12 minute read
Downtown Concierge
Summertime, and the living is sultry. We like to explore local museums and galleries, especially The James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art (which will host a Warhol’s West exhibit this fall) and have lunch on the adjacent Datz patio.
DRINK
Hand-crafted cocktails and riffs on classic martinis and Manhattans are all the rage. New to downtown: The Cordova Inn will host The Scott, a bar/coffeehouse serving appetizers, artisan cocktails and local Hogg Batch Coffee beans, aged in barrels from various distilleries, making each batch unique right in DTSP. Get your mixology fix at Sinners’ Paradise, Swingers Patio & Bar, Mandarin Hide, Crafty Squirrel and Tryst. Tea bar and retail shop TeBella Tea Company will open on Central Ave’s EDGE District later this summer. If your pup is thirsty, take him for a walk (on a leash) to The Pier, which features several doggie fountains. Java lovers are thrilled to welcome Paradeco Coffee Roasters (111 2nd Ave. off Beach Drive) in June and their innovative new zero emission coffee bean roaster and good-for-you snacks and drinks.
DINE
Chef Rui Borges will open Fado, Portuguese restaurant, at 435 5th Ave. North St. N. Bolay Fresh Bold Kitchen is coming to St. Pete this fall with healthy bowls/bols for all. Taste test newcomers
The Twisted Indian, Job Site Burgers,
The Crumb Factory, Bright Ice small batch ice creams, Pin Café and Sushi Sho. Rumor has it that 400 Beach Seafood & Taphouse may have a new owner, and we look forward to Ceviche Tapas Bar & Restaurant joining the Beach Drive restaurant row.
We’re very excited about 22 South Food Hall in the historic Manhattan Casino, which now hosts an event space, co-workspace, coffee shop and commissary kitchen, especially Chef Ray Milton’s Ray’s Vegan Soul Plant Based Shack. Joining Ray is St. Pete Bowl Co. organic fruit bowls, Swah-Rey’s baked goods, Three Generations Food Truck, sushi from Sake 23’s former chef and Ire Mon Jamaican Restaurant.
SHOP / TOUR
New to The St. Pete Store & Visitors Center is Miss Johnny Squirrel - prints and hand towels. The boutique features St. Pete artisan-made clothes, décor, gifts and more Mon.-Sat. 10am-5pm. You can pick up the newest issue of Paradise News while you’re browsing. Sign up for a Sip Snip and Arrange flower class with The Roaming Petal May 26th at Bayboro Brewing Co. for a craft beer and all the flowers you need to create a beautiful arrangement.
May is Bike Month, so why not book a bike tour of downtown murals with St. Pete Biking Tours. Or notch up your ride with a scooter or four-wheeled adventure. New to downtown are street legal golf cart rentals, locally owned and operated.
FUN
On May 21, St. Pete Shuffle offers a masked, socially distanced member Meet, Greet & Shuffle. American Stage will host in-person performances with Pop-Up! Performances “Uncaged” at The Factory, St. Pete’s outdoor venue, May 14-16 at 7pm, an evening of songs, comedy and scenes. Mark your calendars for Sept. 4-5 when the St. Pete Powerboat Grand Prix from across the U.S. competes downtown.
St. Pete Pride is back in June, with four themed weeks celebrating LGBTQIA+ community in various outdoor locations in conjunction with local restaurants, shops and cultural venues.
PrideFest Opening
6/1 Official Pride Raising.
St. Pete City Hall, 175 5th St N,
St. Pete. 10am. 6/3 Official PrideFest Kickoff Reception.
Sirata Beach Resort, 5300 Gulf Blvd,
St. Pete Beach. 6-9pm. $10/ticket.
Outdoor Adventures
6/5– Pride Run St. Pete: 5K and Diva Dash. Vinoy Park. 7am-2pm. $5/ticket.
Waterfront Festival highlighting St. Pete’s
Great Outdoors! 6/5 – Signature Event: Pride OUTside.
Starts/Ends at Vinoy Park, run along the city’s magnificent waterfront. 7-10am.
Family Week
6/12 – Arts & Music Week 6/19 – Signature Event: We Are Family.
The Factory, 2622 Fairfield Ave S, St. Pete.
St. Pete Pier, North Straub Park, South
Straub Park. 11am-5pm. $5/ticket.
Arts & Music
6/19 – Signature Event: Arts + Qulture.
The Factory, 2622 Fairfield Ave S, St. Pete. (Afternoon event.) $5/ticket.
Taste of PrideFest
6/26 – Signature Event: Pride Clinic.
North Straub Park, South Straub Park. 2pm-9pm. $5/ticket. Food trucks, festival vendors, Pride Fireworks by Trulieve at dusk (~9pm)!
Wendy Costa
I discovered St. Pete newcomer Wendy Costa on Facebook. Her whimsical paintings mesmerized my imagination. “Sometimes you’re the windshield and sometimes you’re the fairy mistaken for the bug,” welcomes you to her FB page. Delicate shoes a la Kinky Boots, midnight dragonflies, artichoke gowns and elegant ladies sipping café, her drawings are a mix of Chagall and Chopin – both dreamy and elegant.
Costa started her design business in 1987 in upstate New York. After completing her degree in fine art, she started her business hand painting porcelain clay; 35 years later, her studio has seen many transitions, latest of which is a move to Saint Petersburg. Her historic Gothic church studio has been featured in design and studio magazines such as “Where Women Create.” Her art has been purchased by the Smithsonian, the Hudson group, DSW, Neiman Marcus, Disney, Nordstrom, Selfridge’s of London, Ben & Jerry’s, and numerous galleries & stores worldwide.
Costa prints her original illustrations onto fabric, ceramic tile, handbags, and home decor. Everything is sewn & made in her studio using suppliers exclusively from the USA, and machines from Troy & Gloversville factories long gone. Recently she partnered with a sculptor, turning her 2-D images into 3-D. Wendy hopes to set up shop in the newly opened Factory and create art-themed installations and multimedia happenings. www.Wendycosta.com.
Margo Hammond
A writer’s writer, Margo is well known as a book whisperer, writing teacher (Eckerd OLLI) and all-around artsy journalist with a penchant for jewelry as memory. Very clever idea that my 94-year-old mother resuscitated at her assisted living as a discussion group. I am hooked on Bijoux Bios by Hammond and fellow lover of stories Jaye Ann Terry and follow them on FB and their free e-newsletter; sign up at www.bijouxbios.blogspot.com.
Hammond and Terry believe that every piece of jewelry has a story, and like StoryCorps, their blog celebrates both a life well lived and a bygone era. Their interviews are thoughtful and illuminating. In one blog on watches, they write: “I’ve worn a watch every day for as long as I can remember, usually in the Timex family. I’ve always had a watch and used as the primary way to tell time even after I could use my phone for that purpose as well. But I never thought of watches collectible jewelry – until I interviewed Paul Brown about his watch collection.”
“The real value of the jewelry is the connection they have with our parents,” said Brown in the blog, quoted in part here: Paul Brown received his first watch, a digital, when he was seven or eight, but his fascination with watches began with a Swatch. Remember the Swatch? Launched in 1983 in Switzerland, the Swatch product line – Swatch is a contraction of “second watch” – was offered as casual, disposable accessories. The originals (different models are still offered by the Swatch Group) had an open case back, a transparent cover on the backside of the watch that allowed you to see the inner workings of the movement.
Brown’s collection now includes six watches valued at more than $20,000. They are unique, automatic wind-ups as opposed to the quartz watches most of us wear that run on batteries.
“That watch was enormous on my wrist,” Paul recalls. “Honestly, it was a bit of a status symbol. As a young guy, I wanted to wear it to impress my friends.” Paul’s dad got the Omega Constellation for his father during his tour as a Marine sniper in Vietnam. When Paul’s grandfather died, his father inherited the watch and now it’s been passed down to Paul. And the Rolex? His dad gave it to him on his wedding day in 2002. Paul was 24. His dad passed away six years later.
Home Cooking . . . Coast Brothers To The Rescue
Home cooks, look no further than Coast Brothers online for cooking and cleaning products. It’s a local success story and a win-win for consumers.
CoastBrothers.com and their sister company, BuyItByTheCase.com, are e-commerce companies with 30+ years in the Tampa Bay area.
Coast Brothers pivoted during the pandemic from a local distribution company that sold and delivered products to local businesses to national distribution to consumers and businesses online. The company’s owners, Steven Collins and his son Patrick, knew what they were doing. Business skyrocketed and there is something on their website that will help you clean and cook without going to the store.
Patrick says that the e-commerce business potential amazes him. Brand recognition and loyalty of customers to certain American brands also impresses him. Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches and Hershey’s chocolate chips for example.
There are four broad categories on their website, including Home Essentials, Foods, Beverages and Commercial products. The Food tab features Breakfast, Canned Goods, Entrees, Frozen, Healthy Foods / Specialty Diet, International, Pantry and Snacks. The Healthy Food Tab features Organic, Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free, Keto-Friendly, Kosher and more.
Coast Brothers was honored for community service. Perhaps you saw their delivery trucks, painted with amazing sea life murals by Vitale Brothers and Derek Donnelly. At the suggestion of Steve’s brother John Collins, recently retired founder of the Arts Alliance, they also held a songwriting competition to put music to videos of the painting process. Ever the local champions, the Collinses donated their four delivery trucks to local charities.
In January 2021, Coast Brothers was recognized by the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce for these efforts to support the arts community, and for their donation of snacks to the school system to help feed needy children.
Coming Up: Home Cooking With Coast Brothers: Patrick wants to give back to Paradise NEWS readers too, and starting in the June/July issue, will provide recipes both in print and online. Patrick would love to see Coast Brothers’ business in Florida take off, since shipping in-state is quick and less expensive. He plans to have a recipe in each issue, utilizing some of the incredible variety of food items as ingredients that can be ordered from them (if you do not already have them in your pantry) and delivered to your home for free. He also plans to post videos showing how the recipe can be prepared, like you are watching it on a cooking channel.
By Peter Roos
While you are waiting for the first recipe next month, log onto www.CoastBrothers.com and see if there is something you would love to have them ship straight to your home.
30% OFF next purchase Call now for your free in-home consultation
727- 821-0976
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In mid-April, St. Pete local Rod Wave had the No. 1 album SoulFly on the Billboard 200, displacing Justin Bieber. SoulFly is the third studio album from the 21-year-old singer and rapper, real name Rodarius Green, released March 26. Green attended St. Petersburg’s Lakewood High School. Previously this month, Rod Wave had two singles from SoulFly on the Billboard Hot 100, Street Runner (No. 32) and Tombstone (No. 82).
You can catch Taylor Reed all over town, from the markets to the Hideaway. The pop, RnB, neo-soul artist tours regionally and nationally, channeling her natural creativity and spontaneity through a looping station, building an elegantly layered, engrossingly soulful sound. Weaving violin melodies through groove-infused creations, her music elevates any space. Her formative influences range from innovative icons such as Sade, Coldplay and Mary J. Blige, to classical pillars like Johann Sebastian Bach, cutting her teeth as a violinist in a gypsy jazz improv troupe showcasing in downtown Ybor City. Ronny Dee and the Superstars is a powerhouse show featuring the always talented and hilarious Ronnie Dee, sister Jamie Lee, son A.J. Dee, Andrew Beer, Justino Lee Walker, LeMonJello, and LeRoy Myers, with surprise guests. They just performed at The Hideaway and you can catch their funky soul party around town at local bars and festivals. www.thesuperstarsband.com
Big boy howdy for acclaimed guitarist/ songwriter Damon Fowler (known for his electric swamp blues) and Landslide Records charted number one with Alafia Moon. Flournoy Holmes designed the cover art and helping out on the recording are Chuck Riley, Justin Headley, Mike Kach, T.C. Carr, Betty Fox, Josh Nelms, and George Harris. Born in Brandon, Fowler has played with Harris. Over the years, Fowler has worked with Delbert McClinton, Chris Duarte, Buddy Guy, Johnny Winter, Edgar Winter, Jeff Beck, Robin Trower, Gregg Allman, Jimmie Vaughan, Victor Wainwright, Dicky Betts and others. Check his Facebook page for upcoming concerts. Giddy up to Winter Haven May 22 when The One-on-One Doubles Tennis Tournament returns with an event at Country Club of Winter Haven. Following this tournament for $5,000 in prize money will be a performance by Tom Hamilton and The Blues All-Stars, kicking off the concert at 3pm. Love, all.
Palladium Live! streaming series allows you to watch a show on your computer, tablet or phone. You will only be able to watch the show if you create an account on www.watch.mandolin.com using the email address used to purchase your tickets. You will only be able to watch the show if you create an account with the same email address used to purchase your tickets. Tickets are generated 1-5 days before the start of the event. Once your tickets have been generated, you will see the show in your account on www.watch.mandolin.com.
If you have any issues accessing the show, please email help@mandolin.com. If you miss the livestream at 8pm, your unique streaming link will still be active for 48 hours following the show. Enjoy!
