One of downtown St. Petersburg’s most iconic and historically significant buildings will soon be home to an upscale indoor golf lounge and high-end restaurant featuring seating for over 300 guests.

GolfSuites, Inc., based in Brandon, Florida, has signed a lease to bring the first and flagship GolfSuites City Club to the 17,000-square-foot historic Tramor Cafeteria building at 123 4th Street South in downtown St. Pete.

“With GolfSuites City Club, we are bringing the country club into the city,” said Jerry Ellenburg, Chairman and CEO of GolfSuites, Inc., in a conversation with St. Pete Rising. “Not only will we have hyper-realistic, state-of-the-art golf simulators, but we will have a high-end dining experience with a menu featuring scallops, short rib, prime rib, and more.” 

The golf club will be partially membership-based with members getting priority on simulator and restaurant reservations. A membership office will open in downtown St. Pete in the coming months where prospective members may meet with Membership Director Megan Storm and view the simulator technology.

From 6 a.m. to 11 a.m., City Club will offer Morning Pro, where golfers can perfect their game through practice, coaching, and training. The restaurant will open mid-afternoon for lunch and stay open as late as 2 a.m. for dinner and drinks.

GolfSuites is supported by an all-star team, including Scott McCurry, President and COO of GolfSuites, who joined the company in 2019 after overseeing TopGolf’s growth from 7 to 38 outdoor driving range facilities nationwide.

Kevin Harrington, an original Investor Shark on the hit TV series "Shark Tank", recently joined the company as Board Director and Brand Ambassador for the GolfSuites City Club brand nationwide. Harrington will also advise GolfSuites on marketing, financial, and several other aspects of this new concept.

David Leadbetter, world renowned professional golf instructor, will be advising on golf instruction, simulator design, and equipment offerings.

“We have very high hopes for GolfSuites City Club in downtown St. Pete. We are considering this the national brand launch and believe this product would do well in areas like Buckhead in Atlanta; Fashion Island in Newport Beach; and Miracle Mile in Chicago. There are so many people who want a touch of class at these ‘eatertainment’ concepts because most of them are extremely casual.”

GolfSuite City Club will be equipped with eight Golfzon TwoVision simulators, widely considered the world’s best and most realistic golf simulator due to its high-speed cameras, incredible graphics, and connected network allowing golfers to compete with players across the globe.

The simulator also features a swing plate that can move in 24 different directions, allowing the hitting area to move up, down, left, right, and even sloped depending on where you are on the course.

Automatic ball retrieval and auto-tee means you won’t have to go pick up your golf ball after each swing or even reach down to tee up your ball. 

There are also different turfs, such as a fairway mat, light rough, heavy rough, green side bunker, and fairway bunker.

GolfSuite CityClub’s simulators will encompass everything you want in golf while not actually having to be out on the golf course.

“I think simulator golf is a wonderful way to play and learn the game,” said David Leadbetter on his website. “It is incredible how realistic simulator golf is now, to the point where Golfzon, in particular, has the ability to change lies where in the past it was hitting balls off a mat."

GolfSuites City Club will be situated inside the historic Tramor Cafeteria, constructed in 1929 and a perfect example of Mediterranean Revival-style architecture. The building opened for business as Bob's Cafeteria in 1930 by original owner Robert Ely, and was known as the Holsum Cafeteria between 1931 and 1938. It became the Tramor Cafeteria in 1939 after the property was purchased by the Haige Corporation.

Most recently, the building housed Hofbräuhaus, modeled after the iconic beer hall in Munich, Germany. The restaurant opened to much fanfare in 2015, however shuttered in 2020 after failing to pay their rent. 

Although the building has sat vacant since 2020, the interior maintains its original character which was designed to create the illusion of dining on the patio of a Spanish hacienda.

GolfSuites has hired Clearwater-based Robert P. Resch, III, as the project’s architect and designer. Resch plans to marry the old historic elements of the building with a new, modern buildout for GolfSuites City Club. 

Although downtown St. Pete’s City Club will be the first for GolfSuites, the company currently operates three outdoor driving range entertainment facilities in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Lubbock, Texas; and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A fourth facility is coming soon to Auburn University in Alabama. 

Additionally, GolfSuites plans to open a more casual indoor golf simulator lounge concept in suburban areas around the US.

“We're a Tampa Bay-based company operating locations operating in Tulsa, Lubbock, Baton and Rouge,” said Ellenburg. “With GolfSuites City Club in downtown St. Pete we get a chance to debut this brand right in our own backyard. We couldn’t be more excited.”

GolfSuites City Club plans to open at 123 4th Street South in downtown St. Pete in the summer of 2024. Follow GolfSuites City Club on Instagram to stay up-to-date on grand opening plans.