The Tavern at Bayboro and The Campus Grind work to rebuild and reopen on USF St. Petersburg campus

The Tavern at Bayboro and The Campus Grind work to rebuild and reopen on USF St. Petersburg campus

Located less than a block from the Bayboro Harbor, storm surge from Hurricane Helene flooded family-run establishments The Tavern at Bayboro and The Campus Grind when it made landfall in late September as a Category 4 storm in the Big Bend region of the Florida panhandle.

"We had over three feet of storm surge come through both restaurants. We lost our walk-in cooler that's structurally part of the building," Dennis Bixler said to St. Pete Rising.

Dennis and his wife Stephanie own the local live-music pub and restaurant at 120 6th Avenue South on the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus.

Read More

The Show Must Go On: Zubrick Magic Theatre asks for community's help to keep the magic alive

The Show Must Go On: Zubrick Magic Theatre asks for community's help to keep the magic alive

The Zubrick Magic Theatre in downtown St. Pete, where magicians Chris and Ryan Zubrick typically perform family-friendly comedy and grand-scale illusions, is temporarily serving a new purpose.

The main stage inside the intimate 90-seat theatre at 1211 1st Avenue North is currently filled with air mattresses and the Zubricks’ personal items - becoming a makeshift sanctuary for the couple and their seven-year-old son, Oliver, until the theatre reopens later this month.

Like many residents in St. Petersburg, the Zubricks' single-family home suffered substantial damage from Hurricane Milton when it made landfall last week near Sarasota as a Category 3 storm.

Read More