Local bakery expands to new concept at new St. Pete location

In a time when small businesses throughout the country are struggling, one local bakery is continuing to grow.

HaleLife Bakery recently debuted its second St. Petersburg location. The bakery first opened as a gluten-free learning kitchen and support center in Clearwater in 2016. HaleLife is the brainchild of Laura McCutcheon and her son, who were both diagnosed with Celiac Disease – a digestive and immune disorder caused by gluten – within a year of each other.

“My son and I just went without birthday cakes or being able to enjoy stuff during the holidays. I didn’t have a wedding cake,” McCutcheon said. “So, really, the whole premise is to provide things that people feel like they’ll never be able to have again, but make it just as good as the real thing, if not better.”

HaleLife’s success soon led to additional locations in South Tampa, Carrollwood and downtown St. Pete at 205 1st St. N. in 2021. The company’s new 3,000 sq. ft. space is located in the Gateway area of north St. Pete at 11270 4th St. N. The new location is now the hub where the HaleLife team creates the gluten-free, vegan and allergy-friendly baked goods for all its Tampa Bay locations. It’s also HaleLife’s first bakery and bistro, serving breakfast and lunch options alongside its popular bakery items.

McCutcheon credits HaleLife’s popularity to the company’s strict food safety standards, noting that while more eateries have been adding gluten-free or vegan options to their menus, they can still come into contact with surfaces or tools that cross-contaminate the end product. 

“My main goal and focus was creating a space like this that has a bistro option where people can sit down and eat really awesome food that is safe for people with dietary restrictions or that have anaphylactic food allergies. We’re very serious about it,” said McCutcheon. “We’ve never had a reported reaction to any of the things we’re free from, which is gluten dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts and tree nuts.”

She added that the bistro’s centralized location made it the ideal place to make the jump from serving only baked goods to offering an expanded bistro menu. 

“We’re considered more of a destination. We’re the only one in all of Florida, really in the Southeast, that does what we do. So we’re not far from South St. Pete or South Tampa, even across the bridge into Seminole Heights. We are about 20 minutes from all those locations. This space also allowed me to build out a very nice, comfortable sitting area and has a really nice patio, too.”

McCutcheon said “nostalgic flavors” like Twix and Funfetti are some of HaleLife’s most popular gluten-free, vegan and allergy-friendly bakery items.

McCutcheon also noted that her background in digital marketing and business development has helped HaleLife continue to make ends meet in a challenging economy that’s affecting customers and small business owners alike. In addition to serving all-day breakfast and lunch sandwiches and entrees, HaleLife has partnered with Safety Harbor’s Brown Bag Coffee to offer craft coffee options like lattes and cold brew.

“There are over 3,000 apartments within a mile of [the bistro] and this area is really underserved for things like high-end specialty coffee. There’s nowhere that has a pet-friendly patio or where you can really sit down and work, like those who work from home. This space has been built with that in mind.”

The bistro will also soon begin hosting weekly events and serving beer, wine, cider and mocktails, including drinks infused with CBD or Delta 9. McCutcheon is waiting for final approval for a liquor license and anticipates launching the drink menu in February. She hopes the new bistro will not only serve food but also function as a community support hub, bringing her gluten-free, allergy-friendly journey full circle.