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The streetscape of St. Petersburg along Fourth Street N and into downtown continues to be one of the hottest front lines in the restaurant battle between chains and independents around Tampa Bay and the country.
At first glance, victory for the mega restaurants seems assured. Orlando's Tijuana Flats opened its brightly painted doors just north of Ninth Avenue to the buzz of the curious last week. Fans of the Panera chain eagerly await the opening of its latest branch this month. It joins Outback, which shares the building with Panera, and Evos as the flashy new kids on the block, with another Starbucks yet to come, this one next door to Tijuana Flats.
On the downside, white flags and other troubling signs are easy to spot.
Longtime favorite Anna's Ravioli and Pasta Co. has left Fourth Street. Downtown in the shadow of BayWalk life is still tough. Fusion Bistro with its cute sidewalk tables has closed and Epicurus, a would-be high-end spot, lasted barely a month.
Look closer, however, and the independents haven't surrendered at all. There's plenty of fight left.
Lori Keegan, who can now refer to herself as "the restaurateur formerly known as Anna's Pasta" did lose her Fourth Street lease, but she has moved downtown. She'll combine operations with her former chef, Tammie Moir, who runs the lunch spot Urban Ciao. The new place will probably be Anna's Urban Ciao (536 First Ave. N, St. Petersburg; (727) 896-9656) with Moir's current lunch menu and Anna's pastas and pizzas for dinner.
Fusion Bistro reopens this week as Downtown Deli and Grill (227 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, (727) 502-0433), with heartier and less expensive fare, from sandwiches for lunch to ribs, steaks and seafood for dinner. Chef Randy Hull, formerly of Blackstone's Tapas Cafe, says dinner prices will stay less than $16.
A former Steak & Ale near Gandy Boulevard is being turned into the Elegant Farmer (445 99th Ave. N, St. Petersburg), an upscale grocery with takeout and sit-down dining.
And while neighbors may complain that traffic jams up around the knot of chains between Crescent Lake and Sunken Gardens, where Outback and Panera draw crowds, independents have their own chokepoint of pride.
Athenian Garden, a popular Greek veteran from the west side, has opened in Cocoanut Grove and is the most successful restaurant to fill that space -- and its parking lots. That's despite the fact that AG (2900 Fourth St. N, St. Petersburg; (727) 822-2000) also has a successful takeout and delivery place at Fourth and Gandy. Hard to beat the appeal of gyros, Greek salad, lamb shanks and moussaka.
Opening next month will be still another independent with Mediterranean flavor. Tajeen (9001 Fourth St. N, St. Petersburg; (727) 576-7793) will have a menu that samples Spain, Italy, Lebanon and Morocco. Tajeen's specialty will be Moroccan stews called tagines. Owner Abraham Hambouai, who was born in Morocco and grew up in Florida, plans to prepare six tagines daily and serve them in the traditional ceramic dishes with volcano-shaped chimneys.
One downtown believer decided last week that St. Petersburg needed more pizza seven days a week and into the wee hours. So Quinn Duffy and Rocco Buzio opened Joey Brooklyn's Famous Pizza Kitchen (210 First Ave. N, St. Petersburg; (727) 822-6757) serving pizza, calzones and such until 3 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
Is St. Pete's downtown alive then? "2:30 a.m., we're packed," Duffy boasts. "And I'm taking a delivery order at 10 minutes to 3."
The struggle continues. But we won't starve.
In a Nibbler column last month, I mistakenly gave one of the new owners of La Vigna the name of a friend and colleague. One of the young men taking over that Italian spot in Redington Shores should have been identified as Erik Landers.
-- Contact food critic Chris Sherman at (727) 893-8585; e-mail: sherman@sptimes.com.