New stand-up comedy club to open this May in the Grand Central District

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New stand-up comedy club to open this May in the Grand Central District

A stand-up comedy group that has spent the past several years bouncing between breweries, bars and back rooms across St. Pete is getting a permanent home in the Grand Central District.

St. Pete Stand-Up will open its first dedicated comedy club, called St. Pete Comedy Club, at 1745 1st Avenue South.

The 3,600-square-foot venue, which previously housed Avid Brew Company, is expected to open in May.

Blakemore Kearney of Vector Commercial Real Estate Services represented the landlord and tenant in the lease transaction.

For founder Bob Holden, the new club marks the next step for something that started as a single monthly show at St. Pete Brewing and has since grown into one of the most active live entertainment offerings in the city.

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The Chattaway, St. Petersburg’s longest-running restaurant, will close this summer after more than 90 years

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The Chattaway, St. Petersburg’s longest-running restaurant, will close this summer after more than 90 years

St. Petersburg’s longest-running restaurant will close its doors this summer.

The Chattaway, a family-owned staple at 358 22nd Avenue South, will serve its last meal in mid-July after more than 90 years serving the community.

The property, which has been owned by the family for decades, is now under contract and expected to transfer to a new owner in early August.

The family plans to host a final “yard sale” in July, offering memorabilia and pieces of the restaurant’s history.

The Chattaway’s story begins in 1922, when a wooden building was constructed on a pie-shaped lot on the corner of 22nd Avenue South and 4th Street South.

The building’s first tenant was Four Corners Grocery, a neighborhood store with a small outdoor counter selling soda, candy, and cigarettes.

A single gas pump stood out front, where fuel once sold for just 22 cents per gallon.

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Owner of The Bends and Wild Child to open Easy Tiger, a hi-fi listening lounge and cocktail bar in the EDGE District

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Owner of The Bends and Wild Child to open Easy Tiger, a hi-fi listening lounge and cocktail bar in the EDGE District

More than a decade after opening The Bends in what was then a quiet corner of St. Pete’s EDGE District, local hospitality operator Matt Kaye is preparing to debut his most personal project yet just a few feet away.

Easy Tiger, a hi-fi listening lounge and cocktail bar opening next month at 915 1st Avenue North, will pair vinyl DJ sets and high-fidelity sound with a globally inspired cocktail program.

The roughly 1,600-square-foot space sits along the same block as The Bends and represents the latest concept from Kaye, his wife Victoria Kaye, and partners Chris Stone and Craig Dragoonis.

Kaye is also behind Wild Child, a neighborhood bistro and cocktail bar, and Slim Charmer, a martini bar with Mediterranean small plates, both located in the Grand Central District.

Inside, Easy Tiger was designed to function less like a traditional bar and more like a listening lounge, where music plays a central role in shaping the experience.

The space features a carefully tuned hi-fi audio system built around Klipsch Heritage speakers paired with McIntosh amplification, allowing vinyl DJ sets to fill the room with warm, immersive sound without overpowering conversation.

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Nah Dogs vegan hot dog cart opening permanent storefront in the Grand Central District

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Nah Dogs vegan hot dog cart opening permanent storefront in the Grand Central District

A popular vegan concept that began as a roaming cart is preparing to open its first permanent location in the Grand Central District.

Nah Dogs, known as St. Pete’s only 100% vegan hot dog cart, will open its first brick-and-mortar at 18 22nd Street South this summer.

The space was most recently home to Rabbit Rabbit, a short-lived cafe that served coffee, smoothies, and mocktails. Before that, it was occupied by Squeeze Juice Works.

The new location shares a courtyard with Black Crow Coffee and Tombolo Books.

Nah Dogs began slinging vegan glizzys in 2019 and has since appeared at markets, festivals, and pop-ups throughout the Tampa Bay area.

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Four Seasons could be coming to downtown St. Pete

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Four Seasons could be coming to downtown St. Pete

First came the announcement of Roche Bobois-branded residences. Then the Waldorf Astoria Residences.  Could Four Seasons be next for downtown St. Pete?

According to sources familiar with the discussions, a development group has begun evaluating potential sites in downtown St. Pete for a possible Four Seasons-branded project.

Importantly, Four Seasons itself is not out scouting land. Rather, a developer is studying sites and conducting preliminary feasibility work for a potential project affiliated with the global luxury hospitality company.

The effort remains highly exploratory. No site is under contract. No formal plans have been filed with the City of St. Petersburg. Key details including height, unit count, design, and pricing have not been determined.

Sources say the developer’s early focus has centered on sites near Beach Drive, particularly those with strong water views, and that the developer recently submitted offers to purchase every unit in a Beach Drive condo tower as part of a potential redevelopment strategy.

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Inside the nine proposals vying to redevelop the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District in downtown St. Pete

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Inside the nine proposals vying to redevelop the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District in downtown St. Pete

The City of St. Pete has received eight additional submissions in response to its Request for Alternate Proposals for the redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District in downtown St. Pete, expanding the field to a total of nine submissions when combined with the original unsolicited proposal from Ark Ellison Horus.

The alternate proposals were submitted by a wide-ranging mix of private developers, nonprofit organizations, housing-focused entities, and community-led groups.

The nine proposals were submitted by the following teams, listed in alphabetical order:

  • Ark Ellison Horus

  • Foundation Vision Partners

  • Freedom Communities Company

  • Logical Sites Inc

  • Pinellas County Housing Authority

  • Reparations Land Trust and Development Authority

  • Tempo Novus

  • The Burg Bid LLC

  • The Tampa Bay Boom Inc.

City staff are expected to conduct a review of the submissions, a process which could take months, according to Mayor Ken Welch.

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Locally led team pitches master plan first approach for Historic Gas Plant District in downtown St. Pete

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Locally led team pitches master plan first approach for Historic Gas Plant District in downtown St. Pete

A new proposal has entered the mix for the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District in downtown St. Pete, with a locally led team asking the City to consider a fundamentally different approach to redevelopment.

The current review process was triggered by a January 4 public notice issued after an unsolicited submission from ARK Ellison Horus. In response, the City invited alternative redevelopment concepts for the site, with submissions due this morning.

Among those submissions is a plan from Foundation Vision Partners, led by Will Conroy of Backstreets Capital, Alex Schapira, formerly with Hines, and Anddrikk Frazier of Best Source Consulting, in partnership with global master planning firm Gensler and civil engineering firm Stantec.

Conroy’s firm has developed several condominium projects in St. Pete, including The Nolen, The Salvador, and most recently The Cade, a seven-story mid-rise overlooking Mirror Lake in downtown St. Pete. Schapira and Frazier were part of the team behind the previous Rays/Hines proposal.

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Cordova Inn expansion and new rooftop bar open next month in downtown St. Pete

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Cordova Inn expansion and new rooftop bar open next month in downtown St. Pete

After nearly three years of construction next door to one of downtown St. Petersburg’s most storied boutique hotels, the Cordova Inn’s long-awaited expansion is finally nearing the finish line, with the ownership team targeting an opening next month.

“We can see the light at the end of the tunnel,” co-owner Tommy Del Zoppo told St. Pete Rising during a recent sit-down interview. “We’ve been laser-focused on getting this done, and we’d like to open by February 15th. At this point it’s furniture, final finishes, and waiting on a few inspections.”

The five-story addition rising at 253 2nd Avenue North beside the 105-year-old Cordova Inn is designed to more than triple the hotel’s room count, taking it from 32 rooms to 97, including three luxury suites on the top floor offering panoramic views of downtown.

The expansion will also add a new ground-floor restaurant and a fifth-floor rooftop bar, both of which will be open to the public.

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St. Pete Rising’s top stories of 2025 captured a changing city navigating growth and nostalgia

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St. Pete Rising’s top stories of 2025 captured a changing city navigating growth and nostalgia

In 2025, St. Petersburg gave us plenty to talk about and, judging by the clicks, you were paying close attention.

From splashy redevelopment proposals and high-stakes Rays drama to beloved dive bars, beachfront icons, and even a dinosaur perched above downtown, readers gravitated toward stories that captured a city changing in real time.

The most-read articles of the year were not just about shiny renderings or breaking news. They focused on the follow-up questions, the fine print, and how big ideas actually play out on the ground.

Whether tracking the future of the Tropicana Field site, examining housing policy shifts, or following the next chapter of long-standing local institutions, these stories reflected the curiosity and healthy skepticism of St. Pete Rising readers.

Below are the 10 most-read St. Pete Rising articles of 2025.

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Blizzard Bazaar debuts this Friday with 60 local vendors, snowy vibes, and a viral matcha luge

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Blizzard Bazaar debuts this Friday with 60 local vendors, snowy vibes, and a viral matcha luge

If you’ve ever wished St. Pete could magically turn into a snowy ski town for one night only, your oddly specific holiday dream is coming true.

This Friday, December 19th, Ritual Grounds Cafe is hosting the Blizzard Bazaar, a one-night winter takeover that promises to be equal parts holiday market, immersive experience, and straight-up spectacle.

From 5 to 9 p.m., the event space at 1960 5th Avenue South will transform into a nostalgic 1980s ski resort called Yeti Peak, complete with snow flurries, Christmas lights, and a few surprises lurking in the lodge.

In October, Ritual Grounds drew more than 5,000 people to its wildly popular Spooky Island Market.

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