lakeland Film Lab will open at 2821 Central Avenue in the Grand Central District | Lakeland Film Lab

Vinyl is back. Flip phones are trending again. And film photography is having a moment too.

This fall, St. Pete photographers will have a new place to develop film, rent cameras, learn darkroom techniques, and connect with fellow creatives.

Lakeland Film Lab is headed to 2821 Central Avenue, taking over a 1,300-square-foot storefront in the Grand Central District between Cheeky's Fish & Raw Bar and the recently announced Nightwatch wine bar.

The St. Pete location will be the company's second. Husband-and-wife duo Nick and Elizabeth Buttrey launched the first Lakeland Film Lab in downtown Lakeland last year.

Since opening, the Lakeland store has taken off. They've even developed film for a few big musicians, including Coi Leray, SZA, and Snoop Dogg.

The St. Pete shop, expected to debut in November, will offer many of the same services as its Lakeland counterpart, such as film processing, scanning, film sales, classes, and community events, while adding several new features, including camera rentals, a community darkroom, and a custom photo booth designed specifically for St. Pete.

There will also be a coffee counter featuring rotating local pop-ups, with coffee, matcha, and boba vendors taking over the space for three to four months at a time.

Owners of Lakeland Film Lab Nick and Elizabeth Buttrey | Lakeland FIlm Lab

According to Nick, a St. Pete location has been in the works for some time.

"We've always been told we should open in St. Pete," he said in a conversation with St. Pete Rising. "A lot of our customers already come from the area, and the creative community here feels like a natural fit for what we're building."

Since opening their first location, Lakeland Film Lab has become far more than a place to drop off rolls of film.

The shop regularly hosts workshops, meetups, and community events, helping build a community around analog photography at a time when interest in film continues to grow among younger generations.

While the business itself is relatively new, photography has been part of Nick's life for much longer.

Nick's interest in photography began in high school after following his older sister into a photography class. What started as an elective quickly became a passion.

"From that point on, I was hooked on photography," he said. "If I had a camera in my hands, I was taking pictures."

Lakeland Film Lab opened in downtown Lakeland last year, providing a place to develop film, rent cameras, learn darkroom techniques, and connect with fellow creatives | lakeland Film Lab

Nick, who grew up in Chicago, met Elizabeth, a Kissimmee native, in 2013 while serving in the Army. Five months later, he proposed during a battalion ball.

The couple will celebrate 12 years of marriage next month.

Photography remained a constant throughout Nick’s military service and later career in law enforcement.

Even while working as a police officer in Lakeland, he continued shooting film and developing negatives at home, often converting the family's bathroom into a makeshift darkroom.

"He would have to shut the bathroom down," Elizabeth laughed. "I wasn’t allowed to use it because he was hanging negatives up in it."

Lakeland Film Lab’s downtown Lakeland shop is decorated floor to ceiling with art | Lakeland Film Lab

After deciding it was time for a career change, Nick received an unexpected Father's Day gift from Elizabeth: a stack of presents and paperwork for a newly formed LLC.

"I was trying to motivate him to lean into it more," she said. "He has a great skill and I believed in him."

The couple initially intended to run Lakeland Film Lab from their home as a mail-in film processing service.

But after launching their social media accounts and receiving an overwhelming response from photographers, they realized they needed something larger.

Eventually, they stumbled across a vacant storefront on a rainy night in downtown Lakeland. They contacted the landlord, shared their vision, and secured the space shortly thereafter.

A little more than a year later, Lakeland Film Lab has grown into one of Florida's most recognizable film photography businesses, attracting customers from across the state and fostering a community centered around analog photography.

Now, with a second location on the horizon, the Buttreys hope to build that same sense of community here in St. Pete.