Pete’s Bagels owner to bring new café to DTSP

A local bagel buff is expanding his footprint with a new café concept in downtown St. Petersburg.

Steven Peterman, owner of Pete’s Bagels, has announced he’s opening a cafe called Seymour’s at 407 Central Ave., inside the historic Snell Arcade. The spot was briefly home to Samurai Cat Japanese café and bakery. The Samurai Cat owners said on social media they’re looking for a new spot to relocate in St. Pete.

Seymour’s will serve breakfast, lunch and crafted coffee drinks. Peterman describes Seymour’s as a departure from the traditional bagel shop format, aiming instead for a more diverse café experience.

“We got this opportunity for a downtown spot and it seemed like a chance for us to do a newer concept that we had already thought about,” Peterman said. “We really want to be able to show that we can do more. We have a really amazing staff who are creating all sorts of new menu items.”

The new establishment, occupying just over 1,300 square feet, will feature an expanded menu compared to Pete’s Bagels, which first opened near Round Lake in 2019 and moved to a larger location in the Grand Central District in 2021. Patrons can expect dishes with Jewish influences, including matzo ball soup, fish salad and open-face lox sandwiches. The cafe will also offer quiches, pies by the slice and an extensive pastry case.

“A lot of it is a nod to my New Jersey roots,” Peterman added. “I’m also Jewish, so we’ll have some fish salad, tuna salad, chicken salad [and] rye bread sandwiches. We have a traditional lox sandwich at Pete’s, but we’re going to do an open-face version with a bit more enhanced flavors [at Seymour’s].”

Image: Instagram.

A partnership with St. Pete’s Look Alive Coffee will enhance the cafe’s coffee program. Peterman discussed his long-standing relationship with Look Alive’s owners, noting that they’ve wanted to collaborate for years and Seymour’s provides the perfect opportunity to bring handcrafted coffee drinks to the new café.

The name “Seymour’s” holds personal significance for Peterman, inspired by his late grandfather: “He was a huge part of my family’s lives, and he always had this ‘It’s good’ line. Regardless of how bad things were, he would always say, ‘It’s good’ when you asked him.”

“He’s a Jew from Central Jersey, so it just fits really well with the vibe, and it felt very meaningful. I didn’t originally plan to use his photo [in the branding], but everyone in my family was so excited, so we’ve started to do some fun marketing with actual photos of him. I think he would have really loved it.”

The new venture comes as Pete’s Bagels continues to expand across the Tampa Bay area. Since its 2019 opening, the company has established locations in St. Petersburg, Tampa and Gulfport, with plans for a drive-through spot in South St. Pete in the works. Peterman said they’re still working on transforming the historic gas station that will be the next Pete’s Bagels, but that it should be opening “in the next couple months.”

Seymour’s plans to operate seven days a week, with tentative hours from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. The kitchen will serve prepared foods until 2 p.m., with pastries, pie, quiche and coffee available through closing time.

Peterman emphasized that while bagels will be on the menu at Seymour’s, customers should not expect the same offerings as Pete’s Bagels. 

“We’re trying to make it clear that this is going to be different than what you expect from us,” he said, asking customers to come to Seymour’s with an open mind. “We want people to definitely think of this as something new, not the traditional bagel shop.”

Related reading: Pete’s Bagels to complete historic gas station’s transformation

.