Sporting goods and records topped the list of Yelp’s St. Petersburg best local businesses, according to a report by the Tampa Bay Times. In a season of expanded festivities and bustle for the best gifts, it’s easy for many of us to hop in the station wagon and rush off to the mall.
But St. Petersburg is different. There’s a special loyalty that lurks in the shops’ corridors that draws so many of us to support the eclectic. We may not love our sports, but we love our shops.
We search for rare editions of classic literature on the shelves in Haslam’s (but not without greeting the cats perched atop stacks of books). We chat with the clerks and dream up the next outdoor adventure with the staff at Bill Jackson’s Shop for Adventure. We unearth vintage finds at ARTPool Gallery, and stick around for the events that spill into the Grand Central District. We refurbish what’s already beautiful and give second chances at the Paper Street Market.
St. Petersburg is in love with its local businesses. We’re not interested in commercial success but we thrive on finding that special something that anchors our homes, our interests, and even our tastes. Special seasons just heighten our thankfulness toward them.
Sunday afternoons are the best time to visit El Cap, the classic burger joint off of Fourth Street and 35th Avenue. The locals clamber on top of worn barstools and chatter with greasy cheeseburgers and domestic drafts. If you ever want to feel the real St. Petersburg, take a seat at one of stone benches and wait for a round of hellos from the staff.
Find your community wandering past the fronts of galleries and record stores. The 600 Block is home to studio spaces for area artists, who offer a lesson on creativity and energy that emanates from the walls of murals. Step inside of Planet Retro (ranked number two on Yelp’s list) at 2414 Central Ave. for the best selection of local and classic favorites across a spectrum of genres.
Are you hooked by our local business draw yet?
Plenty of voices have expressed fear for the EDGE District near Tropicana Field if the Tampa Bay Rays were to depart. Sports are everything, they say, and the draw to the region would be lost. With splintering attendance at the stadium, I’ve watched more locals slide into the breweries than the bleachers. St. Petersburgers sift through niche finds in eclectic shops.
We just love our businesses that much.
