Southern Grounds to open cafe and restaurant on Central Avenue in downtown St. Pete

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Southern Grounds to open cafe and restaurant on Central Avenue in downtown St. Pete

Southern Grounds and Co., a Jacksonville-based coffeehouse franchise focused on building community around high-quality food and drinks, is expanding to downtown St. Petersburg.

The bright, modern coffee shop will open Monday, August 18th next to The Melting Pot inside the newly built two-story building at 695 Central Avenue.

St. Pete’s coffee scene continues to grow, with each shop offering a unique experience. Southern Grounds aims to be more than just a coffeehouse, blending elements of a tapas bar and restaurant to create a co-working-style community gathering space.

The new 2,430-square-foot location features a clean white aesthetic accented by colorful, Florida-inspired murals painted by local artist Matt Kress. The open floor plan offers a mix of couch and table seating designed to encourage connection and conversation.

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Korean fried chicken restaurant bb.q Chicken to open in Pinellas County

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Korean fried chicken restaurant bb.q Chicken to open in Pinellas County

A Korean fried chicken franchise promises to transport St. Pete foodies to the streets of Seoul, bringing the global sensation of its sweet, spicy, and sticky wings to Pinellas Park.

bb.q Chicken, short for “Best of the Best Quality,” will open a new outpost at 7860 US Highway 19 North, taking over the space previously occupied by Tijuana Flats, which shuttered amid the Tex-Mex chain’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

The bb.q Chicken restaurant will be in the multi-tenant building located in a shopping center anchored by Ashley’s Home Furniture. This will be the brand’s first restaurant in Pinellas County and its second in the Tampa Bay area, joining a Tampa location at 3805 Northdale Boulevard that opened in 2023.

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St. Pete-Clearwater Airport moves forward with redeveloping 128-acre Airco site

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St. Pete-Clearwater Airport moves forward with redeveloping 128-acre Airco site

A former golf course property spanning 128 acres next to the St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) is set to be redeveloped, beginning with the construction of a new taxiway that will lay the groundwork for a future aviation business park.

For the past two decades, PIE has been working toward redeveloping the county-owned property known as the Airco site. The site is the largest contiguous piece of developable land in Pinellas County. PIE is now moving forward with selecting a contractor for the first phase of the project, a new taxiway located off Ulmerton Road.

“The taxiway is the first step to redeveloping the property and providing the infrastructure for future businesses there, especially aviation companies, which we’ve seen a lot of demand for,” said PIE Public Relations Director Michelle Routh in a conversation with St. Pete Rising.

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Real estate investor purchases another property near Salt Creek in St. Pete for $6 million

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Real estate investor purchases another property near Salt Creek in St. Pete for $6 million

Clearwater-based real estate company Prometheus Partners, which has been quietly assembling acres of contiguous property just south of downtown St. Petersburg, has acquired another site.

Through its affiliate, Prometheus Franchise Restaurant Holdings LLC, the group purchased the 24,500-square-foot warehouse at 1499 Beach Drive SE for $6 million from Cato Holdings LLC.

Built in 1959, the art deco-style building sits on 1.37 acres near Salt Creek. It currently houses the Salt Creek Arts Center, a maker space offering studios and galleries for local artists, as well as moving company Swift Moves.

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29-story condo tower approved for 4th Street South in downtown St. Pete

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29-story condo tower approved for 4th Street South in downtown St. Pete

A Clearwater-based developer has received approval to build a new 29-story residential tower in downtown St. Petersburg.

Valor Capital plans to construct a $70 million, 165-unit condominium tower on the northeast corner of 4th Street South and 4th Avenue South, just two blocks from the Publix-anchored University Village retail plaza.

At a Development Review Commission meeting on Wednesday, commissioners unanimously approved a floor area ratio (FAR) bonus and a building height bonus for the project, known as the Roche Bobois Residences. Construction is expected to begin in 2026.

The approval follows a prior site plan approval for the project by the St. Petersburg City Council, acting as the Community Redevelopment Agency, in July.

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

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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.

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The Violet Stone’s new, larger location is officially open in St. Pete

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The Violet Stone’s new, larger location is officially open in St. Pete

St. Pete’s favorite Philly-style pizza joint, The Violet Stone, has officially opened in a much larger, more prominent location. So say goodbye to long lines, sold-out signs by noon, and eating pizza on the hood of your car.

The new restaurant, located at 2609 Dr. MLK Jr. Street North, debuted on Wednesday, and brings with it an expanded menu, upgraded kitchen, and seating for up to 100 guests, both indoors and out.

The Violet Stone has come a long way since it launched as a food truck in 2022. After outgrowing the truck, owner Daniel Fekete set up shop in a small 800-square-foot space in Kenwood.

That original space had no air conditioning and just a few chairs and tables. Now, the team is settling into a 2,100-square-foot spot that finally matches Fekete’s vision for the restaurant.

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Mazzaro’s is expanding with Zagara, an authentic Sicilian gelato and granita shop in St. Pete

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Mazzaro’s is expanding with Zagara, an authentic Sicilian gelato and granita shop in St. Pete

The family behind St. Petersburg’s iconic Mazzaro’s Italian Market is about to sweeten the city once again.

This August, they’ll debut a new Sicilian-style gelato and granita shop called Zagara, located just steps away from their beloved market on 22nd Avenue North.

Named after the Italian word for “orange blossom,” Zagara will be housed across the street from Mazzaro’s at 3001 22nd Avenue North, inside the same building as Casa di Mazzaro, a specialty kitchenware store and tea shop.

“We visited Sicily last year and were inspired by the old-world markets, their style of gelato, and wanted to introduce it to St. Pete,” said Cindy Richmond, owner of Casa di Mazzaro and sister of Mazzaro’s owner, in a conversation with St. Pete Rising. “We discontinued our cooking classes at Casa di Mazzaro in October to replace the kitchen space with this new concept.”

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A new neighborhood bar The Green Room opens next to Tchotchke in south St. Pete

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A new neighborhood bar The Green Room opens next to Tchotchke in south St. Pete

A new neighborhood bar has quietly opened in south St. Pete.

Located at 3920 6th Street South, The Green Room is a new bar from Matthew Firosz, owner of the adjacent diner Tchotchke. The diner opened last year in the former Munch’s space, which had operated for 70 years before closing.

The Green Room takes over a former Phillips Air Conditioning & Heating office, now reimagined as a laid-back, no frills hangout.

Inside, the space feels comfortable and worn in, with classic wooden wainscoting below deep green walls that are collaged with framed artwork and random knick knacks from Firosz’s personal collection.

A trio of dartboards are located in the back by the bathrooms.

At the heart of the space is a 14-seat L-shaped bar, topped with thousands of pennies and stocked with over 50 varieties of bourbon.

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A Rosie the Riveter-themed restaurant and bar to replace The Avenue in downtown St. Pete

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A Rosie the Riveter-themed restaurant and bar to replace The Avenue in downtown St. Pete

A new restaurant and bar inspired by the cultural icon Rosie the Riveter is coming to downtown St. Pete, replacing The Avenue, which closed in February after 13 years in business.

Tampa’s Riveters, a concept celebrating female empowerment and the women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II, will bring its historical theme and made-from-scratch menu to 330 1st Avenue South later this year.

The 3,925-square-foot space will be transformed into a sports bar featuring World War II memorabilia, including Rosie the Riveter posters, veteran patches, and wings from crashed bomber jets mounted on the walls.

The female staff, called “Rosies,” wear red bandanas and denim tops inspired by the iconic poster, while the male staff wear military and tactical-style uniforms.

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