Cruising in a Ford C-Max Hybrid on a road trip to California, Peg Wesselink and Tony Dodson came to a realization.
The weeks-long trip in April, during which the former college professors visited wineries, breweries and beyond, inspired something they didn’t know they wanted after selling their popular downtown Gulfport restaurant, Peg’s Cantina, back in January.
“We went back and forth for a couple of months. Once we had sold [Peg’s], it took a while to have that sink in,” Wesselink told CL. “[The road trip] was where we went to different places and said we really still have a love affair with this business. It was just a matter of where to put it at that point.”
Through their new bar, Pinellas Cru, the couple has created what some have said is missing from St. Petersburg's EDGE District: a quiet place to grab a drink.
The bar, open on weekends since about Aug. 12, sits across from U-Haul at 901 First Ave. S. It's a short bike ride from Cycle Brewing, domain of Wesselink's son, Doug Dozark, and from the couple's home in Old Southeast. But the tucked-away building's interior will be almost unrecognizable to those who frequented its previous occupants (L-Train and, most recently, the Edge of 9).
No longer is the 1,500-square-foot property separated into two rooms. A cozy lounge area of red chairs has taken over where the L-Train stage used to be. The color scheme is more toned down than the Edge's, with exposed brick and Jon Stine's masterful woodwork shining through in the bar, tables and banquettes. And perhaps most importantly, there's no loud music, big-screen TVs or Jenga — on purpose.
Dodson and Wesselink have gone back to basics, lowering the lights and dubbing the 40-seat, indoor-outdoor Cru a "conversation bar." According to Dodson, who says Peg’s got too big, too busy, and became a lot of work, they wanted their return to the industry to be smaller scale.
"Peg's started as a conversation restaurant, and when that went away, or at least was reduced a good deal, it became much less enjoyable for us. And for many of our patrons, I think," Wesselink said, adding that their move to Old Southeast was a big factor in their decision to open in St. Pete.
The bar will carry a variety of beers on tap from breweries both local and international, as well as in bottles and cans, but the Cycle and Orange Belt collaborations on draft "will be important." They're working with J.J. Taylor, Progressive Distribution and Micro Man Distributors to bring in beer-makers such as Mikkeller, Anderson Valley Brewing Company and Brewski.
Wine and build-your-own cheese or meat plates are offered, too. Though Cru will mix up its vino offerings, Cali wines — which, along with some of the cheese they're presenting, excited Wesselink and Dodson during their trip — make up nearly the entire list. The lineup is driven by wineries in Alexander Valley, Sonoma and Paso Robles.
Wesselink, who's reading an exposé on olive oil fakes called Extra Virginity by Tom Mueller, says olive oil, meat and cheese (and even chocolate, also on hand at Cru) go well with all the drinks they serve. Plus, they don't require a prep kitchen. Menu items include a five-cheese board for $20 and a Cru plate with the bar's choice of five selections for $18 or so.
Another libation patrons can pair with food? Whiskey. Not so much in craft cocktails, though a few will be offered; the focus will be neat and on the rocks.
"We just got the liquor license, and getting in touch with distributors and getting all the product in is proving to be time-consuming," Dodson said. "We're learning, too, that demand is really high on some brands."
In addition to photographs of old St. Pete and Xina Scuderi's shot of the St. Pete Pier (from ARTicles art gallery), Cru plans to implement a rotating art installation. Jon Stine is set to paint three 5-by-5 panels with swatches of color, which will then be painted over by a local artist. Every 30 or 60 days, a new artist will step in and repeat the process on the same canvas, covering up their predecessor's work. While selling these pieces isn't really the intent, they'll essentially disappear unless somebody buys them.
For the Cru grand opening on Friday, the duo hopes to have a wider whiskey selection to highlight alongside Mikkeller and Brewski collaboration beers, a berliner from Smuttynose Brewing Company, and Of Snow and Sand, the Cycle-New Belgium Brewing collab. An olive oil tasting, with some Kalamazoo Olive Company products, will be part of the evening as well. Use the bar's Facebook page to stay updated on its regular hours.
"We're not trying to be all things to all people," Dodson said. "We're trying to see if we can’t get a concept that will…”
"…be an alternative," Wesselink added, completing his thought.
This article appears in Sep 15-22, 2016.