Chris Ponte launched his first restaurant, Café Ponte, in Clearwater in 2002. He quickly made a name for himself in Tampa Bay thanks to an extraordinary trail-blazing New American menu and impeccable service. However, after an 18-year run, Ponte decided to shutter the iconic fine dining restaurant citing a combination of COVID-19 issues and a difficult lease renegotiation.

A past nominee for the highly prestigious James Beard Foundation Award, Ponte had already taken his talents to Tampa, opening On Swann in the city’s Hyde Park Village in 2016 and then OLIVIA, a modern Italian restaurant, in South Tampa in 2019.

More recently, he, along with his two sons, JT and Andy Mahoney, and his wife, Michelle, launched a new version of Café Ponte, simply called Ponte, at the recently opened Midtown Tampa mixed-use development. They are also a partner in Bare Naked Kitchen, a fast-casual restaurant concept with locations in South Tampa and Tallahassee.

Now, nearly three years after the closure of Café Ponte, Chris Ponte will return to Pinellas County with a downtown St. Pete edition of OLIVIA.

The 5,600-square-foot Italian restaurant will be located at 225 1st Avenue North, on the ground floor of the recently completed 36-story Ascent apartment and hotel tower.

Tampa-based architecture and design firm api(+) has been hired as the project’s architect. Joe Esposito of KW Commercial represented the landlord in the lease transaction.

Since debuting in 2019, OLIVIA in Tampa 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. 

“We’re super excited to be opening in St. Pete,” Ponte said recently in an interview with St. Pete Rising. “I’ve been wanting to open something in downtown St. Pete for a long time. A lot of people have asked me, ‘When are you coming to St. Pete?’ Well, we’re finally coming! We think St. Pete’s a phenomenal city.”

According to Ponte, the St. Pete OLIVIA will be similar in most ways to its South Tampa counterpart, but there could be a few new additions to the menu. The St. Pete outpost will seat roughly 180 diners, including an expansive outdoor patio fronting 1st Avenue North.

“OLIVIA has been operating in Tampa for over three years now,” he said. “We know the ins and outs, we have the systems, we have the recipes. It’s going to look pretty much the same, but we might change some systems in the kitchen, maybe add some more burners and different pieces of equipment.”

OLIVIA offers three distinct menus: brunch, mid-lunch, and dinner.

The Cicchetti menu features a collection of delectable snacks, from Arancini, which are fried rice risotto balls filled with four types of cheese, to Wagyu Carpaccio served on top of mushroom puffs and truffle zabaglione. 

Popular pasta dishes include the Caccio e Pepe, Squid Ink Casarecce, and Mini Rigatoni, which includes a 24-hour ragu bolognese, parmesan, and herb ricotta.

Those looking for something a little heartier can select from the Secondi menu. Chicken Milanese is served with arugula, fennel, goat cheese, peppers, lemon butter, radish, capers, and tomatoes.

Also available is a menu of six pizzas, such as the Honey & Ham with truffle honey, speck ham, taleggio, and scallion.

Entrée prices range from the high teens to $68 for a 16-ounce boneless ribeye steak. The restaurant also features a robust wine list and a wide variety of cocktails, beers, after-dinner drinks, and breakfast cocktails.

“Price points are very important to us,” Ponte said. “We don’t want to be an expensive restaurant. We want people to leave thinking it’s a good value. You can buy our more expensive dishes to celebrate a special occasion, or you can come in and get a pizza, a glass of wine, and appetizers, and then you’re out the door. I think that’s part of our success, as well — a good price point.”

Ponte says the OLIVIA concept, which isn’t as high-end as Café Ponte or the new Ponte restaurant, could work in other locations, but for now he’s focused on St. Pete.

“You’ve got to win the current game before you move on to the next game,” he said. “So, we want to make sure things are running right and we feel comfortable, and make sure we're doing the right thing and not just trying to grow too fast — that we're doing right by the customer and are hiring the right people.”

The importance of Chef Ponte returning to Pinellas County’s culinary scene and setting up shop in downtown St. Pete can’t be overstated. In addition to being nominated for the James Beard Foundation Award, he is an 11-time recipient of Florida Trend’s Golden Spoon Award, which honors the Sunshine State’s best restaurants, and was inducted into the Golden Spoon Hall of Fame.

“It’s great to be back,” Ponte said. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. Pinellas County is where people really came out and supported me and were there for me. I’m excited to be back.”

There’s no set opening date for OLIVIA in St. Pete but Ponte expects the restaurant to be up and running by the end of the year.