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Central Thyme willinhabit Beaux Arts

SoHo South II, also closed since December, is reopening soon just down the street.

By MARY JANE PARK
Published May 21, 2006

Both Central Thyme and SoHo South closed in December in the 2100 block of St. Petersburg's Grand Central District. The new incarnations are in the old Beaux Arts Modern Art Museum and Gallery at 2635 Central Ave., where Thomas Reese was the longtime proprietor.

Bob and Marylyn Lowe bought the property for $300,000 in December, the same month they sold the property that housed the gallery and restaurant.

Both expect to open in early June. Central Thyme, which held a preview party Friday, initially will offer lunch and hopes to add full-service dinners in the fall. Its catering operations will be limited.

Months of work have gone into remodeling the space. Initially, it was a residence built in 1914, with a floral shop added in the 1940s. Reese, a mentor to numerous Tampa Bay area artists, poets and musicians, brought the Beaux Arts touch to it in 1994, after his original gallery and theater in Pinellas Park burned in 1987. He died in January.

"We're trying to keep some of the nostalgic aspects,'' said Bret Trifler, one of the restaurant's proprietors. Those include bead board paneling, Cuban tile, a fireplace and numerous other architectural details.

Trifler said Central Thyme's lunch menu will continue to focus on creative soups, salads and sandwiches.

He and Jones arrived at the new name because "we've always been a meeting place,'' he said.

[Last modified May 21, 2006, 09:16:54]