After six years on Central Avenue, Cider Press Café will be packing up and moving to Kenwood. The move was unexpected for owners Johan Everstijn and Roland Strobel, but the duo is excited to reinvent the Cider Press brand in a new part of town.

“This is not a move that we planned,” said Johan. “Our landlord is not honoring our lease. We should’ve been able to stay for another year.”

The current location at 601 Central Avenue will be open until the end of the year or until the build-out on the new location is complete. A new Italian restaurant with an emphasis on Sicilian cuisine will be moving into the space sometime in early 2022.

Johan and Roland are using the move as an opportunity to retool the concept. Once the doors open at 3118 3rd Avenue North in the Shoppes of Kenwood, the popular vegan restaurant will be known as Cider Press Vegan Gastropub and Patio Bar.

“We’re actually very excited about the move,” said Johan. “The new location gives us an opportunity to make ourselves better. We want to be more fun, more upscale.”

The new 2,275 square foot location, which used to be home to the popular gay bar Georgie’s Alibi, will be noticeably larger than the Central Avenue location and seat 150 guests. There will also be a 440 square foot covered patio bar with a roll-up garage door. Jenna Malowany and Hal Holder of KW Commercial represented the landlord in the deal.

Earlier this week, St. Pete Rising exclusively reported on the upcoming debut of Gateway Subs, another business in the Shoppes and Kenwood. Other tenants in the retail strip include Back Alley Nails and St. Pete Dance.

David Fischer of Zazoo’d, an eclectic home décor and furniture store in downtown St. Pete, has been tapped to design the new Cider Press. Fischer also designed and owns The Saint, a sinful speakeasy, and Cocktail, a new gay bar in the Grand Central District.

For all the Cider Press regulars, don’t worry, the new menu will not be significantly different than the current offerings and many of the popular menu items from Central Avenue will be making the move to Kenwood.

There will be a few noticeable changes at the new location though. First, Cider Press is expanding its capabilities in the kitchen. The current location doesn’t have a stove with burners, only a flat top grill. The addition of burners will allow for dishes that were never possible on Central Avenue.

“We want to bring our entrees up a notch,” said Johan. “But obviously we will still have burgers and sandwiches and that kind of thing as well.” 

Johan and Roland would also like to stay open later and become a bit of a night spot. They are working to obtain a full liquor license, which is something else the Central Avenue location never had.

Lastly, loyal customers sometimes found it difficult to find parking near the Central Avenue location. Parking shouldn’t be an issue anymore. The Shoppes at Kenwood has 38 on-site parking spaces plus street parking.

Cider Press Café originally opened in Naples, FL back in 2014. After discovering St. Pete, Johan and Roland debuted a second location in the Sunshine City at 601 Central Avenue. After the St. Pete location proved to be more successful, the pair sold the Naples location in 2016 to focus on St. Pete.

“This will essentially be Cider Press 3.0,” said Johan. “I’ve always believed that when life hands you lemons, you need to make lemonade.”

Cider Press Vegan Gastropub and Patio Bar hopes to debut by the end of the year at 3118 3rd Avenue North in Historic Kenwood. Be sure to follow them on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date moving plans and food specials.