The Chelsea, a new coffee shop, is coming soon to St. Pete’s Warehouse Arts District
/A new coffee shop is coming soon to the Warehouse Arts District of St. Pete that mixes the style of a big-city locale with a friendly, casual Florida vibe and local St. Petersburg flavor.
The Chelsea will be located at 2462 5th Avenue South and hopes to open in early 2021. Florida native and longtime St. Pete resident Teresa Vidal Chalkley has been working on this concept for years alongside her husband and business partner Jamie Chalkley and they are nearly ready to debut it to the public.
Teresa Vidal Chalkley, Owner of The Chelsea, a new coffee shop coming soon to the warehouse Arts District
The coffee shop itself will operate out of a modestly sized 800 square foot building, but the 2,000 square foot outdoor courtyard is where The Chelsea will really shine.
“Although COVID-19 delayed us, we are thankful to have the courtyard, which will make it easy for our guests to socially distance,” says Chalkley, who also had to rethink her plan for having large community tables and big group events.
The Chelsea will offer an extensive menu of coffee beverages, including all of your favorite espresso-based drinks, using beans by Batdorf and Bronson, a Washington-based coffee roaster with an education center a few blocks away in the Warehouse Arts District. A large selection of tea will also be available.
Initially, food options will be limited to baked goods, such as muffins, croissants, and more. And eventually, The Chelsea will roll out a menu of sandwiches, salads, and meat and cheese boards. Wine and beer will also be a future addition.
But The Chelsea is much more than just a coffee shop. A variety of décor, art, and home accessories will be for sale. “We will offer anything that’ll make your place nice,” says Chalkley. “You’ll be able to take home a little piece of The Chelsea vibe or give it as a gift!”
Chalkley grew up in Clearwater but moved to New York City to attend the Fashion Institute at SUNY. After getting a degree in buying and merchandising, she hopped over to NYU to earn a Psychology degree.
Eventually, the Florida sunshine beckoned and Chalkley returned home. In 1993, she opened a clothing, jewelry, and gift store on 4th Street called if and only if.
“It was definitely a destination, but there was no walking traffic at that time,” says Chalkley. “We called it a mini-department store because it had a little bit of everything.”
In 2001, business was so good that she decided to open another gift and jewelry store, this time in downtown St. Pete. And thus, Bossa Nova was born.
Things slowed down in the late 2000’s and both stores eventually closed due to the recession. Since then, Chalkley’s been running other people’s businesses. She’s had stints at The Chattaway, Hofbräuhaus, and Treehouse Gallery.
Chalkley’s husband, Jamie, hails from England and served in the Intelligence Corps of the British Army for 18 years. His last job was at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa and as soon as he hit the ground in Florida, he thought “This is it, I’m staying!”
The Chelsea is inspired by Chalkley’s student experiences of working in busy Chelsea restaurants and exploring the exciting and vibrant explosion of boutique shops, art galleries, cafes and bistros in Manhattan in the 80’s. Inspiration has also been drawn from the colors and flowers in the Chelsea neighborhood of London, where Chalkley and her husband have spent some time over the past few years.
The Chelsea is the first tenant to be announced for a new project called Seaboard Crossings, which pays homage to the longtime rail line that ran through the area and down the coast.
The entire block was bought in March by Sight Real Estate for $3,000,000. Improvements to the property include redoing the sidewalk, landscaping, and parking lot.
The Chelsea is the first tenant to be announced for a new project called Seaboard Crossings in the Warehouse Arts District of St. Pete
The block was previous owned by Bill Puckett who has operated Puckett’s Store Fixtures at the location for the past 30 years. Puckett’s, which sells mannequins, clothing racks, jewelry displays and more, will still occupy about 17,000 square feet at Seaboard Crossings, but the remaining 30,000+ square feet will be filled with new tenants.
“The Chelsea is going to be a great neighborhood amenity. Teresa has a really cool vision and I can't wait to see it come together,” says Michael Mincberg, President of Sight Real Estate.
The future home of Seaboard Crossings, a new project in the warehouse Arts District. The Chelsea is the first new tenant announced for the development.
This block is just one of many in the neighborhood that have been bought up over the past year. Mark my words. The Warehouse Arts District is about to take off. The district has long been home to some of St. Pete’s most impressive art galleries and studios, such as the Duncan McClellan Gallery, Charlie Parker Pottery, Mark Aeling’s MGA Sculpture Studio, and the Morean Center for Clay.
3 Daughters Brewing and Vintage Marché (formerly Brocante Market) have also been in the neighborhood for years. And more recently, Daddy Kool Records, Urban Stillhouse, Brick Street Farms, and Kozuba and Sons have moved in.
Now, there are discussions to upzone part of the neighborhood into a new zoning classification called I-MIX. The effort is being spearheaded by Joe Furst, who developed the Wynwood Neighborhood Revitalization District (NRD) zoning overlay, which allowed Wynwood to develop into a diverse, mixed-use neighborhood in Miami.
The reality is that a large portion of the Warehouse Arts District is currently sitting vacant and according to the 22 I-MIX website, the zoning change "would allow a mixed-use, walkable destination with right priced housing for St Petersburg's creative workforce."
A CONCEPT RENDERING OF wHAT THE wAREHOUSE ARTS DISTRICT COULD LOOK LIKE IF THE AREA wAS REZONED TO ALLOw MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENTS IN ADDITION TO THE EXISTING INDUSTRIAL USE.
At St. Pete Rising, we are excited for the future of the neighborhood and hope the zoning changes don’t price out the artists that have made the district what it is today. The Chelsea is just one of the many new businesses proposed for the area and we cannot wait to break the news on all of the other future businesses and developments.
“The Chelsea will definitely be all about community and having a place where people feel welcome and comfortable,” says Chalkley. “It’ll be a slow roll out, but we have big plans to eventually host live music and maybe even a market in our beautiful courtyard.”
The Chelsea hopes to open in early 2021 at 2462 5th Avenue South. Be sure to follow them on Facebook and Instagram to stay up-to-date on grand opening plans.
