Retro Florida motel-themed bar No Vacancy closes after six years in the EDGE District

/
Retro Florida motel-themed bar No Vacancy closes after six years in the EDGE District

After more than six years serving up tropical drinks and Florida-themed fare, No Vacancy has permanently closed in downtown St. Pete.

The Old Florida motel-inspired bar and restaurant at 937 Central Avenue announced its closure in a heartfelt social media post, marking the end of an era for one of the EDGE District’s most recognizable hangouts.

“After 6.5 unforgettable years, our everyday vacay comes to an end,” wrote owner Stephen Schrutt. “From the bottom of our hearts, Thank You, St. Pete! You stayed with us through it all. From the challenges of Covid, and the growth of our city. Thank you for being part of it, none of this was possible without our flock.”

No Vacancy opened in January 2019 in the former home of Kings Street Food Counter, another concept from Schrutt’s Hunger + Thirst Restaurant Group.

Read More

Cathie Wood's ARK Invest to move headquarters to EDGE District in downtown St. Pete

/
Cathie Wood's ARK Invest to move headquarters to EDGE District in downtown St. Pete

ARK Invest, a leading global investment firm known for its focus on disruptive innovation, will relocate its downtown St. Pete headquarters to the EDGE District.

Tampa-based Ellison Development announced Wednesday that ARK Invest, which is currently headquartered at 200 Central Avenue, will occupy 13,000 square feet on the 11th floor of Halcyon, a new office building expected to break ground later this year at 1301 Central Avenue.

Halcyon represents the first Class A office building constructed in downtown St. Pete since the 1980s.

The 11-story, 130,000-square-foot office building is one of the main components of The Central, a 2.1-acre mixed-use development that will also contain a 168-room Marriott Autograph Collection hotel, 14,000 square feet of retail space, a 42-unit affordable housing community, and a newly opened 540-space parking garage.

Read More

New 540-space parking garage brings relief to EDGE District drivers

/
New 540-space parking garage brings relief to EDGE District drivers

It’s official—parking in St. Pete’s EDGE District just got easier with the opening of a new public garage on Central Avenue.

A new 540-space parking garage has debuted at 1301 Central Avenue, directly across from Ferg’s Sports Bar and Grill, as part of the long-awaited mixed-use development The Central, currently under construction in the heart of the EDGE District.

On Tuesday morning, representatives from Ellison Development and the City of St. Pete gathered to celebrate the opening, marking a major milestone as the first completed component of The Central. The garage addresses one of the district’s greatest needs: accessibility and parking.

Read More

Qargo Coffee to open next month, bringing Italian coffee and pastries to the EDGE District

/
Qargo Coffee to open next month, bringing Italian coffee and pastries to the EDGE District

Qargo Coffee, a small but rapidly growing coffee company headquartered in Miami, is bringing its Italian coffee and pastries to downtown St. Pete.

The company will open a new 1,200-square-foot café at 924 Central Avenue, located at the base of the 930 Central Flats apartment building. The space was previously home to Indian restaurant Spice Culture Express.

While no opening date has been set, the interior buildout of the café is complete, and employee training has begun.

The concept was first announced on St. Pete Rising in September 2023.

This will be Qargo’s second location in the Tampa Bay region. The company currently operates a kiosk-style café in Tampa's International Plaza and Bay Street mall.

Qargo Coffee uses beans from Lavazza, Italy’s most popular coffee roaster, for its drip coffee, cold brew, and espresso-based drinks.

Read More

Beloved St. Pete bar The Wayward Goose to close after nearly a decade

/
Beloved St. Pete bar The Wayward Goose to close after nearly a decade

After nearly 10 years as a neighborhood staple, a well-loved St. Pete bar has announced it will close its doors for good.

The owners of The Wayward Goose, located at 48 Dr M.L.K. Jr Street North, announced the upcoming closure on social media, stating that their last day in business will be Sunday, April 20th.

“It has certainly been a journey. This city was a different place when we began. It’s lost a bit of its soul with all the out-of-state developers putting up condos—but that’s progress,” the owners wrote, sharing a photo of towering construction cranes behind the building.

They also expressed gratitude to their dedicated staff and loyal patrons, who came for the chill vibes, full liquor bar, pool tables, dartboards, and art shows.

Read More

Trails Crossing, a new linear park under I-275 in downtown St. Pete, moves forward after City Council vote

/
Trails Crossing, a new linear park under I-275 in downtown St. Pete, moves forward after City Council vote

Four blocks of underutilized space beneath Interstate 275 in downtown St. Pete could be transformed into a new linear park featuring public art and event spaces, creating a destination for pedestrians and cyclists.

In a 7-to-1 vote, City Council approved an agreement on Thursday to contribute $150,000 toward hiring Colorado-based LandDesign, Inc. to kick off the master planning process for Trails Crossing, a walkable, activated park under I-275 that will embrace micro-transit and connect urban neighborhoods—an idea that has been in discussion for years.

“For too long, our community has been physically, socially, and economically divided by infrastructure that was never designed with connectivity in mind,” said John Barkett, a local developer and co-founder of the nonprofit group Friends of Trails Crossing, during Thursday’s meeting.

Read More

Amorino and its flower-shaped gelato is coming to the EDGE District

/
Amorino and its flower-shaped gelato is coming to the EDGE District

The first Florida brick-and-mortar location of French chain Amorino Gelato is headed for downtown St. Pete.

Opening at 1246 Central Avenue in the EDGE District, Amorino serves its gelato via spatula, famously shaped into a flower — with the option to add a macaron to the center.

The 1,800-square-foot shop will front 1st Avenue South, directly across from Tropicana Field, inside a 110-year-old building that will also house Bosphorus Turkish Cuisine.

The newly renovated building is part of the EDGE Collective, a mixed use development that will also include a 20-story tower with 360 apartments and 24,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.

Read More

Inside the 2025 Downtown Development Guide: Grappling with growth amid market headwinds

/
Inside the 2025 Downtown Development Guide: Grappling with growth amid market headwinds

New zoning changes, the sweeping rise of commercial and residential development, and the promise of revitalizing neighborhoods are molding the ever-evolving identity of the Sunshine City.

This Tuesday, the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership released its 2025 Downtown St. Pete Development Guide, an annual resource tool providing a snapshot of the latest economic and commercial activity to encourage public and private stakeholders to spur healthy growth in the area.

"The data, trends, and projects on the horizon really comprise the blueprint for how we continue to grow with purpose, intention, and resilience," Mayor Ken Welch said during the Partnership's Development Summit hosted at the new EDGE Collective office building next to the Moxy Hotel.

Read More

$200 million mixed-use project The Central takes shape on Central Avenue in downtown St. Pete

/
$200 million mixed-use project The Central takes shape on Central Avenue in downtown St. Pete

The long-awaited mixed-use development in the heart of St. Pete's EDGE District has hit a construction milestone.

Tampa-based Ellison Development is set to cut the ribbon next month, celebrating the completion of a 531-space parking garage at 1301 Central Avenue, a component of The Central development, a 2.1-acre redevelopment of the old St. Pete Police headquarters that will feature a hotel, a trophy office building, retail, workforce housing, and more.  

The project, which broke ground in February 2024, sits directly across the street from Ferg's Sports Bar and Grill and is near The Edge Collective development, a planned live-work-and-play destination anchored by the newly opened Moxy Hotel.

Read More

East Indian street food restaurant Mowgli’s Tiffin debuts in the EDGE District

/
East Indian street food restaurant Mowgli’s Tiffin debuts in the EDGE District

In a quiet corner of downtown St. Pete in the former Chi-town Beefs and Dogs space, a new Indian restaurant introduces Bengali street food to the Sunshine City.

First-time restaurateur and founder Amita Mukherjee quietly opened Mowgli's Tiffin earlier this week at 165 Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. Street North, bringing kati rolls and other dishes from the streets of Kolkata to the EDGE District.

“Mowgli's Tiffin celebrates the rich tapestry of Bengali culture,” Mukherjee said to St. Pete Rising. “The street food we are making is akin to the delicious bites you’d find on the streets of India.”

The quaint, 540-square-foot restaurant is named after the wild, curious, and adventurous boy named Mowgli from Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book. Additionally, the Indian word tiffin means lunchbox and, in certain parts of India, a light meal or snack eaten anytime between lunch and dinner.

Mukherjee's parents immigrated to the United States from India over 50 years ago. She was raised in St. Pete and says she hasn’t found many restaurants in town serving the Indian dishes she misses from her homeland. In particular, street food holds a special place in her heart, so Mowgli's will serve dishes that remind her of West Bengal in eastern India.

Read More