French pastry shop Le Macaron is coming to downtown St. Pete

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French pastry shop Le Macaron is coming to downtown St. Pete

The Central Avenue corridor in downtown St. Petersburg continues its development as a haven for foodies with the arrival of Sarasota-based Le Macaron. The French pastry shop chain — which has locations across the country, from Santa Monica, California, to Cambridge, Massachusetts — will be opening at 657 Central Avenue, formerly the home of The Juice Shack. 

Sunshine City residents, however, might already be familiar with Le Macaron: The company briefly operated a downtown St. Pete location more than a decade ago at 203 1st Street NE, which is now occupied by Elite Shoe Repair.

In fact, Le Macaron, founded in 2009 by Rosalie Guillem and her daughter, Audrey Saba, is no stranger to the greater Tampa Bay region: It already has a store at Tyrone Square mall in west St. Pete in addition to Sarasota and Wesley Chapel, with more locations coming soon to Clearwater and Tarpon Springs.

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Local, family-owned baby boutique debuts on 4th Street North

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Local, family-owned baby boutique debuts on 4th Street North

Parents of infants can now shop local for their new bundles of joy at Oh Baby! St. Pete, a baby boutique, which opened over the weekend at 6101 4th Street North.  

According to co-owners Kayla Lancioni and Genesis Pacheco, the 1,600-square-foot Oh Baby! St. Pete is “a family-owned baby boutique for the modern-day mama.”

They estimate that about 85 percent of the products they stock are organic.  

“We have higher-quality, better-quality clothes,” Lancioni said in an interview with St. Pete Rising. “And not just clothes, but toys and accessories. We’re catering to ages two and under, so we have a lot more variety because we’re sticking to a smaller age group.”

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Ride ‘Em Cowboy, St. Pete's newest country bar, opens for business

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Ride ‘Em Cowboy, St. Pete's newest country bar, opens for business

It’s time to shine up your cowboy boots, St. Petersburg! Ride ‘Em Cowboy quietly opened on Sunday at 2451 Central Avenue, in the heart of the city’s Grand Central District.

The country bar occupies the 3,420-square-foot space that was formerly the home of Mixers at Old Key West Bar & Grill, which closed in June.

“We will have live music here Thursday through Sunday,” said Owner Greg Mikurak in an interview with St. Pete Rising. “We have live bands and DJs lined up for the next two weeks.”

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The Sourdough Co. bakery and cafe to open in the EDGE District next month

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The Sourdough Co. bakery and cafe to open in the EDGE District next month

A bakery and café that specializes in sourdough breads, cookies, sandwiches, and soups has leased space at 1113 Central Avenue, formerly the home of Karma Juice Bar & Eatery.

The Sourdough Co. has been selling its baked goods online via an e-commerce site but owner Ariana Duksa said she’ll be setting up shop in the prime EDGE District space in November. She’s hiring bakers, kitchen staff, and counter help and encourages job seekers to email their resumes to Jobs@thesourdough.co.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, every baked good sold at The Sourdough Co. will be made with sourdough, including round loaves, sandwich loaves, and baguettes, in addition to cookies, brownies, cinnamon rolls, and scones. 

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2,084-unit mixed-use development Skyway Village approved by St. Pete’s Development Review Commission

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2,084-unit mixed-use development Skyway Village approved by St. Pete’s Development Review Commission

After hours of deliberation, St. Petersburg’s Development Review Commission approved a massive mixed-use development planned for the Skyway Marina District on Wednesday night. The mixed-use project was proposed earlier this year for a long-underutilized office park that previously housed Ceridian, a Minneapolis-based company that provides human resources software and services.

The 34.3-acre development, named Skyway Village, is a phased, master-planned project that will include demolishing most of the existing 380,000 square foot office park at 3102 34th Street South and constructing a series of new mid-rise buildings that include a mix of apartments and walkable community retail, most notably a Sprouts Farmers Market.

Skyway Village is being developed by Altis Cardinal Skyline 2, LLC, an entity controlled by Coral Gables-based Altis Cardinal, and will include 2,084 apartments, 80,920 square feet of retail space, 22,500 square feet of office space, and 119,160 square feet of accessory self-storage space, and 4,000 parking spaces.

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Construction begins on 19-story condo tower The Julia in downtown St. Pete

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Construction begins on 19-story condo tower The Julia in downtown St. Pete

Construction is set to begin on the latest condominium tower to join downtown St. Petersburg’s growing skyline.

Last week, the developers of The Julia, a 19-story condominium tower planned for 100 4th Avenue North, kicked off site preparations and construction activity with a groundbreaking ceremony. 

The Julia is being co-developed by the Francis Family, which is led by seasoned real estate developer Peter Francis, and Robert Sherman from MBA development. The condominium tower is named after Francis’ 13-year-old daughter Julia, one of his four children.

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The Hippie Shack to open in former Sea Hags spot on St. Pete Beach

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The Hippie Shack to open in former Sea Hags spot on St. Pete Beach

Sea Hags Bar & Grill, a popular waterfront establishment located at 9555 Blind Pass Road in St. Pete Beach — just across the bridge from Treasure Island — closed its doors in June, much to the dismay of the pub’s extremely loyal customer base.

But in a few short weeks, the space will reopen under new ownership as the Hippie Shack, which bills itself as “an eatin’, drinkin’, and dancin’ kind of joint.”  

According to General Manager Mallory Chernesky, who landed a bartending job at Sea Hags after moving to St. Petersburg in autumn 2022, the Hippie Shack, true to its name, will have a 1960s/1970s vibe.

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Women’s fashion shop The Campus Colors Boutique opens in downtown St. Pete

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Women’s fashion shop The Campus Colors Boutique opens in downtown St. Pete

Hot on the heels of the opening of St. Pete Bakery, the 600 block of 1st Avenue North continues to diversify with the arrival of The Campus Colors Boutique, a women’s fashion shop owned by Karen Sleszynski.

Located at 600 1st Avenue North, Suite 100, The Campus Colors Boutique offers a wide variety of dresses, tops, sweaters, pants, rompers, skirts, shorts, jackets, and accessories such as hats and sunglasses. Sleszynski, who taught herself to sew and make clothes when she was just 11 years old, said her goal is to offer simple, competitively priced clothing for women of all ages.

Despite the name of the store, customers will be able to find clothing with subdued floral patterns, but most items are bright and colorful.

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Golf simulator lounge and upscale restaurant to bring country club vibes to former Hofbrauhaus building in downtown St. Pete

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Golf simulator lounge and upscale restaurant to bring country club vibes to former Hofbrauhaus building in downtown St. Pete

One of downtown St. Petersburg’s most iconic and historically significant buildings will soon be home to an upscale indoor golf lounge and high-end restaurant featuring seating for over 300 guests.

GolfSuites, Inc., based in Brandon, Florida, has signed a lease to bring the first and flagship GolfSuites City Club to the 17,000-square-foot historic Tramor Cafeteria building at 123 4th Street South in downtown St. Pete.

“With GolfSuites City Club, we are bringing the country club into the city,” said Jerry Ellenburg, Chairman and CEO of GolfSuites, Inc., in a conversation with St. Pete Rising. “Not only will we have hyper-realistic, state-of-the-art golf simulators, but we will have a high-end dining experience with a menu featuring scallops, short rib, prime rib, and more.” 

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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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