Opened at 627 Central Ave., The Hyppo Gourmet Ice Pops is downtown St. Pete’s latest gourmet popsicle peddler. The homegrown shop, founded by Stephen DiMare, was established five years ago in St. Augustine and creates a selection of fresh fruit-based ice pops. With David Luddeke serving as general manager, the shop has a cafe feel and features inventive flavors — think blackberry clove, raspberry lemonade and watermelon hibiscus — that change with the seasons.
Jeremiah’s Italian Ice, a frozen-sweets hangout with several locations in the Orlando area, has expanded to Brandon. At 825 E. Bloomingdale Ave. in the Bloomingdale Square plaza, Jeremiah’s specializes in 40 kinds of Italian ice, gelati and soft-servce ice cream. Flavors range from horchata to cookies and cream, vanilla to sour green apple.
• Carrollwood will land a fresh dining concept at 13134 N. Dale Mabry Highway through Marlow’s Tavern on Sept. 29. The neighborhood spot, operating sites around the state and in Georgia, complements its seasonal, chef-inspired American cuisine with craft cocktails that call for small-batch liquors and fresh juices. Offerings like Brie fondue and the signature Tavern Burger with house-made tomato-bacon jam are featured at the other Florida locations, and wine and beer will be included on the lineup.
• Back in downtown St. Pete, Tony’s Pizza, which also has restaurants in Clearwater and Dunedin, gradually changed the window sign at its new location from “almost ready” to “now open.” Launching at 533 Central Ave., the kitchen cooks up Italian appetizers, sandwiches, New York pies and way more, and patrons may order takeout or eat inside the cozy dining area.
On Tuesday, the highly anticipated Hofbräuhaus St. Petersburg opened its doors downtown as well. The German beer hall and restaurant at 123 Fourth St. S., modeled after the original Hofbräuhaus in Munich, highlights authentic recipes, imported brews and live entertainment.
• A second eatery from Penguin Pretzel Factory is bringing popular soft-baked delicacies — twisted, stuffed or in pizza form — to Oldsmar at 4022 Tampa Road. While the brand’s flagship operates in New Port Richey, the newest location, which celebrated its grand opening Aug. 29, is larger and offers more seating.
• In Tampa, Tampa Bay Brewing Company recently debuted its Westchase brewery at 13937 Monroe’s Business Park; Mediterranean Market opened at 19440 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. with fresh meat and other staples; and a fresh bar menu from Rooster & the Till at 6500 N Florida Ave. offers wallet-friendly items (think chicken wings confit) from 4 to 6 p.m. daily. In other neighborhoods, Port Richey’s Gia’s Pizzeria is serving New York classics at 7200 Ridge Road; St. Pete Beach’s Grand Plaza Hotel at 5250 Gulf Blvd. premiered its rooftop lounge, Level 11; and Lakeland got its own Taco Bus at 126 S. Kentucky Ave. Also, check out another new restaurant coming to the area, Doc B’s.
This article appears in Sep 10-16, 2015.