What’s New on Corey Avenue in St. Pete Beach

By Peter Roos

What’s new in the Corey area? You may not notice much but read on! Downtown St. Pete Beach has survived, and merchants are on the mend from the pandemic, red tide, and sewer road construction. The future of the area looks bright. 

At Corey and Gulf Blvd., Beverly’s was sold and completely rebuilt inside and reopened as La Croisette by a charming young French couple. They serve French and American breakfasts and baked goods with many popular items built around the amazing French croissants they bake in-house daily. If you are lucky enough to meet the owner, ask her about the history of the name.

Kuba En La Playa opened at the Centre of St. Pete Beach, 2 blocks north of Corey. There’s a walk-up window on Blind Pass Rd. with picnic tables on 76th. There are ordering and seating options inside The Centre as well.  See pages 30 and 32 in Paradise NEWS Aug.-Sept. issue, except Felicia’s phone number is 727-409-3009 (it was wrong in our August issue).

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A new fine dining option opened as well, 82 degrees at the new Saint Resort, serving 3 meals and craft cocktails daily. See Paradise NEWS June-July.

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The historic Beach Theater has a new owner who has been asking the community for input and support for the building’s future. After sitting vacant since 2013, broker Hendrik Bisanz of Sea Salt Properties LLC, (with offices next door to La Croisette) was involved with the Beach Theatre’s sale to Christopher Scott. There were 10 competing offers. After a bidding war, Scott purchased the theater as-is for $652,000 – $173,000 over list price. Two blocks east, Corey Landings, a proposed high-end apartment complex at the east end would add over 300 units, with studios enting for $2,000+.

The street’s salons and saloons, boutiques, galleries, and gift shops have somehow largely survived the challenges of the past few years, although some proprietors are starting to talk about wanting to retire. Corey’s gift shops, Paradise Gifts and Home Décor and Simply Perfect Home Décor, Gifts and Accessories are looking forward to the return of our seasonal residents. 

Robbie Caan at Simply Perfect said she stocked up on almost all their most popular items early as soon as she heard about the global supply chain issues being caused by the virus. The most common thing heard from gift shoppers in their store is “That’s Simply Perfect.” Customers spending $20 can have a FREE Simply Perfect turquoise bag, which, on future visits promises them 10% OFF whatever fits in the bag. It is truly a gift that keeps on giving. 

Corey’s finest glass and ceramics gallery, Vincent Williams, is having a sale, offering 20% off on every amazing thing in their gallery. Owen Sweet moved his jewelry store from Corey to South Pasadena last year. There is a new treasure of a sweet shop there, next to London Hair, with an incredible artist at work in an entirely different medium. Coco Addiction opens at 9am Wed.-Sun. for coffee and croissants, but the real treasure in the case are personal cheesecakes and chocolates that look more like collectable art. They even sell chocolate caviar.  

Janine Ritchie and her daughter Cassidy Raasch recently re-branded the crystal and bead shop at 425 Corey Ave. as a metaphysical store named “As Above So Below.” They are scoring 5-star reviews for their selection, knowledge, and helpfulness. Like many Corey businesses they are there 10am-5pm Tues.-Sat., 9am-1pm on Sundays. Call 727-289-3223 with questions.

There are more watering holes in the Corey area than ever. The Swigwam Beach Bar is back to full strength, joined by its neighbor, the Twisted Tiki, which celebrated its first anniversary in September. The Shaded Keg, formerly Tapz, and the Shell Store had closed and are reopening as Grape’s Wine Café. Elizabeth has been serving wine to her boutique customers and selling them bottles and cases from her boutique for long enough, she says. She knows the boutique-and-wine bar combination will be an asset to the Corey area. She also plans for charcuterie boards and the like.

Two blocks north, Mastry’s Brewery and Kitchen is offering the freshest and some of the finest craft brews in all of Tampa Bay. To go along with your favorite brew, Mastry’s owner Matt Daum has partnered with Ramon Hernandez of Pipo’s Original Cuban Café across from the VA at Bay Pines to provide a selection of Pipo’s Cuban cuisine at the Mastry’s Kitchen Food Truck. With the weather cooling off a bit they are even serving lunch.

The Corey Sunday Market operated in a smaller footprint an hour earlier all summer long, and just returned to their full footprint and 10am-2pm schedule this month. The Corey Area Business Association (CABA) is host for the market which has been expertly run by Susan Schiber of Tampa Bay Markets. CABA also hosts the Arts and Craft festivals, which bring out residents and visitors to enjoy the live music and wonderful things to see and buy. The first few dates for these festivals include this month, October 23-24 and December 4-5 for pre-holiday shopping and January 8-9 and April 9-10, 2022. On Art Festival weekends, the Corey Sunday Market sets up in the post office block. There is prime ground floor office space available across the street from the post office with plentiful off-street private parking, where Keller Williams outgrew the space and moved to Treasure Island’s old Bank of America building. For leasing inquiries, building management is upstairs in the back at Native Properties.

CABA has been saving up proceeds from the market and craft shows through the challenging times, and is about to begin an aggressive marketing program, including additional monthly events with street closures and parties in the streets. Annabel’s boutique on the Beach Theatre side of the block is stocked for season, and its neighbor, Natural Comfort Shoes, has transitioned its Corey location into a full-line retail store with new styles of some of the world’s best shoes and fashionable Florida style casual clothing. There are also newer boutiques north of Wells Fargo, including JoJo’s and High Tide, carrying fashions for both men and women, surrounding Beach Hair Affair and the new Gym Barbershop. 

You may know that everyone’s favorite downtown restaurant, bar and entertainment venue, Chill, changed hands last year. It was rescued by Ken Hautmann and his fiancee’ Kim Beidelschies, who have tried to maintain the menu and operating formula based on prior owner Ruthie Hill’s most popular concepts. “The menu still features such favorites as shrimp and grits,” said Ken. “We have had the same hiring challenges as everyone else, although we still have a number of great, loyal, hardworking people that you have seen at Chill for years. Live entertainment is featured Wednesday through Saturday with the popular Motel Funk playing every other Friday.” 

Although the pandemic put an end to the buffet, a popular brunch menu is served Friday through Sunday. Dining outside at Chill on Sundays, when the market is on, is truly unique experience. The premium full liquor bar is fully stocked and mimosas are featured. The weather is getting perfect for outdoor dining and there is more outdoor seating than ever, even extending into the street, with strategically placed umbrellas. Check out Chillstpete.com for a complete menu and a link to the current entertainment lineup.

Everyone’s favorite Oyster Bar, PJ’s is ready for season. We recently joined a milestone birthday party for (one of several enjoyed by Pat Packer (of Harp & Thistle fame) there in their “private party room”. The restaurant did an amazing job of satisfying the 30 or so there selecting from the entire menu. Pat invited everyone to come join her at the Blue Parrot, next to city hall on Corey for a dance with the 16-piece Tomkats Orchestra that plays there on Monday night from 7-9pm. Pat said she is there every Monday.

A new shop Koncrete PartySkateboards indoor skate plaza and skate shop is located at the mouth of Gulf Blvd next to PJ’s Oysters. A full-service skate shop specializing in all the new products that are hard to find, KPSB focuses on building community bonds through youth skateboarding culture and more. Equipped with a half pipe inside and street section to skate, ping pong, video games, a snack shack and more. This is the newest premier sports spot on the beach offering mentorship and skateboarding lessons with a safe place to enjoy your day or evening. 7470 Gulf Blvd., St. Pete Beach. koncreteparty.com
Facebook, Instagram @koncretepartyskateboards  

A few doors south just off Corey Ave., Ted Stice and Craig DeBernardo opened Category 36 Taphouse and Kitchen, 7430 Gulf Blvd., St. Pete Beach, 727-575-7317. They are open at 11am Tues-Sat. Fresh dough made in-house daily along with homemade marinara sauce makes arguably the finest stombolis and pizzas plus wings five ways; numerous salad options and more are available along with St. Pete Beach’s largest selection of beers on tap, 36 rotating taps including many local craft options. There are indoor as well as outside seating options and you can pick up your meal, eat there, or have it delivered by Door Dash. Just order for delivery from SPBPizzeria.com to get the same amazing quality.  More like a brew pub menu than a bar menu, it keeps growing: Fried Shrimp, Buffalo Chicken Subs and Chicken Parm subs were recently added. We have found the amazing large stromboli is enough for three. Tell them Paradise NEWS sent you!