What can Downtown St. Pete learn from European cities?
/St. Petersburg seems to be getting a lot of attention these days. And why shouldn’t it? We live in a city with good parks and trails, easy access to water, a bayfront downtown, and funky Central Avenue to tie it all together. And all of this without much traffic thanks to the well-connected street grid. Even though the city, and especially the downtown and Central Avenue, have made great strides in the last 5-10 years (as the long-time locals keep reminding me), the urban planner in me is always looking for ways to make a good thing better. And while some hesitate to look across the Atlantic for inspiration, I find there is much to learn from European cities and their immersive urban environments, especially as it relates to the downtown area.
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Ice & Cream Creamery is bringing small-batch ice cream, hand-spun milkshakes, and more to downtown St. Pete.
The local ice cream chain will open at 648 Central Avenue, formerly home to Brutique, which closed in July after nine years in business.
The new shop will be the eighth location for Ice & Cream Creamery, which has seven existing stores throughout Pinellas County, including two on Clearwater Beach and one each in Madeira Beach, Dunedin, St. Pete Beach, Treasure Island, and Gulfport.
The creamery says its ice cream is made fresh in small batches using locally sourced ingredients, with a selection of 48 flavors.
The flavors lean toward the classics, with options like butter pecan, rocky road, cookies and cream, and mint chip, plus varieties such as red velvet cake, salted caramel peanut, coconut almond fudge, and chocolate fudge brownie.
Other options include Stellar Coffee, pistachio, dulce de leche, and Dreamsicle, which swirls vanilla ice cream with orange sherbet.