January 13, 2025

Popular vegan restaurant Golden Dinosaurs will permanently close

January 13, 2025/ Veronica Brezina

Golden Dinosaurs, regarded as one of the best vegan restaurants in Tampa Bay, will be closing permanently later this month.

The popular vegan deli and bakery that slings plant-based sandwiches and sweets announced the upcoming closure at 2930 Beach Boulevard.

"The era of vegan restaurant extinction seems to be upon us, and Gold Dinos will unfortunately not survive the apocalypse," owners Brian and Audrey Dingeman wrote.

The husband-and-wife duo, also owners of St. Pete's Good Intentions vegan restaurant, cited economic challenges for closing the fast-casual space that opened in 2018.

January 10, 2025

New SunRunner station opens by St. Pete Pier, PSTA launches "After Dark" service

January 10, 2025/ Veronica Brezina

A new SunRunner station has opened in downtown St. Pete, aiming to better connect residents and visitors to the St. Pete Pier District and businesses along Beach Drive.

Friday morning, the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA), Congresswoman Kathy Castor, State Representative Lindsay Cross, St. Petersburg City Councilmembers, and others celebrated the ribbon-cutting for the new station at 150 1st Avenue North.

The 1st Avenue North station, which was completed in six months, is located near popular downtown restaurants and bars such as Who’s on First, Tequila Daisy, and Social Roost.

It's one of over 30 stops along the 10.3-mile bus rapid transit route that debuted in October 2022, linking downtown St. Petersburg to St. Pete Beach via dedicated lanes running along 1st Avenue North and 1st Avenue South.

January 10, 2025

Downtown St. Pete development site near Central Avenue hits the market

January 10, 2025/ Veronica Brezina

A redevelopment site in the heart of downtown St. Petersburg has hit the market.

The property is located one block from Central Avenue at 125 5th Street South and sits across the street from the 46-story Residences at 400 Central building, which is slated to be completed later this year. The parcel currently houses an 11,357-square-foot office building anchored by Wells Fargo Bank.

“This property has generated a lot of interest from developers over the past few years who wanted to redevelop the property into a high-rise tower,” Vector Commercial Real Estate Services Broker Blakemore Kearney said to St. Pete Rising.

January 09, 2025

21-story apartment tower proposed near USF in downtown St. Pete

January 09, 2025/ Veronica Brezina

A local developer has proposed to construct a 21-story, 213-unit apartment building directly across from the University of South Florida in downtown St. Pete.

St. Pete-based real estate company Stadler Development has filed a site plan application with the city for a $67 million tower that is expected to rise on a 0.69-acre property at 446 4th Street South, which is currently home to a 5,000-square-foot commercial building occupied by Fresenius Kidney Care American Dialysis Center.

“This site will deliver the demand for the Innovation District. The whole community, including students and hospital workers, should be well-served by this project,” Stadler Development Managing Partner John Stadler said in a conversation with St. Pete Rising.

January 08, 2025

St. Pete Ferments and Queen & Colony relocate to new home near downtown

January 08, 2025/ Veronica Brezina

The longtime farmer's market vendor who's garnered a name for herself making kombucha and fermented vegetables in St. Pete has found a new permanent home.

Jars of raw honey, bottles of kombucha with fruity flavors, and fermented kimchi and sauerkraut fill the shelves and cooler along the brick walls and cooler inside St. Pete Ferments' new brick-and-mortar shop at 326 MLK Jr. Street North, a space with Queen and Colony Bee Company, which specializes in local, raw honey and beekeeper education.

The two businesses previously shared a space at an industrial building 4922 8th Avenue South in Gulfport.