Breakfast spot Bacon Bitch abruptly closes downtown St. Pete location

A popular brunch restaurant in downtown St. Petersburg  (with a somewhat contentious reputation) recently closed its doors.

After about 4 years at Bodega's former location at 1122 Central Ave., Bacon Bitch has closed.

“Sad to inform you that this location has closed. Bacon Bitch locations continue in Orlando (UCF), South Beach (Miami Beach) and Bayside (downtown Miami),” a sign on Bacon Bitch’s closed doors read. “We are sorry about the short notice and we will miss St. Pete. Best Wishes!”

While it's not exactly sure what day Bacon Bitch closed its doors, it seemed to have quietly shuttered sometime within the past two weeks.

Although Bacon Bitch is still listed as "open" on Google with its normal hours, all signs of its St. Pete location has been taken off of its website. The abrupt closure has not yet been addressed on any of the restaurant’s social media pages either.

St. Pete’s Bacon Bitch location made its debut in the fall of 2020. It was known for its menu of breakfast sandwiches, avocado toasts, salads, burgers, BLTs, plus champagne, beer, wine, daytime cocktails and sangrias for its “thirsty bitches.” While some were captivated by its quirky and “bitchy” service, neon signs and straightforward brunch options, others detested the Miami-based business for animal abuse allegations that date back to 2017.

A Change.com campaign claims that Bacon Bitch founder Chris Viso paid one of his restaurant employees to shoot and kill a stray cat named Strushie with a crossbow. The Miami Herald reported in 2017 that Georgios Kollias, the employee who followed Viso’s orders to kill the cat, was arrested and deported back to Greece before he went to trial. Viso was never charged for the crime that he allegedly organized.

Ironically, the Bacon Bitch website states that it “puts just as much care into how an animal is raised and treated as we do into how all our bitches are treated. Bacon Bitch goes to great lengths to ensure all are treated equally.”

Viso also opened a ‘Burg location of his other concept The Chicken Spot next to Bacon Bitch in 2021, although its Central Avenue location quietly closed about a year later.

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