St. Pete Ferments and Queen & Colony relocate to new home near downtown
/The new storefront joins neighboring tenants Art’s Food Store and Artissin | st. pete rising
A longtime farmer's market vendor who has garnered a name for herself making kombucha and fermented vegetables in St. Pete has found a new permanent home.
Jars of raw honey, bottles of kombucha with fruity flavors, and fermented kimchi and sauerkraut fill the shelves and cooler along the brick walls inside St. Pete Ferments and Queen and Colony Bee Company’s new brick-and-mortar shop at 326 Martin Luther King Jr. Street North.
The two businesses previously shared a space at 4922 8th Avenue South in Gulfport.
St. pete Ferments founder Sarah Arrazola inside the new St. Pete storefront | st. pete ferments
“I really wouldn't be here without the community,” Founder of St. Pete Ferments Sarah Arrazola said to St. Pete Rising. “It all started with me making kombucha in my studio apartment and then selling it at farmers markets and eventually opening a production facility in Gulfport, which recently sold. Now we are closer to downtown St. Pete, and customers can easily pick up our products and the attend educational classes we plan on hosting.”
The store doubles as both a retail shop and production facility with items displayed in the front of the store like educational books about beekeeping and Florida horticulture, bottles of kombucha, and small batches of fermented vegetables. In the back of the building are St. Pete Ferments' feed processor, larger fermenters, and new filtered brew lines.
The new storefront comes after Arrazola was given 75 days to vacate her previous store.
Inside the new storefront where more inventory will be added | st. pete rising
“We knew the building was listed for sale in mid-January [2024] and were confident the new owners would have wanted us to stay as long-term tenants - but that was not the case,” Arrazola said.
She quickly retained the help of commercial real estate agent Jenna Malowany of the Archer Group to spearhead the search for a new home.
Arrazola and Colony Bee Company also launched a $30,000 fundraising campaign to help offset relocation expenses, offering donors perks like limited kombucha bottle releases, custom risograph prints, and a farm-style dinner. They ultimately raised $19,000.
The exposed brick wall and inventory inside the new store | st. pete rising
“Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Sarah, and panic is simply not in her nature,” Malowany wrote in an Instagram post. “She’s one of the most composed and collected individuals you could ever meet. But that day, her anxiety was through the roof, spurred by a sudden notice to vacate her current warehouse. The thought of losing the business she and her dedicated team had spent nearly a decade building left her feeling rushed, desperate, and terrified.”
Arrazola executed the lease for the new storefront in May 2024 and opened the shop in October.
“Not only does Sarah now have a pristine space to produce her beloved “magical baby Kimchi” (my name for her delicious craft) and other ferments, but she also has a beautiful retail store to showcase and sell her products,” Malowany said.
St. pete Ferments sells fermented vegetables, including turnips, radishes, and sauerkraut | st. pete ferments
Since debuting the business in 2016, Arrazola, who is of Guatemalan descent and worked on a farm in Guatemala when she was younger, sources fruits and vegetables from local purveyors, including Little Pond Farm, Meacham Farm, Life Farms, and other fruit and citrus growers through the Florida Fruit Cooperative.
She also works with a private grower in Ruskin who grows organic cabbage.
The new space hosts farming and beekeeping workshops and on select days, serves as a produce and product pick-up location for farmer Will Crum and Kim Vorperian of Bodhi Basics.
St. Pete ferments will continue to attend the local community markets | st. pete ferments
In the future, Arrazola says the space could host local forums to bring farmers, restaurateurs, and local food makers together around the same topics.
You can still find St. Pete Ferments at the Saturday Morning Market and Indie Flea market.
Be sure to follow St. Pete Ferments on Facebook and Instagram and Queen and Colony on Facebook and Instagram for the latest offerings and upcoming educational workshops.
