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Java joints give downtown a little jolt and a whole, um, latte choice.
By MARY JANE PARK
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 14, 2002
ST. PETERSBURG -- If pedestrians are indicative of a thriving downtown, then business in the Sunshine City seems to be on a modest upswing. Another sign may be the number of coffee shops, where the price for a cup of the dark brew often is higher than that charged by traditional restaurants, but the variety, and sometimes the flavor, is richer, too.
Starbucks is the luxe label for lots of folks whose chief stimulant is caffeine.
The Seattle retailer opened its first downtown outlet in BayWalk's Mid-Core Shops last August, although outposts already had been established in the Gateway and Tyrone areas and inside some Albertsons stores. Another is being erected at Fourth Street and Ninth Avenue N.
Despite $17.50 overtime parking penalties and daily and hourly garage fees, St. Petersburg still is more suburban than urban. Just about the only negative refrain uttered about the BayWalk Starbucks is the lack of plentiful parking nearby.
During busy early-morning hours, customers tend to grab lattes and espressos to go. As the day lengthens, people linger over conversation, books, newspapers, table games and laptop computers.
Marketplace express, a gourmet market, deli and coffeehouse at 284 Beach Drive N, offers a view of the Museum of Fine Arts and Straub Park.
"During the school year, it's our haven," said Donna Tyler, with daughter Haley. "It's so peaceful here."
Owner Carol Perreault said she first thought of opening a convenience store of sorts, then added coffee and wine. The store opened in late 1999. It recently obtained a beer and wine license and now serves those spirits by the glass in addition to offering packaged beverages.
Marketplace express is in the street floor of the Cloisters condominium and draws many customers from there and from the nearby Renaissance Vinoy Resort, who purchase items such as wine and pate to take back to their hotel rooms. Other patrons come by for olives, pate and cheese for picnics in the park.
Perrault orders coffee from "a roaster in Oregon" but revealed no other details. "I never share my secret," she said.
During the Mainsail arts festival and the St. Anthony's Triathlon, "we're slammed," she said. "Customers are lined out to the street."
Daily Grind Coffee House, at 111 Second Ave. NE, has been open longer than the other downtown venues. It pours Seattle's Best brand coffees and offers soft drinks and sandwiches along with omelets, bagels, muffins and fresh-baked cookies.
There is little room for lingering inside the small shop, but there is plentiful seating in the courtyard outside.
JoEllen Schilke opened the Globe Coffee Lounge, 532 First Ave. N, three years ago.
"I wanted to build a community where people could meet and become friends with each other," she said, "and have access to all the chocolate and coffee I wanted."
The decor includes vintage furniture, world globes, candles with religious motifs and covers for vinyl music albums, including multiples of Herb Alpert's Whipped Cream and Other Delights.
The Globe has an equally eclectic clientele, from teens and 20-somethings who eschew alcohol to those who have forsaken it and drop by after recovery meetings, to those who have just exited nearby bars after last call. The coffeehouse is busiest after dark.
"People come from Tampa to play chess," Schilke said.
Work has begun on Central City Bean, 401 Central Ave., where new signs advertise coffee, espresso, chocolate, pastries and scones.
And if coffee is not your cup of tea, most shops offer other beverages.
Bliss, in the Snell Arcade, 405 Central Ave., Suite 102, has a tea room called La Tea Da, where Susan Perry and Bonny Ludwig offer tea parties: for two, for children's birthdays, for baby and bridal showers and other events.
A typical menu might be bread with kiwi or fig preserves, a variety of cookies, cucumber sandwiches and Ceylon tea infused with fruit flavorings, served in vintage china.