On the Menu: Brewery, gluten-free bakeries open

A rise of new restaurant concepts and cafes are debuting in the Sunshine City. 

Here are the latest openings: 

HaleLife Bakery closes one location, expands another 

Vegan and gluten-free restaurant HaleLife Bakery has shuttered its Clearwater location and will open an expanded concept in St. Pete. 

HaleLife Bakery’s pumpkin spice latte donut and apple cider cheesecake doughnuts. 

The bakery will continue to sell its regular baked goods and items via its bistro express menu.

HaleLife also sells dairy, egg, soy and peanut-free items, including cupcakes, donuts, cinnamon rolls and breads. 

The Hippie Shack restaurant opened earlier this month at 9555 Blind Pass Road, a waterfront commercial space in St. Pete Beach.

The building was formerly occupied by Sea Hags Bar and Grill, which closed in June. 

The Hippie Shack. 

Businessman Steve Gianfilippo, who founded the Cordova Inn and Station House in St. Pete, purchased the property in 2021 and previously planned to create a houseboat resort.

Golden Isles Brewing Co. has turned the old gas station at 3000 Dr. MLK St. N., across from the Sunset Grill restaurant, into its new brewery. 

The Golden Isle Brewing Co.’s St. Pete location. 

Owners Angie and Jonathan Bryan held a soft opening for the Magnolia Heights brewery in early October. They kept the characteristics of the original gas station. 

The dog-friendly brewery has an indoor-outdoor bar and a 3,000-square-foot lounge area. 

The drink menu includes lagers, ales, IPAs and ciders. 

Gluten-free bakery opens 

St. Pete residents and visitors will have another gluten-free bakery option as Adieu-glu has opened a new location in St. Pete. 

Owner Debra Cooper, who suffers from celiac disease, an illness caused by an immune reaction to eating gluten, opened the bakery several weeks ago at 1942 1st Ave. South. 

Adieu-glu’s gluten-free baguettes. 

“Being celiac, I understand the daily dilemmas we face with dietary restrictions, and that is why we insist on transparency when it comes to standards in our kitchen.  We are free from cross-contamination in our gluten-free dedicated kitchen, and we have begun to mill our own grains to ensure freshness and quality,” Cooper wrote, sharing the motivation behind opening the Adieu-glu, which is French and translates to “goodbye to gluten.” 

The business started as an at-home cottage kitchen bakery. 

The new brick-and-mortar cafe offers Artisan breads without preservatives, along with bagels and baked goods. 

Other recent foodie news 

• Bill Edwards, whose Big3 Entertainment manages the city-owned Mahaffey Theater, plans to turn the Mahaffey’s ornate lobby into a fine dining restaurant in the fall. Ted Dorsey, formerly of The Mill, will be head chef at the new space called Sonata. It will feature “coastal cuisine presented with Southern hospitality in an elegant atmosphere.”
• Four local restaurateurs are banding together to flip the former Caddy’s space in Gulfport into a two-story restaurant. The new concept, dubbed Stormrunners Tavern, will open early next year at 3128 Beach Blvd. South, and will feature three bars overlooking Boca Ciega Bay. There will be a walk-up ground-floor bar and an open-air high-end bar called “The Crow’s Nest” on the second floor. There will also be an outdoor dog-friendly tiki bar called “BARk.”
• Josh Cameron, owner of the Crafty Hospitality Group and several local establishments, transformed the former Oyster Bar building at 249 Central Ave. into an immersive pop-up bar. Its first concept, the Halloween-themed Sleepy Hollow, debuted Oct. 13. The theming of the space will continue to change seasonally. 
• Seminole resident Ariana Duksa, owner of The Sourdough Co., will be opening her bakery in November at 1113 Central Ave., adjacent to Intermezzo Coffee and Cocktails. Duksa said she will work with neighboring tenant Intermezzo, as The Sourdough Co. will not offer coffee. The two spaces are connected via shared French doors.