Sober Bar opening next month in downtown Gulfport with zero-proof cocktails and kava

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Sober Bar opening next month in downtown Gulfport with zero-proof cocktails and kava

A new café and bar is coming soon to Beach Boulevard in downtown Gulfport.

Sober Bar, serving specialty coffee, zero-proof cocktails, kava, and other functional beverages, is preparing to open next month at 3062 Beach Boulevard South.

Owners Sean Hawthorne and Collin Horton have spent the past several months renovating the roughly 1,400-square-foot space, the former home of Anani Bistro, into a moody, New Orleans speakeasy-inspired lounge.

The concept combines elements of a traditional bar with a menu that skips alcohol altogether, instead leaning into functional drinks and a more social, lounge-style atmosphere.

The idea first started as a pop-up in 2025, with Hawthorne and Horton serving drinks at markets across Tampa Bay.

Gulfport’s Tuesday Fresh Market quickly became one of their regular spots, and it didn’t take long to see the demand was there for a permanent storefront.

“With the name Sober Bar, we want it to elicit some curiosity with our customers because the words ‘sober’ and ‘bar’ seem like two conflating ideas,” Hawthorne said in a conversation with St. Pete Rising. “I discovered the kava industry about five years ago when I decided to go sober for a while. I was looking for some sense of community and I found it at these kava bars.”

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17th annual St. Petersburg Jazz Festival swings into the Warehouse Arts District this week

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17th annual St. Petersburg Jazz Festival swings into the Warehouse Arts District this week

The annual St. Petersburg Jazz Festival returns this week, offering a diverse line-up of bands and orchestras that will all be hosted within the Warehouse Arts District.

The jazz festival officially kicked off Tuesday, April 7th, with free-admission jazz workshops at St. Petersburg College, which is followed by four days of concerts with a mix of jazz styles and international influences.

Starting Wednesday, April 8th, a total of seven performances will happen at the Rosie Cohen Stage at the ArtsXchange, located at 515 22nd Street South.

All concerts begin at 7:30 p.m.

The annual festival is a nod to St. Pete’s rich musical roots, since the city has ties to the mid-20th century Chitlin' Circuit, a network of venues that provided safe spaces for Black musicians across the United States.

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Gulfport vintage shop and craft cafe moving to St. Pete’s Grand Central District

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Gulfport vintage shop and craft cafe moving to St. Pete’s Grand Central District

A Gulfport-based vintage and handmade goods shop is preparing to open a larger, expanded location in St. Pete.

Coastal House Vintage will open Wednesday, April 29th at 2820 1st Avenue North in the Grand Central District, growing from roughly 500 square feet to about 1,700 square feet in a 1926-built home that has since been converted for commercial use.

Alongside the expansion, the shop is introducing a more interactive concept centered on creativity and community.

The new location will feature a dedicated craft café, where visitors can drop in at any time, purchase a project, and spend time making it on-site.

“We really hope it’ll be a third-space environment where people can come spend time with us,” owner Robin Kee said in a conversation with St. Pete Rising. “You can sit and have a drink, hang out with friends, and not have to go sit at a bar.”

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Intimate stand-up venue Sunshine Comedy Cafe to open in downtown St. Pete this summer

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Intimate stand-up venue Sunshine Comedy Cafe to open in downtown St. Pete this summer

The growing stand-up comedy scene in St. Pete is getting another addition, this time with a much smaller, more intimate format.

Sunshine Comedy Café will open this summer at 443 1st Avenue North, on the ground floor of the Princess Martha building in downtown St. Pete, bringing a 35- to 45-seat venue focused on up-close, interactive stand-up.

The 996-square-foot space will be located next to Bar Chinchilla, billed as the city’s smallest bar, and just steps from Central Avenue.

Owner Kenny Garcia says the goal is to create a laid-back, speakeasy-style setting that feels more personal than a traditional comedy club.

Garcia, who also operates Sunshine City Comedy Club on St. Pete Beach and Clearwater Comedy Club, said the smaller setup is intentional.

“I like the intimate model a lot more,” Garcia said in a conversation with St. Pete Rising. “Everyone is part of the show. It creates a different energy.”

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Farm-to-table restaurant Casa Origen coming to the EDGE District of downtown St. Pete

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Farm-to-table restaurant Casa Origen coming to the EDGE District of downtown St. Pete

A farm-to-table restaurant is coming to the EDGE District of downtown St. Pete.

Casa Origen will open this summer at 937 Central Avenue, the former home of No Vacancy, a retro Florida-themed bar that closed last year after a six-year run.

The restaurant will use organic, nutrient-dense ingredients sourced from local farms across Tampa Bay, with a menu built around minimally processed foods and clean cooking methods that avoid preservatives and seed oils.

Dishes will be prepared using grass-fed tallow or finished with extra virgin olive oil, with no use of processed sugars and a strong commitment to fully traceable sourcing.

Casa Origen is expected to open first for breakfast and lunch, with a counter-service format where customers order at the register before taking a seat.

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New hotel, bank, and retail coming to Shoppes at Park Place in Pinellas Park

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New hotel, bank, and retail coming to Shoppes at Park Place in Pinellas Park

The Shoppes at Park Place, one of the most popular shopping centers in Pinellas Park, is set to expand.

Located at 7200 U.S. Highway 19 North, the 495,000-square-foot open-air shopping center, which is anchored by Target and the Regal Park Place movie theater, is slated to add a 120-room hotel, a drive-thru bank, and approximately 28,000 square feet of new retail space.

On March 5th, the Pinellas Park Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved an amendment to the site’s Commercial Planned Unit Development plan to allow the new uses.

The commission also approved a conditional use for a drive-thru bank within the General Commercial (B-1) zoning district.

The proposal, submitted by landowner Belleair Development Group, is scheduled to go before the City Council on April 7th for a first reading, followed by a second reading and public hearing on April 23rd.

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St. Pete denies plans for 12-story condo tower at Marina Bay in southwest St. Pete

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St. Pete denies plans for 12-story condo tower at Marina Bay in southwest St. Pete

Plans for a new residential tower within the gated waterfront community of Marina Bay in southwest St. Pete were unanimously rejected last week.

St. Petersburg’s Development Review Commission voted to deny both a height variance and a site plan modification for a proposed 12-story, 96-unit condo building on a five-acre vacant parcel on Harbor Way South near Eckerd College.

Since acquiring the 67-acre property from Eckerd College in 2003, developer Reza Yazdani has developed it into a coastal residential community with a deep-water marina and 187 homes, including single-family residences, villas, and condominiums along nearly 2,000 feet of the Intracoastal Waterway.

On Wednesday, Yazdani sought approval for a new 150-foot-tall building, exceeding both current zoning limits and a previously approved plan for the site.

The site was approved in 2005 for a 96-unit residential building with a maximum height of 85 feet. A 2007 citywide rezoning later reduced the allowable height on the site to 36 feet.

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New bar and club Jay Que’s opens on 22nd Street South, replacing Catalyst in south St. Pete

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New bar and club Jay Que’s opens on 22nd Street South, replacing Catalyst in south St. Pete

A new bar and club has opened on 22nd Street South, taking over the former Catalyst on the Deuces space at 903 22nd Street South.

Jay Que’s quietly opened in late March next to Sid’s Caribbean Grill and near Heavy’s Restaurant.

The Catalyst on the Deuces closed in February after opening in 2023 in the former Chief’s Creole Cafe space.

Longtime Chief’s owners Elihu and Carolyn Brayboy still own the building.

22nd Street South, known locally as “the Deuces”, has been one of St. Petersburg’s most significant cultural corridors.

During segregation, it served as a thriving Black business district, home to restaurants, clubs, hotels, and entertainment venues that anchored the city’s African American community.

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11-unit apartment building approved for Bartlett Park in south St. Pete

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11-unit apartment building approved for Bartlett Park in south St. Pete

Eleven aging bungalow-style apartments dating back to 1925 will be demolished and replaced with a new apartment community in the Bartlett Park neighborhood of south St. Pete.

On Wednesday, the St. Petersburg Development Review Commission approved a redevelopment plan and setback variances for the property at 421 15th Avenue South.

Designed by Storyn Studio for Architecture, the project will consist of two buildings arranged around a shared courtyard with a central water feature. Units will range from studios to two-bedroom apartments, starting at 308 square feet and going up to 734 square feet, with balconies facing the street.

The eastern portion of the site will include a three-story building with a parking garage and eight units on the upper floors. The western portion will feature a two-story building with three units, garage parking, a bicycle storage room, private storage spaces, and a maintenance area.

The approximately $2 million project is being developed by Shaun Burroughs of Coral Development.

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Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series bringing 88-foot dives to the St. Pete Pier this June

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Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series bringing 88-foot dives to the St. Pete Pier this June

Red Bull’s Cliff Diving World Series is coming to Florida for the first time ever, and St. Petersburg will be its debut host. 

The global high diving series will take place June 4th through June 6th at the St. Pete Pier, where professional divers from around the world will compete for prize money and the coveted King Kahekili trophy.

Competition unfolds over three days, beginning with practice dives and preliminary rounds on Thursday, June 4th and Friday, June 5th. Those sessions will not be open to the public.

The main event, featuring additional practice dives, semifinals, and finals, will take place on Saturday, June 6th from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and is expected to draw roughly 20,000 spectators throughout the day.

The custom dive tower will be installed in the parking lot of the St. Petersburg Museum of History, rising 21 meters (68.8 feet) for female competitors and 27 meters (88.5 feet) for male divers.

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