry people through the day, from morning coffee and flower arranging to wine and small plates in the evening.

Florafête Bouquet Bar, a floral design business founded by Lucy Watkins, plans to open this fall at 400 Beach Drive in downtown St. Pete.

The shop will bring custom arrangements, a build-your-own bouquet bar, retail goods, and a nine-seat wine and coffee bar together under one roof.

The space was previously occupied by Savory Spice Shop, which permanently closed in 2024.

Watkins, a Miami native with decades of hospitality experience, said the concept grew out of an encounter with flower carts while visiting her hometown in 2021.

“At the time, I was just visiting Miami when I saw flower carts not only selling single-stem flowers but also creating full bouquets for people on the street,” Watkins said.

Flower carts are a familiar sight in Miami, which serves as the country’s primary air gateway for imported flowers. Miami International Airport says it handled 91% of U.S. flower imports arriving by air in 2025, with many cut blooms coming from production centers in Colombia and Ecuador.

When Jeff and Jody Musselman opened Salty Pup Coffeehouse and Wine Bar in Gulfport, the business was meant to be a new chapter.

The couple had moved back to the area after years in Atlanta, where they sold their home and said goodbye to Hampton, their 14-year-old labradoodle. They named the café after him.

Hampton was their “salty dog,” Jody told St. Pete Rising at the time, because he had a little attitude.

Nearly two years later, the Gulfport community that embraced their small coffee shop is helping make room for an even bigger idea.

The Musselmans plan to relocate The Salty Pup from 5004 Tangerine Avenue South to 4700 22nd Avenue South, a 5,348 square-foot warehouse that will also house Electric Flamingo, a new vintage marketplace with vendor booths, art displays, and space for up to 29 local sellers.

The couple is targeting a December opening, pending construction and permitting.

A new Pan-Asian quick-service restaurant has opened in Pinellas Park, but this one comes with a unique feature: a drive thru.

That’s right, hungry diners can now get ramen, rice bowls, and boba straight from a drive thru window on their way home.

Ninja Ramen quietly opened about two weeks ago at 11180 66th Street North in Pinellas Park, in a space formerly home to Subway.

The menu includes six noddle dishes and eight rice bowls.

The ramen offerings include a seafood oden ramen, a roast pork ramen, a Chongqing spicy ramen, a braised beef tomato ramen, and the Sumo Teriyaki Chicken features chicken katsu with teriyaki glaze, fried rice and stir-fried noodles.

A permanent ferry dock at the St. Pete Pier moved closer to reality Friday, as the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority celebrated $850,000 in newly secured federal funding for the future Tampa Bay Ferry terminal.

PSTA leaders joined U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch, and representatives from Hubbard’s Marina at the Pier to announce the funding, which will help support a new dock near the St. Petersburg Museum of History.

The permanent facility is planned to include a security gate, ticket booth, and ADA-compliant access. It is expected to accommodate two ferry vessels at once, according to Captain Dylan Hubbard of Hubbard’s Marina.

“This is a key piece in the puzzle,” PSTA CEO Brad Miller said during the event.

The federal funding, secured by Castor through the Fiscal Year 2026 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill, comes as PSTA prepares to relaunch passenger ferry service between downtown St. Pete and Tampa later this year.

As St. Petersburg adds apartments, condos, and offices, the City is trying a new approach to help ensure the artists and galleries that helped shape downtown are not priced out of it.

City Council unanimously approved an arts funding development bonus on August 27th, creating a new way for developers to support local artists and arts organizations while pursuing additional building space for their projects.

For local arts advocates, the vote brought the City one step closer to creating a dependable source of funding for artists and arts organizations.

“The holy grail for the arts community in St. Pete has been to find a sustainable funding source to support the arts,” said Paul Carter, a downtown resident and member of the City’s Arts Advisory Committee.

The policy is not a change that will allow developers to build more densely than they could before. Instead, it adds another option to the City’s existing selection of floor area ratio, or FAR, bonuses.

FAR is a zoning measurement that determines how much total building space can be constructed on a site relative to its land area. In certain zoning districts, such as downtown, the City already allows developers to earn FAR bonuses by providing public benefits that support community priorities.

For years, The Joint’s patio had the bones of a great outdoor hangout: space to sit, a neighborhood crowd, and the kind of laid-back setting that feels made for a cold beer and a game on TV.

What it did not have was much protection from Florida’s sun and rain.

That is about to change. The Joint, the longtime Jungle Terrace tavern at 7630 34th Avenue North, has added a covered patio, an outdoor bar, fans, and seven TVs.

Owners Ben Scherlis and Francesco “Fran” Balzano expect to welcome customers into the new space later this month, although an opening date has not yet been finalized.

“We just wanted to open this space up and make it a whole new outdoor concept where people can sit outside, order food and drinks, and watch TV, same as you could inside,” Scherlis said in a conversation with St. Pete Rising. “It’s just giving people another option.”

On a busy Friday night, the challenge at Mary Margaret’s Olde Irish Tavern is not finding a good pint of Guinness. It is finding a place to sit, order dinner, or even make it to the restroom.

The downtown St. Pete pub is often filled shoulder to shoulder with live-music fans, soccer supporters, dinner guests, and late-night crowds.

Owner Pete Boland, who also owns The Galley and The Ship’s Hold, said the space has become so consistently busy that an expansion next door has shifted from a longtime idea into a necessity.

Mary Margaret’s, at 29 3rd Street North, will expand this winter into the neighboring Top Slice Pizzeria space.

The expansion marks a full-circle moment for Boland, whose grandmother, named Mary Margaret, operated a salon out of the Top Slice Pizzeria space back in the 1970s. 

The Irish pub currently occupies about 1,600 square feet, and the 1,400-square-foot addition will more than double its seating capacity with roughly 50 new seats, a second 12-seat bar, more patio tables, and additional restrooms.

A popular Indian Rocks Beach seafood restaurant will close Sunday for a complete reconstruction of its waterfront building.

Monstah Lobstah, located at 125 Gulf Boulevard, will serve its final customers on September 6th before closing Monday, September 7th. The existing 5,605-square-foot building will be demolished and rebuilt from the ground up.

The building, which housed JD’s Restaurant & Lounge for nearly 40 years, sustained damage during the back-to-back hurricanes of 2024. Rather than continue repairing the aging building, Monstah Lobstah’s parent company, Crabby Bill’s Family Brands, has decided to replace it.

“The reality is that we are operating in an aging coastal building that continues to need significant repairs and remains vulnerable to flooding, future storms, and additional damage,” ownership wrote in a Facebook post earlier this week.

“After a lot of evaluation and conversations with our contractor and architects, it became clear that continuing to repair and protect the existing structure would keep us in a cycle of temporary fixes without addressing the bigger issue,” the post continued.

The Manhattan Casino, the historic 22nd Street South venue that once hosted performers including James Brown, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Ray Charles, will reopen September 19 following a $4.8 million renovation.

The City of St. Petersburg will operate the two-story building at 642 22nd Street South as an event venue, with a ribbon-cutting and open house planned for 10 a.m. that day.

The reopening returns a major gathering place to The Deuces, the historically Black commercial and cultural district along 22nd Street South. The venue will be available for weddings, corporate events, conferences, family gatherings and live performances.

The renovations include new flooring and air conditioning, along with a new lobby, conference room, green room, catering kitchen, and stage for live bands.

The first floor will house the 2,232-square-foot Legacy Room and an entry foyer with a bar, while the second floor will feature the 4,152-square-foot Jordan Ballroom, named for Elder Jordan Sr.

Construction crews have completed demolition of the former UPC Insurance headquarters in downtown St. Pete, clearing the three-acre site for two 31-story apartment towers with 824 apartments and more than 30,000 square feet of retail space.

The 40,000-square-foot office building at 800 2nd Avenue South most recently served as a temporary office for the Tampa Bay Rays after Hurricane Milton damaged Tropicana Field.

UPC Insurance, which once occupied the building as its corporate headquarters, was placed into liquidation in 2023.

St. Pete-based Echelon, in partnership with Third Lake Partners, will develop the $225 million project, which will span more than 1.7 million square feet.

While shorter than the 46-story Residences at 400 Central, the two-tower development will contain more total floor area. At 343 feet, the towers will become the tallest buildings west of 5th Street and rank among downtown St. Pete’s 10 tallest structures.

Mayor Ken Welch has selected Magellan Housing as the preferred developer for Commerce Park, a 3.03-acre, city-owned site near 22nd Street South and 7th Avenue South across from the Manhattan Casino in south St. Pete.

Magellan, through its local affiliate Deuces Rising, LLC, was one of seven teams that responded to the city’s April request for proposals.

Its plan, called The Deuces at Commerce Park, includes an eight-story, 120-unit affordable apartment building, about 6,000 square feet of retail space along 22nd Street South, and six for-sale townhomes in a second phase.

The selection gives the Texas-based affordable-housing developer the opportunity to negotiate a deal with the city. Any final agreement must return to City Council for a separate vote, and the council is not likely to approve an agreement before November’s mayoral election.

All 120 apartments would be income-restricted, meaning residents would have to meet income limits to qualify. The proposal calls for 24 apartments reserved for households earning up to 30% of the area median income, 60 for households earning up to 60% of AMI, and 36 for households earning up to 80% of AMI.

A long-delayed project that will deliver 24 affordable homes for working families is nearing completion and preparing to welcome its first residents.

The bright white-and-blue, two-story townhomes line 6th and 7th avenues South near 22nd Street South, directly across from the Manhattan Casino.

The City of St. Petersburg purchased the land in 2007 for $2.2 million using a federal grant. However, the project was not announced until 2019 under former Mayor Rick Kriseman as part of the broader Deuces Rising initiative, which aims to revitalize the Deuces, the historic African American entertainment and business district along the 22nd Street South corridor.

Built by Tampa-based Horus Construction Services, the development includes twelve 1,780-square-foot townhomes with three bedrooms and twelve 1,525-square-foot townhomes with two bedrooms.

A St. Pete developer is planning a 60-unit apartment building in the Grand Central District that could demonstrate a quicker, potentially less expensive way to add housing to the city.

Blake Investment Partners plans to build a five-story apartment building at 3200 First Avenue South, at the corner of 31st Street South and First Avenue South, using a factory-built system from New York-based Vessel Technologies.

The building will be Vessel’s first Florida project and part of Whitney Village, a larger mixed-use development being constructed on the YMCA’s former athletic fields. The project also includes a 325-unit apartment community by Greystar, currently under construction, a future retail village, and 860 parking spaces.

The Vessel building is not being constructed through the traditional, site-built process used for most apartment projects.

Instead, Vessel will manufacture large steel-framed panels and other components in the Northeast, transport them to St. Petersburg, and assemble the completed building on-site.

Dead Bob’s is heading to Largo with a new name, an outdoor stage, and the late-night hours that helped make the St. Pete neighborhood bar a local favorite.

Owner Ben Scherlis plans to open Live at Dead Bob’s in 2027 at Horizon West Bay, Largo’s new $80 million mixed-use development at 440 West Bay Drive.

The development occupies the northern 400 block of West Bay Drive and combines Largo’s new City Hall with retail and restaurant space, public gathering areas, an outdoor plaza and stage, and a parking garage.

The 2,072-square-foot Live at Dead Bob’s will occupy a space in the parking garage building beside the outdoor stage and public plaza.

It will be the fourth Dead Bob’s-branded location, joining Dead Bob’s in west St. Pete, Dead Bob’s Too in Tampa, and Dead Bob’s Waterfront Kitchen inside the Elks Lodge in Madeira Beach.

At St. Pete Rising, we are constantly providing comprehensive coverage on everything new and coming soon to the Sunshine City, but we think it’s also important to take a look back at our city's rich history.

Historically St. Pete, a monthly column on St. Pete Rising written by Executive Director of the St. Petersburg Museum of History Rui Farias, covers everything from the legend of underground mobster tunnels to the buildings and people that created the Sunshine City.

Follow us each month as we explore how these projects shaped St. Pete into the city we know and love today.

This month, we explore the history of First United Methodist Church, a nearly 140-year-old congregation whose 100-year-old Gothic Revival sanctuary at 212 3rd Street North remains one of downtown St. Petersburg’s most recognizable landmarks.

Traditional Yemeni coffee is coming to downtown St. Pete.

Mocha Bay is expected to open before Thanksgiving at 401 1st Avenue North, on the ground floor of the Princess Martha, a historic senior living community.

The nearly 2,000-square-foot space was previously home to Deja Vu Café, which opened in 2016 and closed earlier this year. It is on the same block as Bar Chinchilla and the soon-to-open Sunshine City Comedy Cafe.

Mocha Bay will serve espresso drinks alongside traditional Yemeni coffee preparations, using medium-to-dark roasted beans sourced from Yemen, local businessman Hamdi Ali said in a conversation with St. Pete Rising.

Traditional Yemeni coffee is often brewed in a decorative metal pot called a dallah, then served strong in small cups. It can be flavored with spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.

For nearly a decade, a tiny sixth-floor walk-up in Hell’s Kitchen became something much bigger than an apartment.

From 2015 to 2024, St. Pete native Nico Leeper lived with roommates in Apartment 34 at 312 West 48th Street in Manhattan, where a rooftop overlooking Midtown gradually became a gathering place for friends, neighbors, and plenty of people they had never met before.

They called it the 312 Roof Club.

On any given night, the rooftop might host a barbecue, piano concert, political rally, Derby Day party, charity fundraiser, inflatable pool party, wedding reception, or just a bunch of friends hanging out over drinks.

Now Leeper is bringing that same energy home.

Choosing between a savory pizza and dessert is not really a problem at Quintal Brasil Pizza.

The new Pinellas Park restaurant serves both as part of its all-you-can-eat Brazilian-style pizza experience.

Quintal Brasil Pizza opened last month at 6119 Park Boulevard, in the plaza shared with Quan Ngon Bistro, Fat Cat Pizza & Dogs, and beangood coffee.

The restaurant is owned by Ray and Kaline Barreto, who also operate Brazilian pub Boteco Bossa Nova and Wildlife Acaí & Café in the same plaza.

Brazilian pizza is known for its thin crust, light layer of sauce, and toppings that may be less familiar to American pizza diners.

Quintal’s menu includes familiar pizzas like a Margherita with mozzarella, basil, and tomato, alongside Brazilian-style options such as the Portuguesa, topped with ham, hard-boiled eggs, onions, bell peppers, and olives.