French Moroccan restaurant Cybel to debut next month in St. Pete

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French Moroccan restaurant Cybel to debut next month in St. Pete

A dream many decades in the making will come to fruition when Chef Taoufik "Touf" Abdelmoula unveils Cybel (pronounced see-bell), his new French Moroccan restaurant in St. Pete.

Cybel will debut this September in Historic Kenwood at 2735 5th Avenue North, formerly home to Sammy + Paco’s Café. The opening comes about two months after Chef Touf closed the Cybel ghost kitchen at Foodie Labs, ending an eight-month run at the restaurant incubator.

“Foodie Labs helped us work our way up, making a name for ourselves in the city," Chef Touf said to St. Pete Rising. “We couldn’t be more excited for our next chapter and to introduce even more people to French Moroccan cuisine.” 

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Fortune 500 company Foot Locker to move global headquarters to St. Pete

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Fortune 500 company Foot Locker to move global headquarters to St. Pete

New York-based retailer Foot Locker has announced it will move its global headquarters to St. Petersburg, according to the company’s second quarter financial earnings report.

“To further support strategic progress against the Lace Up Plan, Foot Locker, Inc. is also announcing that it will move its global headquarters to St. Petersburg, Florida in late 2025,” says the release.

“The intent of the relocation is to further build on the Company's meaningful presence in St. Petersburg and to enable increased collaboration among teams across banners and functions, while also reducing costs.”

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City of St. Pete to sell 1.5-acre site near Tropicana Field in downtown St. Pete

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City of St. Pete to sell 1.5-acre site near Tropicana Field in downtown St. Pete

The City of St. Pete is in discussions to sell a 1.53-acre city-owned property near the future Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment in downtown St. Pete. 

Third Lake Partners, which was established by Ashley Furniture founder Ronald Wanek, is expected to purchase the property at 298 Dr. Martin Luther King Street South from the City of St. Petersburg for $10 million. 

The property is situated east of Tropicana Field and directly west of United Property Insurance's (UPC) former headquarters building, which Third Lake Partners bought in 2022 for $10.5 million. 

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71-unit affordable housing community breaks ground at former Ed White Hospital site in North Kenwood

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71-unit affordable housing community breaks ground at former Ed White Hospital site in North Kenwood

The St. Petersburg Housing Authority (SPHA) marked a significant milestone in addressing affordable housing needs for seniors with the groundbreaking of a new residential project at 2323 9th Avenue North in North Kenwood.

The project, dubbed the Edward White Campus, a nod to the former Edward White Hospital that operated at the property, is set to be transformed into a six-story, 121,000-square-foot affordable housing complex.  

The campus will house three facilities including: the Gemini Senior Living Community, the St. Petersburg Housing Authority Central Office, and Evara Health. 

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Red Thread to bring flavors of the Silk Road to downtown St. Pete this fall

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Red Thread to bring flavors of the Silk Road to downtown St. Pete this fall

When Saigon Blonde opened in downtown St. Pete, it redefined what a cocktail bar in Tampa Bay could be. Six years later, the team behind Saigon Blonde is putting the final touches on a new immersive upscale restaurant set to debut this September.

In 2018, instead of simply designing a beautiful bar, the owner used Saigon Blonde to tell a story.

Saigon Blonde, located at 265 Central Avenue, is the story of a beautiful Vietnamese-French woman who operated a cocktail lounge deep in the heart of the capital of Vietnam during one of history’s most devastating wars.

The downtown St. Pete cocktail bar could easily fit in on the streets of New York City or in a Disney theme park. And by the sound of it, the team’s next concept would fit right in as well.

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