Restaurants opening in St. Pete: From DIY chocolate bars to a vegan gastropub

St. Pete is gaining new restaurant concepts that will debut in the city’s growing districts. 

Here’s a taste of some of the new restaurants planning to open shops in the city: 

The Cake Drip to have a St. Pete storefront 

The Cake Drip, a unique dessert boutique, will open this summer at 1104 Central Ave. in the Edge District.

The Cake Drip storefront in Hyde Park Village. Facebook.

The Cake Drip, which has a storefront in Hyde Park Village, offers do-it-yourself experiences with custom chocolate bars and cakes. The St. Pete location was previously used by retailer Plain Jane. 

The boutique, known for its DIY experiences and its dessert boards with cheesecake bites and chocolate spoons, is also largely known for its atmosphere.  

The company’s stores are typically decked out with more thousands of flowers and fairytale-like decor.

Daddies Donuts and Delites to open on 400 Block

Daddies Donuts and Delites, a doughnut shop concept with a unique twist, will reportedly open at 449 Central Ave. next month. 

Daddies Donuts and Delites’ doughnuts. Instagram.

The founders include John Miller, Joel Cutter, Joshua Zitting and Jerome Bailey. 

The doughnuts on the group’s Instagram account show doughnuts topped with Twix bars, Fruity Pebbles, cinnamon apples and Sour Patch gummies, as well as a doughnut sundae. 

Sweet tooth lovers should also know that the Orlando vegan bakery Valkyrie Doughnuts, which is owned by the same team behind Valhalla Bakery, has recently opened at 2444 Central Ave. 

Black Radish to open its second vegan grocery store 

While it may not technically be considered a restaurant, it’s certainly big foodie news for St. Pete. 

Black Radish Grocer, which operates a grocery store in Tampa, will open a second storefront. 

Black Radish. Facebook.

It’s expected to open fall at 246 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street North, in a 900-square-foot space next to the Coney Island Sandwich Shop. 

The news was announced in an Instagram post. 

The grocer will sell boutique items as it does in the Tampa location, and will have a small deli for made-to-order meals.

Italian concept to take over Cider Press Cafe’s corner spot on Central 

The Cider Press Cafe, the vegan restaurant that helped transform the 600 Block of Central Avenue ,is leaving unexpectedly but plans to relocate to Kenwood. 

Owners Johan Everstijn and Roland Strobel, who opened the restaurant six years ago at 601 Central, had a lease dispute with their landlord. 

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 renderings of the new Cider Press Cafe location in Kenwood. Photo courtesy of Johan Everstijn.

The new location will be a gastropub as the owners plan to get a liquor license. 

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. 

Meanwhile, 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. 

Doc Ford’s to open a location in West St.Pete 

Doc Ford’s Rum Bar and Grille is coming to West St. Pete. 

The Fort Myers-based HM Restaurant Group purchased the waterfront property in West St. Pete, at 8790 Bay Pines Blvd., in late April from Chesapeake Bay Holding Company Inc. in a $3.45 million deal. 

The Doc Ford’s restaurant in Fort Myers Beach. The new Bay Pines location will look similar to this. HM Restaurant Group.

The 6,750-square-foot building was formerly home to the Green Iguana Bar and Grill. 

“This location has the feel and look we go for and it’s on the water. Besides the restaurants at John’s Pass, there aren’t that many waterfront restaurants and this is a market that’s far enough from the pier but is close enough that people are familiar with our brand,” Joe Harrity, marketing & operations director at the restaurant group, told the St. Pete Catalyst. 

The group initially wanted to open the new location by the end of this year; however, due to the pandemic’s impact on permitting and increased cost of materials, the goal now is to open it by next spring.