St. Pete’s Green Bench Brewing is one of the dozens of Florida-based breweries at TBBW’s “Halfway There” party this weekend. Credit: GreenBenchBrewing / facebook
Openings

St. Petersburg Distillery’s Spirit Garden St. Petersburg Distillery has been producing locally-made spirits out of its Warehouse Arts District space for almost a decade, but its about to debut a brand new, late-night hotspot to help kick off Labor Day weekend. “Be the first to experience St. Petersburg Distillery’s new Spirit Garden. With almost 10 years of distilling, we want to welcome everyone to enjoy great company, great food, and of course great spirits,” the business writes on social media. In addition to Italian eats from newly-opened, on-site restaurant Cala, and craft cocktails from the distillery, this outdoor lounge will also feature a plethora of shaded outdoor seating, interactive games, and a stage for live music. A free RSVP is required to attend its grand opening on Saturday, Sept. 1 and can be made directly on its website. Specializing in pizza, pasta and focaccia bread, Cala is an Italian restaurant that recently opened adjacent to the distillery. While the two businesses are separate entities, they both share the Spirit Garden courtyard. Also sharing the St. Petersburg Distillery’s massive Warehouse Arts District property is Chad Mize’s new gallery Space (stylized “SPACE”), which will also be home to Indie Flea’s upcoming market season. 800 31st St S, St. Petersburg. stpetersburgdistillery.com

Amendment XXI Known for his various appearances on “Top Chef,” longtime Tampa Bay restauranter Fabio Viviani has debuts his latest culinary concept. Amendment XXI quietly opened in Westshore Plaza earlier this week, adjacent to other popular South Tampa concepts Bourbon Street Cafe, Seasons 52 and Maggiano’s Little Italy. Boasting a contemporary menu of “refined bites and booze,” this new Westshore Plaza restaurant specializes in Italian-inspired cuisine that Viviani is known for. Entrees on Amendment XXI’s dinner menu include dry-aged ribeyes, beer-braised mussels, grilled branzino, braised pork shank with citrus Polenta and mint chimichurri, and pizzas topped with prosciutto, truffle honey, mozzarella and arugula. “Named for the 21st amendment to the United States Constitution, which repealed the ban on the manufacturing, distribution and consumption of alcohol nationwide, Amendment XXI takes beverage inspiration from the Prohibition Era and blends it seamlessly with the mouthwatering food of visionary international chef, Fabio Viviani,” a press release says. The newly-opened restaurant hosts a VIP Grand Opening Celebration on Wednesday, Sept. 13. 204 Westshore Plaza, Tampa. amendmentxxi.com

Closings

Clearwater Brewing Company Pinellas county just lost one of its craft breweries. Clearwater Brewing Company, located in the Old Clearwater Bay neighborhood at 1700 N Fort Harrison Ave., took to social media to announce the unfortunate news. “It is with great sadness that we announce that we are closing Clearwater Brewing Company effective immediately,” the brewery wrote on social media earlier this week. “ We thank all of our customers, staff, and the City of Clearwater for your patronage and support over the last few years.” On commercial real estate website Loopnet.com, Clearwater Brewing Company’s 1,736 square-foot parcel is listed for $825,000. In addition to the building and its outdoor seating space, the listing also includes its ” 3 BBL Brewing System, multiple fermentation tanks, and a comprehensive cooling system.” Although its closure is effective immediately, its real estate listing has been online for the past several months. Keep your eyes peeled at 1700 N Fort Harrison Ave. to get the first look at the new business that may replace Clearwater Brewing Company. FHR Commercial Realty’s Eric Perkins told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that he’s in communication with “several interested buyers.” 1700 N Fort Harrison Ave., Clearwater.

Events

TBBW’s ‘Halfway There’ Celebration Each spring, Tampa Bay brewers celebrate the best our local craft beer industry has to offer during Tampa Bay Beer Week, but beer lovers can get a little taste of that celebration this weekend in St. Pete. Tampa Bay Beer Week organizers and the Tampa Bay Brewer’s Alliance host a “Halfway There” party at The Coliseum, featuring dozens of breweries from every corner of the Sunshine State. Just a handful of participating breweries include local heavy hitters like Magnanimous, Woven Water, King State, and Green Bench alongside out-of-towners like Miami’s Tripping Animals, Dade City Brew House and Pompano Beach-based Odd Breed Wild Ale. Tickets to this beer-centric gig include unlimited samples from 60-plus breweries, as well as access to a few food trucks (although the price of food isn’t included). There’s also an afternoon Tampa Bay Rays game happening just a few blocks away that day, and “Halfway There” would certainly make one hell of a pregame. According to its organizers, this weekend’s party is their primary fundraiser—“attendance is the best way to help us make TBBW bigger and better each year. ” 535 4th Ave. N, St. Petersburg. Eventbrite.com Top Nada food truck grand opening Fans of “Nuyorican street food” will soon have a local food truck dishing out unique empanadas and chopped cheeses throughout Tampa Bay. After a year and a half of existing solely as a pop-up, Top Nada debuts its new food truck in Seminole Heights this weekend. Common Dialect Beerworks hosts the soon-to-open food truck on Saturday, Aug. 26 from noon-6 p.m., where bumpin’ reggaeton music and a raffle will welcome its first customers. Top Nada makes its food truck debut at the same place where it took home the first prize for “Best Traditional Empanada” at the Tampa Bay Empanada Festival earlier this year. The pop-up’s classic beef and cheese empanada captivated festival goers— a classic item that will definitely be on the food truck’s menu, alongside other dishes like chopped cheeses and loaded fries. Other empanada flavors that Top Nada founder Adam Ayala will dish out at this weekend’s grand opening includes “The Rude Bwoy” with marinated chicken and homemade jerk sauce, “The Birdy Mac” stuffed with buffalo mac and cheese and ” The Bubba Gump” complete with Gulf shrimp and a garlic creole dipping sauce. 5023 N Florida Ave., Tampa. @topnadaofficial on Instagram Saigon Night Market’s Mid-Autumn Festival Most folks know about the Lunar New Year celebration that happens each winter, but millions of people throughout East and Southeast Asia celebrate another holiday in the fall to honor the harvest season and the autumn equinox. Clearwater’s Saigon Night Market—a weekly event packed with dozens of street food-inspired vendors and karaoke—hosts a local rendition of the widely-celebrated Mid-Autumn Festival next month in Pinellas Park. England Brothers Park hosts this weekend-long festival on Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 16-17. Saturday’s festivities will run from 3 p.m.-9 p.m. while Sunday’s party happens from 2 p.m.-9 p.m. Both days will feature DJs and cultural performances—including the iconic lion dance—in the park’s bandshell, dozens of vendors specializing in Vietnamese, Laotian, Cambodian, Filipino and Chinese fare, a pho eating contest and bounce houses and face painters for the kiddos. 5010 81st Ave. N, Pinellas Park. @saigonnightmarket on Instagram ICYMI

RIP, Publix hurricane cakes It’s the end of an era for Lakeland-based grocer Publix. The company, which will make a cake for just about anything unless your a transgender person or a graduate who finished “Summa Cum Laude,” said in a statement that it has instructed bakers not to make hurricane-themed cakes, or “hurricakes,” as not to “make light” of natural disasters. In a statement that was actually posted to the company’s website last year, but just recently surfaced on social media, Publix said that while they enjoy “finding ways to delight them with their favorite Publix items as they prepare for uncertainty,” the cakes will no longer be made. “Our associates make every effort to support our customers during weather events. Often times, this includes finding ways to delight them with their favorite Publix items as they prepare for uncertainty,” said the company. “For these requests in particular, it is our company policy to not produce bakery cakes that would make light of a natural disaster. We have sent communications to our stores reminding them of our policy.” It’s tough to say exactly when these viral desserts first started popping up on social media. Some of the earliest images of “hurricakes” appear around 2019, as Hurricane Dorian headed towards Florida. —Colin Wolf

Changes at Seminole Heights restaurant Coasis include daytime service and expanded hours Earlier this year, St. Pete-based chef and owner of Three Generations food truck Melissa “Melly” Gardner opened her first brick and mortar with partner Brandi Gergle. Coasis recently launched the first phase of its opening and is finally ready to roll out a brand new menu and operating hours. “We’re finally ready to launch phase two of Coasis,” Gardner tells Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. “We are seeing that breakfast and lunch is more popular than dinner service, and that our customers are asking for lower price points and more casual options.” Starting on Thursday, Sept. 7 (although it may soft launch a few days earlier), Coasis will offer breakfast and lunch service from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, brunch from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sundays, and remain closed on Mondays. In addition to expanded hours and service, Gardner says her and Gergle are also adding 50 extra seats both indoors and outdoors, hanging several TVs throughout the restaurant and constructing a bar on its back patio. New items that patrons can expect when Coasis launches breakfast and dinner service include its Lil’ Nebraska breakfast plate with bacon, eggs and potatoes, a variety of omelets, sandwiches, burgers, loaded waffles and salads, alongside approachable daytime cocktails like mimosas and spritzers. 7701 N Nebraska Ave., Tampa. @coasistampa on Instagram
Buddy Brew’s new cafe inside the Judy Genshaft Honors College at Tampa’s University of South Florida campus celebrated its grand opening on Monday, Aug. 21. It’s now open Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-5 p.m.

Two popular beer-centric businesses celebrate their anniversaries in Tampa this weekend. Tampa Heights’ Woven Water Brewing (456 W Columbus Dr.) has new merch and beer collaborations for sale all weekend-long, while King State (520 E Floribraska Ave.) hosts a party on Saturday, Aug. 26 from 7 p.m.-midnight for its 4th birthday—complete with drink specials, a new coffee release and a DJ.

Popular Cuban restaurant and dessert hotspot Flan Factory—located at 1718 N Nebraska Ave. on the outskirts of Ybor City—recently unveiled its new dining room and lounge space, virtually doubling its capacity. “Although we have more seats, we will still have a small kitchen where everything is made from scratch, so we appreciate your patience while we keep up with orders and demand,” the restaurant writes on social media.

American restaurant Willa’s (1700 W Fig St.) was recently named one of “The South’s Best New Restaurants Of 2023” by popular magazine Southern Living. The publication praises its modern comfort fare, in addition to its owners’ commitment to “transparent pay structure, company-supported insurance, a tip share, and paid time off.” Willa’s was one of two Florida restaurants that made the cut, alongside Coral Gables-based contemporary Chinese concept Zitz Sum.

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This article appears in Aug 24-30, 2023.

Kyla Fields is the food critic and former managing editor of Creative Loafing Tampa Bay who started their journey at CL as summer 2019 intern. They are the proud owner of a charming, sausage-shaped, eight-year-old...