Photo by Mahika Kukday | The Crow’s Nest
By Mahika Kukday
When Steven Peterman debuted his new venture on Instagram, a community-centered coworking and event space in Gulfport, one commenter called it a “complicated coffee shop.”
Peterman said, “that’s the point.”
The Monday Morning Club (MMC), a project by the team of St. Petersburg’s bagel afficionados at Pete’s General, had its soft opening on Nov. 4 at 1401 49th St. S. Peterman, owner and founder, said a part of its mission is to give remote workers the coffee-shop atmosphere, but without the restrictions.
“Come here. Sit here for eight hours, get your work done. Talk to people that have the same vibe,” Peterman said. “You don’t have to buy anything; you’re getting free coffee.”
After Florida’s back-to-back onslaught of hurricanes this fall, it was more important than ever to give people a place they could go to recharge and refocus. The business was conceptualized about a month ago, but the team accelerated the preparations in the two weeks after Hurricane Milton swept through Sarasota and the Tampa Bay area.
Photo by Mahika Kukday | The Crow’s Nest
Photo by Mahika Kukday | The Crow’s Nest
Photo by Mahika Kukday | The Crow’s Nest
“One woman wrote to me, she said ‘I’m working from an RV because I don’t have an office space,’” Peterman said. He offered anyone affected by the recent storms a free month-long membership; one just had to ask.
Peterman was nervous before the launch, but he said the response has exceeded his expectations. He felt grateful to support individuals and corporate groups who needed a place to work.
But the new venture is much more than another coworking space.
“We really wanted to create a true community space,” Peterman said. “We want it to feel like a club, we want people to talk and we’re going to have music and lots of events.”
Peterman and Erica Gonzalez, co-founder of Pete’s General, share a mutual friend who’s slated to host a mom club in the new space. Several photographers have also reached out to book the space for shoots, according to Peterman.
Monday Morning Club’s sudden success can be partly attributed to its competitive prices. The monthly membership is currently priced at $50. A day pass is also available on the website for $18.
Peterman specified that the project wasn’t intended to be a main source of income for the Pete’s team. His goal is to break even so that the space can continue to serve as a community hub.
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Dani Schenone said the pricing was “way better” than the many coworking spaces she’s frequented in her time working as a product marketer for an analytics company.
Schenone, 33, told The Crow’s Nest that while that was her first visit, she will definitely be back.
“It’s very clean, it’s beautiful and it’s somewhere to go” she said, adding that she transitioned to fully remote work since 2020. “I mean, I work in my pajamas at home all day long.”
Photo by Mahika Kukday | The Crow’s Nest
She moved to St. Petersburg in March and is looking forward to returning to MMC and taking full advantage of her monthly membership.
That includes free drip coffee from Look Alive, a local coffee roastery, and an assortment of complimentary bagels with plain cream cheese on “Bagel Fridays.”
Photo by Mahika Kukday | The Crow’s Nest
Peterman opened Pete’s General in 2019, initially selling assorted provisions like milk and eggs. It quickly pivoted to Pete’s Bagels, becoming an iconic hotspot for Ybor and St. Petersburg bagel lovers.
About a year ago, Pete’s Bagels moved into a production kitchen in Gulfport. The space next door was available for rent and Peterman’s real estate experience pushed him to grab the opportunity. What was once a miscellaneous storage space, is now a casual coworking and event area where people can feel at home.
“It’s not designed to feel like you have total alone space, it’s not meant for that,” Gonzalez said. While patrons are expected to have general courtesy, she explained that the atmosphere is intended to encourage organic social interactions and upbeat energy, in lieu of a traditional office environment.
Photo by Mahika Kukday | The Crow’s Nest
She said single visitors will be encouraged to use the community table or armchairs, or to share the booths.
As of Nov. 13, Monday Morning Club is offering a special discounted lunch menu for members. People can place orders with MMC staff by 11:30 a.m., and the meal will be delivered from the Pete’s production kitchen next door by 12:30 p.m.
Peterman wants this new venture to cater to the community’s needs. He said he will be surveying initial customers to gauge their feedback, and membership offerings will be added as demand arises.
Keep up with Monday Morning Club on their Instagram and website.
