Hanging Around

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Hanging Around By Caron Schwartz Sometimes a girl just wants to have fun. So, when I saw that bright orange Jupiter electric bike at Lenny’s Surf & Cycle Shop in St. Pete Beach I had to have it! I promptly named him Julius (he is orange after all).

For our first adventure we checked out the murals from the 2020 SHINE festival. Armed with a printout of the map on the St. Pete Arts Alliance website, we took off down the Pinellas Trail toward St. Pete. I knew to keep an eye on the battery, so we’d have enough juice for the return trip. So we stuck with murals in and around Central Ave.

First up was iBOMS’s “Where the Bloom Begins” on the Grand Central Brewhouse. I’d seen photos, but they don’t prepare you for the different textures the artist infused into the wall, especially the glittering teeth. While there, Julius tried to befriend a posse of e-scooters, but they couldn’t escape their corral. Next was Nneka Jones and Bianca Burrows’s “The Global Currency” on the Goodyear Rubber building. A commentary on social injustice, the mural exudes sadness and anger.

“Hey guys, come on out and play!”

We rode along 1st Ave. N. looking for the murals there. We saw some old ones but were frustrated at not being able to find the 2020 additions. Meanwhile, Julius was intrigued by the arrays of rental bikes we passed. “When I grow up I want to be a Coast bike,” he confided.

I needed a break. Locking a lonely Julius at a bike rack, I enjoyed amazing pistachio non-dairy ice cream at Plant Love.

With the battery display at about half, it was time to head home. We cruised Central Ave until turning south to Gulfport, wandering through a neighborhood we later found out was Westminster Heights. Before long we popped back onto the Pinellas Trail and the spur into Gulfport. What a fun day!

“When I grow up I want to be a Coast bike.”

JupiterBike www.jupiterbike.com Lenny’s Surf & Cycle Shop www.lennyssurfshop.com St. Pete Arts Alliance SHINE www.stpeteartsalliance.org/index.php/shine-2020 Pixelstix www.pixelstix.com/shine-mural-festival Plant Love www.facebook.com/plantloveicecream

OOur beaches are better than Cannes. We can rock a beret with our swimsuit and tan lines. And Pinellas County features some incroyable French cuisine and desserts. What better time than summer to live the French lifestyle, starting with a morning croissant and ending the evening with French bubbly at Flute & Dram?

FRENCH LIFESTYLE: It’s easy to incorporate French life into our daily routine. Begin at home by sitting down to your meal unplugged. No rushing. Stop small talk and start discussions. Walk more and cook fresh meals from local markets and boutiques. Say oui to new adventures. Don ballet flats, a crisp white shirt or an LBD with pearls. Less is more. Arrange fresh flowers on your tables and bedside and stop stressing about the little things. Live and let live, que sera sera. Play music (jazz, classical, Django Reinhardt) and enjoy a café au lait and chocolate daily. For French décor, shop Vintage Marche, Left Bank boutique, Designer Consigner (Chanel) Simply Chic and ReTreat.

FRENCH DESSERTS: My mom in New Jersey loves the vanilla lavender and pina colada macarons from Bradenton’s Macoranage which I order online at www.lovemacaronage.com. Take home dessert from the French restaurants or pop over to these delightful shoppes featuring French treats: Café Soleil, Cassis Bakery, Gateau O Chocolat, Le Macron French Pastries, Wandering Whisk (order online), Swah-Rey, William Dean and Alesia. Coming to Corey Ave. is CoCo Addiction, hand-crafted French chocolates.

FRENCH VINO: French wines do not need to be expensive. We’ve found some great deals for Sancerre at Trader Joe’s and Rolling Oats. For tastings, check out Vino Simpatico’s events on FB.

FRENCH RESTAURANTS: From the onion soup to the pate, pommes frites to coq au vin, I love every dish in our local French bistros. I often pick up pate, wine and brie at Trader Joe, Fresh Market and Bella Vino for a picnic at the Florida Botanical Garden, with a lavender centerpiece and my Pandora playing Josephine Baker. We look forward to the re-opening of La Croisette in May, with an expanded patio and French-inspired dishes. Here are some of our faves: Alsace French Bistro: Charming décor and authentic dishes, from quiche at brunch to specials (mussels with frites), crepes, Croque Monsieur, duck a l’orange and savory beef bourguignon. Tierra Verde

Bacchus Wine Bistro: Dine on foie gras, escargots, steak au poivre, pate, lobster salad, charcuterie, smoked salmon, tuna carpaccio or take-home dishes, French wines, cheese and more. Happy hour 4-7pm with small plates (4.50) and vino specials. DTSP

By Nanette Wiser

Chez Colette’s French Bistro: A petite jewel, with joyful crepes, fragrant onion soup, charcuterie, duck leg confit and seafood pasta Cognac flambe (scallops, shrimp). Belleair

Café De Paris Bakery: Pick up your pastries, baguettes and café for a beach picnic or enjoy breakfast or lunch at the cafe. Indian Rocks Beach

Café Largo: Chef Dominic’s boutique French wines, delectable appetizers, sensational entrees (tournedos of beef tenderloin, seafood) and chocolate souffle are my personal favorites. White linen table, French music and casual elegance is the catch of the day. Largo

Cassis: The ultimate alfresco lunch/dinner/ brunch hotspot and artisan cocktail rendezvous on Beach Drive, Chef Duclut combines traditional Euro Brasserie fare and American classics with a French twist. We love the bouillabaisse, heirloom tomato tarte, salmon and tenderloin, styled with flair. DTSP

Flying with Jerome: Tues.-Sun., this hideaway serves hedonistic pastries, homemade breads, French crepes, croissant French toast and a puff pastry filled with asparagus, poached eggs, bacon, hollandaise sauce. Clearwater

Gulf Bistro: The best coq au vin, seafood gratinee, duck and lobster bisque in town with stand-out specials (Snapper Provencale, Scallops Au Saffron) and my fave, sauteed pork tenderloin topped with brie cheese in a berry sauce. Madeira Beach

The Left Bank Bistro: Charming patio and interiors, stunning cocktails, live jazz, happy hour Mon.-Fri. 3-6pm and delectable small plates such as grilled shrimp, duck foie gras, escargot and unique mussels and seafood presentations. St. Petersburg

Marquise Café: Shirred eggs oven baked with bacon, cheese and heavy cream with baguette and side salad, quiche, crepes, Nicoise salad or the Parisian Sandwich (baguette, salted butter, ham old-style, unsweet French pickles) light up your day like the Eiffel Tower at night. Pasadena

Parts of Paris: Make a pilgrimage for the rack of lamb with blueberry/mint chutney, vegetarian cassoulet and fish of the day. Start off with the braised octopus served with couscous, crispy wafers and wasabi sauce. Safety Harbor

P. S. We dedicate this story to our publishers’ French cat Sammy, rescued from New Orleans postKatrina. Sammy loves his morning fresh catches by Papa Pete. Sammy is a chartreaux, a pedigree that dates back to French royalty.

Tourism Revival on the Beaches

with New Tourist Hotels and Restaurants

Story by STEVE TRAIMAN

As we edge out of the COVID-19 pandemic, the busy tourist season has been extended by what some in the tourism business are calling a “Perfect Storm for Florida Tourism”– probably not the best choice of words with a “worse than usual hurricane season expected.” The combination of cabin fever, cheap flights, warm weather travel restrictions elsewhere, stimulus money, and the #1 US Beach award from TripAdvisor has led to a windfall for our local hoteliers and restauranteurs. At the same time, renovations and new construction are occurring and plans are being made.

ST. PETE BEACH

The Former Grand Plaza is now the Bellwether Beach Resort

The former Grand Plaza Hotel at 5250 Gulf Blvd., the tallest structure on SPB, originally opened in 1975 with magnificent views of the Gulf of Mexico, the city and Tampa Bay. It will reopen in mid-June as the new Bellwether Beach Resort, part of the Benchmark Resorts & Hotels Group. Features include a wide variety of resort amenities with four restaurants highlighted by a rooftop venue, four bars, a beachfront pool, beach services and more. Only Bongo’s Beach Bar has been open to the public during renovations. Under the conceptual plan presented to the City Commission the current Miramar facility at 4200 Gulf Blvd., a one and two story 27-room motel-type structure built in 1953, will be demolished to make way for a six-story, luxury resort. The new Miramar Beach Resort includes 54 rooms and a rooftop lounge, which will be accessible to the public.

Ronnie Galant, Miramar’s VP of operations, said the reimagined and recreated Miramar will include many in-house amenities, including a fitness center, indoor and outdoor dining on its main floor, and a rooftop pool and lounge. Along with resort guests, the public will be invited to enjoy the gulffront restaurant or rooftop lounge, and may be offered memberships to the new fitness center. The lobby of the new Miramar resort will feature both a covered and open outdoor dining area with a lounge facing the gulf, along with a full-service indoor lobby restaurant and tavern. He noted the developers, including Kevin Bowden, recently opened their larger Cambria Hotel in Madeira Beach with a rooftop bar amenity that presents acoustic music at reasonable hours, and there have been no complaints.

The Titan Global Group of investor developers, a local familyowned company that did an amazing job rebuilding St. Pete Beach Suites just north of Upham Beach in the boutique hotel district, has hit a home run with their latest project: The Saint Hotel that opens in early May at 7201 Sunset Way. Its restaurant, 82 Degrees, offering full-service for breakfast, lunch and dinner, opens later in the month. The hotel’s key amenities include 19 suites, both efficiencies and 1-bedroom units, all with kitchenette and either Gulf, courtyard or pool views. There’s also a hot tub, several fun courtyard games, and a spa, with free use of the hotel’s bikes, beach wagons, pool towels, and beach chairs.

The former Sloppy Pelican/Shark Tales was rebuilt and reopened as Buoy’s Waterfront Bar & Grill at 677 75th Ave. - one of the most coveted Gulf Beaches coastal areas. With boat docks soon to be repaired and more to come. Buoys is one of the unique places you can dock your boat and enjoy lunch or dinner with small town vibes while you mingle with the locals, and enjoy chef-inspired fare with island inspired ingredients to hand crafted cocktails by our mixologists. They strive to provide a relaxing, enjoyable dining experience in a friendly, fun and family-oriented atmosphere. Buoy’s is open daily from 8am to 11pm with no reservations required.

What was once Charlie’s Oasis, Philthy Phil’s, Twisted Tarpon, and Crab Daddy’s is now the Toasted Monkey, relocated from its former Howard Johnson’s site on Gulf Blvd. to 678 Corey Ave. on the west end of SPB. Their waterfront location is just south of Buoy’s and both restaurants are co-owned with the Reef. That Howard Johnson’s site was bought by OTO Development in December 2019 and was thoroughly rebuilt. It reopens May 10 as the new Hilton Garden Inn, with 136 rooms, a heated outdoor pool and beachfront bar and grill serving inspired cuisine all day.

Long-time breakfast/lunch landmark Beverly’s La Croisette at 7401 Gulf Blvd. was sold to French couple Mickael and Natalie and will reopen later this spring as “La Croisette.”

Commenting on the new hotel and restaurant activity, Mayor Al Johnson told Paradise News, “Resort reconstruction on St. Pete Beach is taking off and, with it, improvements to supporting businesses like restaurants and bars. The surge in tourism activity has much to do with easing the restrictions caused by the coronavirus but, for SPB, this activity is exaggerated. It is a response to the wastewater system capacity improvement project that began in October 2020. The maxed-out system resulted in a 2016 building moratorium on multi-unit projects until capacity is increased. With the sewer project currently underway construction permits can now be issued.

“Redevelopment of the tourism infrastructure in St. Pete Beach is very much needed. Various projects have been discussed with city staff who have educated developers to the limitations on unit density, building height, etc. contained in our Comprehensive Plan. No project discussed is allowed to exceed the plan’s limitations – it is the governing document. Once completed, the sewer project will support the full scope of that plan.

“It’s an exciting time in SPB! The city is executing and completing infrastructure projects and guiding private development that will renew our island paradise for the enjoyment of our residents and visitors alike. Being blessed to be named #1 US Beach doesn’t mean we can’t improve – I believe even the best can improve and we are doing exactly that!”

MADEIRA BEACH

Cambria Hotels, a Choice Hotels upscale brand, celebrated the grand opening of its third property in the Sunshine State with the opening of the Cambria Hotel St. Petersburg-Madeira Beach Marina last December. On hand were Madeira Beach Mayor John Hendricks and City Manager Robert Daniels, and Janis Cannon, senior VP for Choice upscale brands. Located on the waterfront in MB Town Center at 15015 Madeira Way, the hotel offers stylish accommodations and amenities that include breathtaking ocean views, a rooftop infinity pool and rooftop bar, an elevated courtyard and fitness center. Some waterfront guest rooms include private balconies, and all offer free WiFi and Bluetooth connections. Town Center offers easy access to some of the waterfront’s best shopping, dining, beach activities and entertainment—all within walking distance. And the hotel is less than two miles from John’s Pass, Pinellas County’s top visitor attraction.

The Schooner, a 42-unit hotel at 14500 Gulf Blvd., has been described as one of the last remaining “old school Florida hotels in Madeira Beach.” It would be redeveloped as The Schooner Resort, a seven-story building with a 56-room hotel, restaurant and resort services on the west side of Gulf Boulevard with a two-story parking garage above retail space on the east side. Kevin Bowden, a veteran hotel developer and one of the partners who operates the Schooner, said the project would cost between $25 to $28 million. Bowden hopes to break ground later this year. Construction would take about 14 months with opening projected for February 2023.

TREASURE ISLAND

Mayor Tyler Payne is excited to see the move of all city departments to the new City Hall Center, built in the transformed former Allied Insurance building at 10451 Gulf Blvd. Some of the cost is unseen, but necessary in a modern era where officials have to plan for the unforeseen and unthinkable. It is designed to define the city’s character, be ADA accessible, secure, welcoming and easy to navigate, Stacy Boyles, assistant public works director, told city commissioners in December 2019.

It will incorporate safety features that a small island city never had to imagine or budget for years ago. The building will have a number of security cameras and card readers at certain doors used by staff, but no metal detectors at public entrances. City Manager Gary Brumback, who is retiring June 1, said there is “a lot of staffing associated with (metal detectors); it’s much bigger than just detecting metals, and has no use unless there is somebody there to prevent something bad happening if the metal’s found.”

The new Treasure Island City Hall

Boyles told commissioners planners are studying sustainability and have listed initiatives in both construction and operations. Some of the details involve “how we are going to procure the items like having requirements for recycled composite materials, engineered wood and things like that,” she said.

The third floor will be renovated at the same time as the second and fifth floors. Partial renovation will be done on the fourth floor to bring it up to building code, with items such as installing a sprinkler system and removing the drop ceiling along with some of the walls and flooring.

The fifth floor will be utilized as a community space that can be rented for events, meetings and provide much-needed programming space for the recreation department. It boasts a beautiful view of the Gulf, the downtown corridor and Treasure Island Park, and features multiple-sized rooms for classes or meeting spaces for community groups and activities. It is also home to one larger premier event space with a catering kitchen, making it an attractive venue for a variety of functions.

Entrance to the new City Hall Center will be on the east side of the building at Treasure Island Park. Visitors can take an elevator or stairs to the second-floor customer service lobby. “Beyond the lobby is the Commission Chamber that overlooks the beach, and the Community Development Department is to the other side of the lobby,” Boyles said. “The next floor up is the staff working floor, with a primarily open floor plan, designed to keep staff located in close proximity for efficiency and collaboration. The workspaces have been designed with flexibility, keeping in mind the potential needs of the future workforce,” she explained. In addition to the new City Hall Center, the ghost town on the south side of John’s Pass is coming back to life. The site of the former Gator’s Café, a vacant symbol of the coronavirus pandemic, is about to become the 11th restaurant on the Beachside Hospitality Group roster, opening May 1 under the name Crabby’s on the Pass. “Everything came together on this, and we were able to work out a great deal. We’re so excited to be in Treasure Island,” said Julia Cassino, director of marketing and events at Beachside.

Gator’s, a three-decade legend among Gulf beach restaurants and watering holes, was an early victim of the COVID-19 contagion, closing its doors in March 2020. In October, owners announced the shutdown would be permanent. Known for its Florida Gators football watch parties, boisterous Sunday livemusic events and stunning views of the Gulf, John’s Pass and the drawbridge, the facility took advantage of its surroundings with floor-to-ceiling windows and indoor-outdoor seating to become a favorite among locals and tourists. The boat-up docks will remain, and there will be a fish filleting station and indoor space for banquets, weddings and corporate events. Beachside has been steadily expanding from its Clearwater stronghold, where it operates Crabby’s Bar & Grill, Crabby’s Dockside, Salty’s Island Bar & Grill and the Salty Crab North Beach. It also has restaurants in several other Florida cities.

Editor’s Note: Special thanks to St. Pete Beach Mayor Al Johnson, Cambria Hotels spokesman Kevin Bowden, Madeira Beach Mayor Tyler Payne, City Manager Gary Brumback and Stacy Boyles, assistant public works director, The Saint Hotel spokesperson Lori Natkes, and earlier articles from the Tampa Bay Times, Tampa Bay Newspapers and St. Pete Catalyst.

[Feature editor Steve Traiman is president of Creative Copy by Steve Traiman, providing professional business writing services since 1993. He can be reached via email to traimancreativecopy@gmail.com or by phone to 727-363-7531.]