A new nautical-themed bar and full-service restaurant will soon launch on the 200 block of Central Avenue, known as the most popular destination for nightlife in the Sunshine City.

Segreti’s Hospitality Group, the owner of Yard of Ale and 260 First in downtown St. Pete, hopes to open the 7,000-square-foot establishment, dubbed the Nauti Duchess, in mid-April. Located at 217 Central Avenue, it’ll takes the place of Caddy’s on Central, which closed in 2020 after COVID-19 shut down all restaurants and bars in Florida.

Segreti’s Hospitality Group originally proposed a dual-restaurant concept, The Brickyard and Pizza N’ Brew, for this space in 2020. However, the group has since abandoned that plan in favor of the Nauti Duchess, which will occupy the entire 7,000 square foot space.

The food menu at the Nauti Duchess will consist of “primarily tapas-style seafood,” says Nova Segreti, creative director at Segreti’s Hospitality Group. “We will offer a raw bar, emphasizing locally sourced, fresh-off-the-boat fish, and then we are going to have our hydroponic herb garden which will supply many of the herbs used in our dishes and cocktails.”

“We want to focus on the fresher foods, raw greens, organic foods, and locally sourced seafood,” added Segreti. “That’s going to be important to us.”

Full entrees will be limited, probably to around five at the most, but the menu will rotate seasonally.

“Everything else will be tapas and salad bar,” Segreti says, adding that the beverage menu will include “modern classics – basically reinventing popular favorites as very niche, off-the-cuff cocktails … salty cocktails, briny cocktails, bringing in the ocean theme that way.”

The beverage menu isn’t yet finalized but it will likely consist of 8 to 10 cocktails.

“I don’t want to push it,” Segreti says. “It has to be achievable for the staff — something they can execute to perfection every time.”

In addition to great food and drinks, Nauti Duchess intends on bringing great music to an already musical block. The 2,000 square foot courtyard will include its own dedicated bar and a stage for live music.

Nauti Duchess will also feature some unique historical flourishes that were discovered during the multi-million renovation and buildout process. Chief among them is the original, hand-cranked elevator that was installed in the Detroit Hotel when the property was built in 1888 and is believed to be just the second elevator to ever be in service in Florida.

A team from G&M Contracting, which has been hired to do the buildout, discovered the elevator when they tore down some interior walls. The machine was largely intact, even the motor that was added after electricity came to St. Pete in 1897.

Frank Segreti, CEO of Segreti’s Hospitality Group, says the old elevator will be used as a photo booth when Nauti Duchess opens in March.

The extensive floor-to-ceiling renovation of the restaurant and bar space has included renovating and retaining many of the original historic elements, as well as building out an entirely new kitchen and upgrading the courtyard area.

The interior of the Nauti Duchess will include splashes of deep blues, turquoise, saffron yellow, and warm brown reminiscent of living life on the water. Nautical-themed décor will bedeck the new drink house and eatery, from porthole-style mirrors to cage lights, cleat door handles to loose rope and Edison bulb chandeliers. Other touches include a hammered copper bar and dark wood planking on the walls and floors.

Another highlight of the Nauti Duchess is the service window at the back of the restaurant that will allow people attending Jannus Live events to order food, but the menu will be limited.

“That’s why we need to find the balance with comfort food,” Nova Segreti says. “You’re not going to walk around Jannus Live with a dozen oysters on the half shell. That menu will probably reflect our late-night items.”

The new restaurant and bar will be able to seat around 250 patrons between dining rooms, various bars, outdoor patio, and a private room available for dinner parties or casual meetings.

Be sure to follow the Nauti Duchess on Facebook and Instagram to be notified when the restaurant and bar debuts at 217 Central Avenue. In the meantime, the Nauti Duchess invites everyone to stop by every First Friday to enjoy cocktails in the courtyard while the kitchen and dining rooms wrap up construction.