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The cafe will open next week at 3451 Fourth St. N and expand catering. Tropical fare will be served at its old spot.
By SHARON L. BOND
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 27, 2001
ST. PETERSBURG -- Brown Dog Cafe and Catering Co. has closed its 62nd Avenue N location and plans to reopen June 4 at 3451 Fourth St. N, where it will have more seats and more room for its growing catering business.
Taking the space the Brown Dog left is a new restaurant, Papayas Cafe Takeout and Catering, which will feature tropical Florida cuisine including numerous dishes with papaya. Plans call for it to open June 15.
"Being on Fourth Street will be a definite plus," said Cyndi Montgomery, who owns the Brown Dog businesses with her husband, Dan. She was aware that the gourmet shop A Matter of Taste lasted just 11 months in that location, a small, strip shopping center.
"We made it on 62nd Avenue against all odds," Montgomery said. "We did extremely well there the last five years."
In the new location, Brown Dog will offer beer and wine. Previously, diners had to bring their own. Some who would decide on wine after ordering dinner would go next door to a convenience market to see what was available. Montgomery said that at one time, the market increased the quality and quantity of its wine.
Seating at the new Brown Dog will rise from 38 to 58. The kitchen is being fitted for catering, something for which the business did not have adequate room or tools at the 62nd Avenue location.
Montgomery said Brown Dog handles lunches for a number of groups in the area, such as the Snell Isle Woman's Club and the Museum of Fine Arts. Brown Dog will increase its staff at the new location from three to eight to meet demands of the catering.
Brown Dog will serve lunches Monday through Friday and dinners on Tuesdays through Saturdays.
Greg Hilbert owns Papayas Cafe Takeout and Catering, which will open at 229 62nd Ave. N. He said he has been a certified executive chef for 15 years and most recently worked for Sodexho Marriott as chef for 1,200 workers at Aegon Equity in Carillon.
The new business will be mostly takeout but have some seats inside and a few outside, Hilbert said. Papayas Cafe will offer breakfast, lunch and dinner during the week, a Saturday barbecue and Sunday brunch.
Lunch and dinner will have the same menu. "We strive to serve very healthy food," Hilbert said. Smoked chicken and pork and seafood will be on the menu along with vegetarian dishes.