By Nanette Wiser
SIP & SUP Thanks to Bucs’ owner Bryan Glazer, their imagined Vinoy Resort is glorious, with a patisserie (macarons), exquisite boutique, an alfresco cocktail mecca on the verandah, sophisticated seating, scrumptious brunch at Paul’s Landing poolside and a luxe spa. The restaurant will reopen later this summer and the resort is part of the Marriott’s upscale Autograph Collection. Sea Salt debuts an all-day happy hour with food specials noon-6pm including oysters, fish tacos, ceviche cocktail, charcuterie and a crispy fried chicken sandwich and drink specials 3-6pm.
Lolita’s Wine Bar is moving from 18th Street to the Warehouse District near 3 Daughters, inside the Morean Center for Clay on 22nd St. S, a renovated freight depot home to local artists with a lovely outdoor patio. 2nd and Second owners retire the American comfort food diner and replace it with Dirty Shirley, a new concept featuring quirky cocktails, shareable dishes, a new interior and outdoor lounge area. Ruth Chris Steak House is now part of the Darden Restaurant group’s fine dining collection (Capital Grille, Eddie V’s).
Five Bucks Drinkery is opening a second location in Pinellas Park. In the works next to Brick & Mortar is the future Central Park St. Pete, a five-story food hall with a basement speak-easy, multiple restaurant concepts and a rooftop lounge that plans to open 2024.
Open Table names The Library as one of the top 100 most popular brunch spots in America, along with two other Columbia Restaurant (Ybor City) and Connors Steak & Seafood (Sarasota). Chewy named Pinellas Ale Works (PAW) the #1 dog-friendly brewery in America. Enjoy their $5 beer flight night every Mon. with your fur-buddy and be sure to take home some Blood Orange Pucker Pup, a smooth blend of citrus and sour. Popular karaoke bar LALA is getting a second location in Hyde Park. Mutts & Martinis is open on Central, an upscale sports bar and dog park with a splash pad!
FUN Keep an eye on downtown underpasses transforming into green spaces, dog parks or pickleball courts, adorned with public art. Fairgrounds St. Pete is an art and technology museum full of immersive, playful exhibits based on original Florida stories. I can’t wait to go on Pepe’s Plight Coin Hunt, an immersive scavenger treasure hunt that takes you through the Mermaid Star Motel and beyond, solving riddles to uncover a hidden narrative. Staying alive disco ducks need to get in line for Good Night John Boy Wed. (Ladies Night), Thurs.-Sun. If it’s Monday, it’s yoga time at Sunken Gardens where you can meditate in the garden; Tuesday is Tai Chi in Northwest Park. Join a book club this summer at Tombolo Books or Book + Bottle or a movie night at Green Light Cinema.
TIDBITS Parking woes in The EDGE and Grand Central may get a reprieve if the Rays open up some of their lots on non-game days. Condos are out, office space and a boutique Autograph Collection hotel are in at Orange Station, the development planned for St. Petersburg’s former police headquarters. A global classroom experience that brought together USF St. Petersburg students with peers in Moldova to conduct joint research and form cultural bonds, while an international humanitarian crisis was unfolding nearby, received the inaugural International Partnerships Award from the American Political Science Association and the Political Studies Association. The historic Betty Ann Hotel (406 11th Ave. N) is now Uptown Works, a new co-working space.
