Iberian Rooster to close Feb. 27

The Iberian Rooster, the combination restaurant, bar and performance space at 465 Central Ave., will close Feb. 27, owner Russell Andrade announced via social media Thursday.

Andrade, a semi-professional opera singer, opened the Iberian Rooster in 2016 to introduce St. Petersburg to the Portuguese food and curries of his youth; the bar featured an extensive menu of custom cocktails.

“It has been a long crazy ride and we had a lot of fun serving the St. Pete community,” he wrote on the eatery’s Facebook page. “My family and I wish you the best and hope you’ll stop in over the next week to say hello.”

The Iberian Rooster’s website offers this inclusive welcome: “We aim to be a safe space for everyone, regardless of religion, race, sexual identity, sexual orientation, height, weight, and physical ability. We aim to provide a space for everyone to gorge themselves on good food and drinks, equally.”

The basement, known as SubCentral, featured music, comedy, Karaoke, burlesque and drag shows. The Saturday Drag Brunch was especially popular.

To stay open during the pandemic, Andrade turned the restaurant into a server-less concept he called “Avo’s Kitchen,” specializing in Goan food bowls (a specialty of a former Portuguese colony in India).

In the run-up to Feb. 27, he told Iberian Rooster fans and friends, “I’ve got a ton of alcohol left. Come help me get through it. We will be having insane drink specials this week. lol.”

Calls and emails to Andrade were not immediately returned.