The Urban Dictionary defines a ‘Chill’ person as “someone who does what they feel like doing, not following crowds. Many have friends in all social groups and don’t care who sees them. They know how to have a good time by being who they are and being with their friends.”
That pretty well describes Chill’s proprietor, Ruthie, who morphed ‘Steam’ into Chill pretty quickly after finding success with ‘crazy good muffins’ when her young coffee house started serving a full breakfast after opening in 2011 just a block and a half west of its present location.
Almost 3 years have passed since Chill moved to its downtown Corey location, featuring a huge separate kitchen with stainless steel walls, walk-ins, a terrific bar area, a private party room, plenty of free parking, and alternative performance areas. As of this printing, Chill was #3 on Trip Advisor. Ruthie says she has recommitted herself to making Chill the very best it can be, and feels like it is working. She is now a resident of St. Pete Beach, so she is never far away.
The thing she says she loves most about Chill is the feeling that friends are always coming to eat, she just does not know which ones. Ruthie says “our staff has really made all the difference. Our service team, led by George Smith has dramatically improved. He has been able to attract and keep some of the best hospitality professionals on the beach! And our daytime staff has improved as well. We promoted long time employee and crowd favorite Joe McCarthy to Assistant Manager during the day. The kitchen staff is once again led by Ruthie and they have embraced a culinary team approach. What a difference!
“They have been able to produce much more volume than EVER before while still maintaining excellent standards. So many of our employees are deeply invested at Chill. They work with love, passion and a sense of ownership. I am so grateful for this incredible team. I am truly blessed” Ruthie continued.
Chill’s dinner menu tends toward creative small plates, but also contains numerous traditional entrees to please everyone in your party. For lunch or dinner their Lobster Bisque or Filet tips with a blue cheese fondue are a great start. As always Chill has a solid commitment to vegetarians, vegans and those who are gluten intolerant. A few small plate vegetables include Kale salad, Spaghetti Squash with ratatouille, and a vegetable and quinoa stuffed Butternut Squash.
The menu has been recently revamped with a huge focus on breakfast & lunch. Ruthie said that “while the dinner business had more than tripled after their move from Gulf Blvd, the day business had declined. Moving from the ‘breakfast corner’, we had to really find a way to rebuild that piece of Chill.” So she looked at pricing and menu offerings. “We lowered many of our prices to be much more competitive and added some extraordinary new menu offerings: like Avocado Toast selections, Grouper Hash, an Acai bowl and some creative and fun tater tot dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We brought in Buddha bowls and really had a lot of fun creating our new Spring menu.” Chill serves breakfast until 3 pm! I was recently there for the Sunday brunch buffet that is very reasonably priced at $16.95 and there is a plentiful Bloody Mary & Mimosa bar.
We noticed table tents touting Early Bird specials too. “Yes, that’s new for Chill,” Ruthie said. “We have 5 entrees for $12.95 including steak, shrimp, pasta, chicken and seafood. We also have great pricing on many of our most popular appetizers, including old favorites like the goat cheese terrine and stuffed dates each for $7. The house wines are $4, well drinks are $3 and domestic draft are $3 too… all from 3:30 – 6 pm.”
Prime Rib Mondays have also been a tremendous success. It’s a 12-ounce portion served with loaded mashed potatoes and a salad for $16.95. It is offered from 4 pm til it runs out. Ruthie said one week they made 60 POUNDS of prime rib and ran out at 8:15 pm. The next week they made 75 pounds. “It’s just incredible. Monday has become our 3rd busiest night of the week!” Wine Wednesday still has half price wine on almost all their offerings (including what’s on the new wine list) and an incredibly tender 8 ounce Angus sirloin steak for $14.95 with salad and starch.
As for the bar, Ruthie’s daughter, the talented and beautiful Molly is still front & center most nights. Mark, longtime bartender from Jimmy B’s, joined the bar staff and is doing a fantastic job too. Ruthie also talked a lot about her bar prices. “We took a hard and detailed look at this recently. Over the years, with so many additions it had become complicated and some items were underpriced while other drinks were really just too expensive. So, we have completely revamped our alcohol prices and the feedback from our guests has been awesome.” she said. “We try to always be willing to take an honest look at what we are doing right and what’s wrong. The roadmap to our success is feedback from our guests and hard working staff.”
When we think about Chill at night we always wonder what entertainment is happening. Ruthie has been diligent in keeping the web site up to date with the variety of music offerings. The latest changes have been the addition of Tony Castellano, local jazz pianist and vocalist to Sunday Brunches and on Tuesday nights, starting at 7 pm. “We saw Tony with the Tomkats and just fell in love with him. He is truly an entertainer playing many standards and has a wonderful vibe.”
Wednesdays feature Chello Hollyday trio on the patio. It’s very smooth Lionel Richie-ish. Act 3 Motown phenoms play at Chill March 18th & 25th and April 1, 8 & 25th (2nd & 4th Sundays thereafter) and Carl, local icon piano man is still holding down the weekends. Even Carl’s “Thursdance” ladies night has been a hit.
The Seafood Festival was a huge success and the Corey Avenue Business Association has been really innovative in growing the activities on the street. Of course we all love the Sunday Market and the art and craft shows, but talks are underway for a Stone Crab event and just NOW for St. Patrick’s Day we are having a street party with live music, a corn hole tournament and lots of green beer and dancing. “St. Patrick would even be excited to come to Corey Ave this year!” Ruthie said. From all of us in St. Pete Beach and beyond, we congratulate Ruthie and her team at Chill for their continued success. Chill accepts reservations at 727-360-2445 or you can make them from their website at www.chillstpetebeach.com
Chill is located at 357 Corey Ave in St. Pete Beach, 33706.
Article by Peter Roos