Central Park St. Pete Food Hall Opened. Did Downtown Need It?

For more than five years, a five-story building on Central Avenue was under construction while renderings circulated online and its projected opening date shifted. On February 1, 2026, two of its concepts opened.

Central Park St. Pete is one addition to downtown St. Petersburg's dining scene, which also includes restaurants beyond the building.

Central Park St. Pete's phased opening

Central Park St. Pete sits at 551 Central Avenue, a 28,000-square-foot building with a rooftop bar, private event spaces, and a members-only club called Night Owl stacked above the street-level restaurants. St. Pete Catalyst's coverage mentions these eight concepts: Kojo for modern Asian, Bar Hana as its tropical rooftop offshoot, Don Ricardo's Taqueria, Park Pie Pizza, Speaks Pasta, Strawberry Fields, Constellation Burger, and The Meadows for ice cream. Those eight are among ten concepts planned for one address, five years in the making.

What opened on February 1 were two of the concepts. Creative Loafing Tampa Bay reported that Palm Avenue Deli and Constellation Burger debuted that day. Other local coverage this spring described the building as continuing to roll out new vendors one at a time.

Buildouts take time, and a ten-concept food hall can open in stages. The building's rollout is still underway.

Recognition for St. Petersburg dining

Downtown St. Petersburg's dining scene has also received recognition. St. Pete-Clearwater has become a Michelin-recognized destination, with four local restaurants named in the guide: Fortu, Sushi Sho Rexley, Il Ritorno, and The Tides Market. Travel + Leisure has ranked St. Petersburg among the top food cities in the country in a study spanning 99 of the nation's largest cities, citing the strength of its seafood, its coffee, and its affordable three-course meals as reasons why.

Jason Ruhe and his wife, Hope Montgomery, opened Brick & Mortar downtown first. They later opened Sea Worthy Fish + Bar in Tierra Verde, where Ruhe built a menu around whatever came off the boats that morning rather than what a distributor could deliver. Their next restaurant, Pulpo Kitchen + Lounge, opened in the Grand Central District. Three restaurants, three different neighborhoods, one growing reputation.

On Beach Drive, Isu operates in the basement of Fortu under the same ownership and management team, serving a Japanese-Peruvian menu that draws on both cuisines' shared love of seafood and citrus. A few blocks north, the newly renovated Vinoy Resort & Golf Club added Elliott Aster to its bayfront lineup, giving the historic hotel a modern dining room to match its restored exterior. Together, they add to the range of dining options in downtown St. Petersburg.

Restaurant openings around St. Petersburg

Restaurants have also opened in the Grand Central and EDGE districts.

Jimmy's, a longtime Ybor City taco spot known for its birria and shrimp tacos on handmade tortillas, opened a second location at 2534 Central Avenue in the former home of The Foundry vintage furniture store. It won Best Guacamole and Best Ybor City Restaurant in Creative Loafing Tampa Bay's 2025 Best of the Bay awards before it opened in St. Pete. A few blocks over, two Italian transplants, Giangiacomo Greco and Alessandro Casali, opened Fusillo Italian Pasta at 905 Central Avenue in the EDGE District, taking over the compact space once occupied by Nash's Hot Chicken and building a fast-casual pasta bowl menu around noodle, sauce, and topping combinations in the $13.50 to $15.50 range. Over on 4th Street North, SoDough Square brought Detroit-style pizza to the neighborhood at 6925 4th Street.

These openings add to the dining options around St. Petersburg.

What almost closed

The flip side of a neighborhood that keeps opening new spots is one that also has to decide what it is willing to lose. St. Petersburg's longest-running restaurant, The Chattaway, sits at 358 22nd Avenue South and has been serving the south side of the city for 75 years. Earlier this year the property went under contract, and word spread that the sale meant the restaurant itself would close.

It did not. The purchasing group decided to keep The Chattaway operating rather than shut it down. The new ownership is led by real estate investor Cullen Mahoney, who brought in Ferg's Sports Bar owner Mark Ferguson and Shrimpy's Waterfront owner John John Delladonna to help run it. The sale itself is expected to finalize this month. The purchasing group includes local restaurant owners.

Dining across St. Petersburg

These examples show several kinds of activity in St. Petersburg's dining scene: Central Park St. Pete began opening in February 2026, restaurants expanded or introduced new concepts, and a purchasing group decided to keep The Chattaway operating.

Dining options span Beach Drive, the Grand Central District, and the south side of town.

If you are curious what any of this is doing to home values in the neighborhoods around Central Avenue, Beach Drive, or Grand Central, Karena Caputo has been tracking St. Petersburg alongside the rest of Tampa Bay for years and is always glad to talk through what she's seeing. Let's Connect.