It's a Thursday night in downtown St. Petersburg and Central Avenue is lively. Maybe not hopping, exactly, but there are enough diners and revelers around to outnumber the usual parade of full-time downtown "residents" who repeatedly walk the circuit throughout the night. There are families and couples at sidewalk tables and live music streaming from the doors of bars.
Step into newish Moroccan restaurant Fez, however, and that lively atmosphere instantly fades away. The place is dark as a cave, with just a single table occupied in the back of the dim room, feeling more like a private club during off hours than a restaurant serving the under-represented cuisine of North Africa. That changes a bit during the weekend, when Fez hosts a belly dancing troupe, but most of the time the atmosphere deadens the interesting food created in the kitchen.
Fez is owned by Charles Marco, the guy behind Fortunato's next door, and was originally slated to become another Italian restaurant. Marco was never excited about that idea, despite his background. "I just realized that once I opened up the other side that would be the end of my life," he said. "And the last thing this neighborhood needed was another Italian restaurant."
This article appears in Jul 8-14, 2010.