New St. Pete Pier

Perry’s Porch, a new café concept created by Seed & Feed Hospitality Group, is coming next year to 335 2nd Avenue NE, a space adjacent to the St. Petersburg Museum of History on the St. Pete Pier. It will take the place of Hops and Props, a craft beer bar that moved to 225 2nd Avenue North last year and rebranded as Hops 2.0. 

According to a news release, Seed & Feed Hospitality Group, which also owns and operates local seafood restaurant Trophy Fish and the Mandarin Hide cocktail bar, has enlisted St. Pete-based Wannemacher Jensen Architects to redesign the space.

Jon Robben has been hired as executive chef and plans to offer a menu that features historical local craft cocktails and picnic-basket-style takeout food options for Pier visitors to enjoy in the amenity’s many green and recreational spaces. Robben is currently the executive chef at Trophy Fish and before that helmed the kitchen as Tryst.

It’s fascinating to think about how long the new St. Pete Pier has been in discussion. The first conversations began way back in 2004, when the City of St. Petersburg found that the pier structure’s upkeep cost too much and could no longer be funded. As a result, a new pier would have to replace the existing inverted pyramid pier.

Do you remember where you were in 2004? The President of the United States was George W. Bush and Barack Obama was still a little-known State Senator from Illinois. The top grossing movie of 2004 was Shrek 2. The top song of the year was Usher’s “Yeah!” featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris. And the founder of St. Pete Rising, Anthony Close, was in 5th grade.

Downtown St. Petersburg has also a changed significantly since 2004. Many of Beach Drive’s soaring condo towers hadn’t been erected yet, including Ovation, Parkshore Plaza, 400 Beach, and Signature Place. The Chihuly Experience wouldn’t open for another six years, The Dali Museum for another seven.

Throughout St. Pete’s history, the public pier has always been a waterfront destination. From the “Railroad Pier” to the “Million Dollar Pier” and the famed “Inverted Pyramid”, the history of the pier runs nearly as deep as the city’s.

The most recent iteration of the St. Pete Pier, the Inverted Pyramid, closed its doors to the public for the last time on May 31, 2013. Since then, there has been a long, often controversial, pier replacement process that involved public forums and information sessions, a dramatic citizen referendum, and of course, a lot of emotion.

Now, exactly four years later, St. Pete enters a new chapter in its pier history. On Wednesday—May 31st, 2017—the city officially received a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin construction on the new St. Pete Pier.  This was the final permit needed before construction could begin.

Today, St Petersburg is another step closer to having a brand new pier.  A public survey opened this morning on the city’s official website encouraging residents over the age of 18 to vote on up to three of their favorite pier designs.  Residents will have until March 6th to cast their vote.

City officials are hoping to receive input from 40,000-50,000 residents in the two weeks the poll is open.