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Cider Press Cafe to leave prime corner block on Central, move to Kenwood
The Cider Press Cafe, the vegan restaurant that helped transform the 600 Block on Central Avenue is leaving unexpectedly, but it has already found a new home.
The Cider Press Cafe. Google Maps.
Owners Johan Everstijn and Roland Strobel, who opened the restaurant six years ago at 601 Central, had a lease dispute with their landlord.
“We have an extension after this year on our lease and we aren’t fighting it,” Everstijn told the St. Pete Catalyst. “The landlord is not honoring our lease.”
The owners will relocate the cafe to 3118 3rd Avenue N. in the Shoppes of Kenwood, roughly two miles from the current location. The 2,275-square-foot space was formerly the home of the gay bar, Georgie’s Alibi.
A rendering of the new Cider Press Cafe location in Kenwood. Photo courtesy of Johan Everstijn.
While the same concept will open in the new Cider Press space by the end of the year, it will become a vegan gastropub. The owners will be able to acquire a liquor license, which they wanted to obtain at the current Central Avenue location but weren’t able to, due to their lease agreement.
“The aesthetic will have some similarities to the current location, but we saw it as an opportunity to have a liquor license and make it more of a fun gastropub,” Everstijn said.
The current lease for the Central Avenue location ends this year. The owners will either move out when the lease expires or as soon as the gastropub buildout is complete.
The design of the building is being done by David Fischer, owner of St. Pete’s The Saint speakeasy, and interior design firm Zazoo’d.
Everstijn said he expects to spend $250,000 or more on the buildout of the new location.
“The building we are moving into is more usable and there’s a storage facility about a block away, which will allow us to have more room,” he said.
“The current building is weird. It is so cut up because it is several buildings combined. Parking on Central has also been an issue for us. Most of our traffic is foot traffic because it’s hard to find nearby parking.”
Additionally, the new building has a bar area with a garage door so the Cafe can serve customers outside, which Everstijn said is a critical space to have during a pandemic.
It has since been confirmed that a new restaurant concept called Bonu’ Taverna will open in the Central Avenue space. The Italian restaurant will open in early 2022, according to the business’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.
Pamela
August 13, 2021at11:56 am
Sounds like the owner wanted an Italian restaurant there instead of Cider Press. That’s too bad, Cider Press provided a great vibe for that area. I will be going to Kenwood to the new Cider Press!
Scott Bitterli
August 12, 2021at10:55 pm
Great news! Welcome to the neighborhood. I’ve been waiting for something like this in that spot. It will be a great addition to the area and start the western edge of Kenwood to become more local retail friendly.
See you in Union Central!
Greg Davidson
August 12, 2021at4:58 pm
Sad but not surprising. I suspect we’ll see more small, locally owned Central Av businesses move as landlord are more concerned about their income growth. I’m sure Cider could have endured a small increase. For the landlord to NOT honor to the end of the current lease is awful….. I’m leery if Blackmon wins the Mayoral race, given his recent attempt to kick-out lower priced units during COVID, his and his dad’s history of ‘developing’ real estate will only continue. Next we’ll see more mid-town businesses vacate as rents increase…. Hoping we can keep the locally-owned sense of St Pete. Progress is not always bigger/flashier….