A new seafood restaurant and bar is slated to open next month on the Jannus Block in downtown St. Pete. Cap’s will be located at 226 1st Avenue North in a portion of the space recently vacated by MacDinton’s Irish Pub.

It’s springtime in Florida. The sun is out and that means dining outdoors, al fresco. Cap’s will only offer seating under the beautiful St. Pete sunshine; no indoor dining will be available. There will be 20 seats at the outdoor bar and 82 seats on the sidewalk along 1st Avenue North.

Cap’s is being helmed by St. Pete natives Jon LaBudde and Jeff Knight.

LaBudde is a commercial real estate agent with Keller Williams as well as a partner in a handful of St. Pete restaurants including The Big Catch at Salt Creek, Buya Ramen, and Matteo Trattoria & Pizzeria.

Jeff Knight owns Knight Global, a company with multiple entertainment venues in downtown St. Pete including the Jannus Live concert venue, the Landing at Jannus, Ringside Cafe, and Pelican Pub.

The origin of Cap’s dates back nearly 100 years to Knight’s great grandfather, Eugene Theodore “Cap” Knight, a seaman, rum runner, and owner of Cap’s Place, one of the first restaurants on the east coast of Florida during the Roaring 20s.

“I’ve spent a lot of time in the Bahamas where my great grandfather used to pick up the rum,” said Knight. “We wanted to call the restaurant ‘Caps’ as an homage to him, his restaurant, and ‘Old Florida’. Everything about Cap’s St. Pete is based on what Cap’s Place is and was.”

The menu has been developed by Executive Chef and Partner Jason Gordon with help from Chef de Cuisine Michael Fuller.

The star of the show will be Caps’ steamer bar filled with fresh mussels, clams, gulf shrimp, bay scallops, and other seasonal fresh fish. Using six steam kettles, the freshest seafood in Tampa Bay can be cooked and on your plate in 90 seconds.

“The steamer bar resembles ‘Old Florida’ seafood,” said Gordon. “The original Cap’s was one of the first places to be doing it over at Lighthouse Point. It’s the best way to cook seafood because it allows the seafood to really stand out.”

Accompany your steamed seafood with a base of saffron yellow rice, sushi rice, low country vegetables, summer vegetables or bucatini noodles. And then finish the dish with a homemade sauce, such as the Classic Garlic Butter, Low Country Cajun Butter, White Wine Lemon Cream Sauce, or Mama’s Sunday Red Sauce.

Cap’s will also have a raw bar featuring oysters on the half shell, sashimi, peel-and-eat gulf shrimp, and more.

Additionally, the menu will include a wide selection of shared plates, salads, and flatbreads. One of the highlights includes the Burrata Toasts with buffalo burrata, heirloom baby tomatoes, fresh basil, and peach jam on chargrilled garlic toast.

The Cajun Corndog is a twist on the original and perfect to enjoy after seeing a show at Jannus Live or a night of barhopping. The dish substitutes a hot dog for Andouille sausage dipped in southern sweet corn batter which is fried until golden brown and served with remoulade and beer honey-mustard.

Even if you aren’t in the mood for seafood, Cap’s offers items such as an Americana Burger, Gaucho Flank Steak, Montego Chicken Sandwich, and Carib Oxtails.

Cap’s is where “Old Florida” meets “New Florida”. It’s a restaurant that still celebrates its history while embracing the ever-changing culinary landscape in downtown St. Pete.

Before opening Cap’s Place in 1928, Knight’s great grandfather Cap was a seaman who started rum running during prohibition. He would sneak whiskey out of Bimini, a small island in the Bahamas, and bring it back to his home at Lighthouse Point.

According to local lore, Cap’s liquor runs were always successful, and he never got caught. He was an experienced navigator, could outrun the Coast Guard, and his brother, Tom, would flash warnings from the lighthouse when the coast was clear.

In 1928, Cap purchased a barge in Miami for about $100. He beached the barge, completely gutted it, and then built a restaurant on top. Cap’s Place was born.

The eatery was an instant success despite only being accessible by boat. Not only did Cap’s Place offer the freshest seafood, but there was also the added attraction of gambling, which was illegal in Florida at the time. Knight had slot machines lining the hallway between the dining rooms and kitchen.

Through boom and bust, war and peace, Cap’s Place has stood the test of time. The restaurant is still in operation on Lighthouse Point, albeit without the gambling and bootlegging.

And now, Jeff Knight will preserve his great grandfather’s legacy with the debut of Cap’s in downtown St. Pete. So, get ready to pull up a barstool, order a pound of steamed seafood, and enjoy a glass of rum on the rocks.

The steamer bar at Cap’s opens next week at 226 1st Avenue North. The full menu will roll out by mid-May. Be sure to follow Cap’s on Facebook and Instagram for the latest seafood specials.