In November, when Creative Loafing reported that local businessman Jeff Knight closed the deal on Jannus Landing and revealed the changes he planned for Jannus and its surrounding properties, the response from those folks who frequented the venue over the past few decades has ranged from optimistic (“Can’t wait to actually get to pee in a real restroom and see good music at the same time … Jannus Live is gonna rock it!!!”), to doubtful (“Sounds great BUT, what’s it gonna cost us?!”), to downright hostile (“Thanks Jeff Knight. You just scrubbed the last shred of St. Pete history from the block. Fuck you.”). [All photos by Phil Bardi.]

The biggest fear of protesters — above and beyond the potential rise in drink and ticket prices — seemed to be that the downtown St. Pete venue everybody loved so much would lose its charming seediness and sense of history in its transformation to Jannus Live.

For me, a longtime Jannus fan, music lover and St. Petersburg resident who counted herself among the doubters, last Thursday’s grand opening-cum-Honda Grand Prix Rev Up party laid this fear to rest.

We arrived via the new second entrance on First Avenue N., where the Tamiami Bar used to be, and were greeted with the scent of newly-lacquered wood and the sounds of blasting music and intoxicated chatter.

This article appears in Mar 24-30, 2010.