January 13, 2025

Chef Chris Ponte announces opening date for modern Italian restaurant OLIVIA in St. Pete

January 13, 2025/ Veronica Brezina

Tampa Bay's prestigious Chef Chris Ponte has set an opening date for OLIVIA, a modern Italian restaurant coming to downtown St. Pete.

The 5,550-square-foot restaurant, which was announced in March 2023, will open on January 21st on the ground floor of the recently completed 36-story Ascent apartment and hotel tower at 225 1st Avenue North.

OLIVIA’s flagship Tampa location debuted in 2019 in Tampa and has garnered a loyal following for delivering all the authentic flavors of a traditional Italian trattoria with innovative, modern touches from the mind of Chef Ponte, a past nominee for the highly prestigious James Beard Foundation Award.

January 13, 2025

Pagoda Asian Grill by P.F. Chang's to open in west St. Pete this week

January 13, 2025/ Veronica Brezina

Pagoda Asian Grill, a fast-casual dining concept by P.F. Chang’s, will open its first St. Petersburg location this week.

Located at 1550 66th Street North, the fast-casual dining concept inspired by the bold flavors and dynamic spirit of modern Asian cuisine is set to open on January 15th in the Shoppes at the Royale Plaza.

The announced opening marks a significant milestone for the company that's continuing to expand its footprint across the country.

Since 2022, St. Pete residents have expected the 4,000-square-foot space to house a new P.F. Chang's concept, when it was revealed that P.F. Chang's was planning to open another quick service restaurant, P.F. Chang’s To Go, at this location.

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.

January 08, 2025

Local hotelier buys Old Florida hotel property on St. Pete Beach

January 08, 2025/ Veronica Brezina

The 18-key Beach Haven Villas hotel, located on the picturesque shores of St. Pete Beach, now has a new owner—a prominent and well-established local hotelier.

Kevin Bowden, owner of St. Pete Beach's Miramar Resort and Cambria Hotel on Madeira Beach, purchased the Art Deco-styled hotel at 4980 Gulf Boulevard from Beach Haven LLC in a roughly $6.24 million deal. Beach Haven LLC is a local small business whose President is Carolyn Thatcher.

Bowden took out a $4.65 million mortgage loan from St. Pete-based real estate specialty finance firm Directed Capital in the transaction.

January 07, 2025

Home of the Week: 1957-built Mid-Century Marvel in St. Petersburg's Pinellas Point

January 07, 2025/ Anthony Close

This week’s featured home is a fascinating piece of mid-century architecture located at 801 Pinellas Point Drive South. Built in 1957, this three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath home offers 2,538 square feet of living space on a spacious 0.27-acre lot.

Nicknamed a “Mid-Century Marvel” by the St. Petersburg Times decades ago, the house showcases design elements that capture the spirit of its era. Highlights include a triangular fireplace, geometric wall features, a built-in fish tank, and a circular dining table.

Small touches in the kitchen, like pull-out storage for aluminum foil and plastic wrap, reflect the innovative thinking of the time.

January 06, 2025

East Indian street food restaurant Mowgli’s Tiffin debuts in the EDGE District

January 06, 2025/ Veronica Brezina

In a quiet corner of downtown St. Pete in the former Chi-town Beefs and Dogs space, a new Indian restaurant introduces Bengali street food to the Sunshine City.

First-time restaurateur and founder Amita Mukherjee quietly opened Mowgli's Tiffin earlier this week at 165 Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. Street North, bringing kati rolls and other dishes from the streets of Kolkata to the EDGE District.

“Mowgli's Tiffin celebrates the rich tapestry of Bengali culture,” Mukherjee said to St. Pete Rising. “The street food we are making is akin to the delicious bites you’d find on the streets of India.”

The quaint, 540-square-foot restaurant is named after the wild, curious, and adventurous boy named Mowgli from Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book. Additionally, the Indian word tiffin means lunchbox and, in certain parts of India, a light meal or snack eaten anytime between lunch and dinner.

Mukherjee's parents immigrated to the United States from India over 50 years ago. She was raised in St. Pete and says she hasn’t found many restaurants in town serving the Indian dishes she misses from her homeland. In particular, street food holds a special place in her heart, so Mowgli's will serve dishes that remind her of West Bengal in eastern India.