Bishops, a barbershop with an avant-garde identity from Portland Oregon, is moving into the Green-Richman Arcade located at 689 Central Avenue. The parcel has been empty since Anglo Couture vacated the space in early 2017.

The Green-Richman Arcade was purchased in 2016 for $1.2 million by Steve Gianfilipo, who also owns Station House, a five-story, mixed-use property with dining, event and coworking space. The first floor of the arcade is also occupied by Urban Creamery and the second floor houses a smaller version of the popular coworking space, called Station House Arcade.

Bishops is a new twist to the old school barbershop. According to their website, “We love art, music, and good beer. We’re minority owned & women/LGBTQIA+ led and staffed. Most importantly, we’re here to empower you to be whoever you want to be, judgement free.”

Occasionally, I’ll ask the St. Pete Rising audience, “What do you think Downtown St. Pete is missing?” For a while, one of the most popular answers was, “a men’s store”. 

The first shop specializing in menswear opened about two years ago. But not everyone has the same style or price point. Downtown needs a variety of menswear offerings. And today, with the help of one of Downtown St. Pete’s most popular women’s boutiques, another men’s shop has finally opened.

Matter of Fact is a joint venture between Matthew Baker and Amanda Henderson, owner of Ashe Couture. “The style of Matter of Fact will be for the everyday St. Pete gentleman, whether you're grabbing a drink at Intermezzo or having dinner on Beach Drive” says Matt.

Have you ever craved fine dining cuisine, but didn’t have time to sit at a table for over an hour? A new Downtown St. Pete restaurant wants to give you the best of both worlds — flavor and speed. And they open Monday April 1st.

Brass Bowl is a new kitchen and juice bar concept located at 656 Central Avenue. Their aim is to offer one of the best chef-driven, organic, flavorful, and gourmet menus St. Pete has ever seen.

"We believe in protecting the environment, responsibly sourcing our ingredients, and supporting as many local businesses as possible,” says Executive Chef Jason Gordon, who was previously the chef at Sunset Grill in Ruskin, FL.

Brass Bowl is a 100% gluten-free scratch kitchen, so there isn’t anything pre-made coming into the restaurant. Everything from the almond butter to the hummus is made in-house. Even more impressive, there are no freezers, no fryers, and no heat lamps. All food is made-to-order with the freshest ingredients.

Soon you won’t have to travel far to eat like you are in Puerto Rico. WEPA, St. Petersburg’s first authentic Puerto Rican restaurant, opens to the public this Saturday March 16th in the Warehouse Arts District. Located at 2149 3rd Ave South, WEPA is situated directly across the street from 3 Daughters Brewing.

“WEPA” (pronounced weh-pah) is a Spanish colloquialism used to express excitement, similar to “Wow!” or “Oh Yeah!” And as customers take their first bite of food, owner Jean Totti hopes to hear this exclamation all day, every day.

The menu at WEPA is inspired by Totti’s memories of growing up in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he spent many afternoons by his mother’s, aunt’s and grandmother’s side in the kitchen. Many of the dishes available at WEPA come from hand-written recipes passed down over three generations. “Working with these recipes for months, we’ve selected a range of dishes that will represent our culinary history,” Totti adds.