Green Bench Monthly Vol. 9, Issue 4, April 2024

Forty Years of Good Food and Family at Harvey's Fourth Street Grill p. 16

People of St. Pete

Margaret Murray p. 9

Welcome to the 19th Annual Sunscreen Film Festival p. 12

DTSP Studio Now Open

Radiostpete.com p. 18

APRIL 3- MAY 5, 2024

Survival of the Fittest: Envisioning Wildlife and Wilderness with the Big Four, Masterworks from the Rijksmuseum Twenthe and the National Museum of Wildlife Art is curated by Adam Duncan Harris, Grainger/Kerr Director of the Carl Rungius Catalogue Raisonné and organized by the National Museum of Wildlife Art. TheJamesMuseum.org

Wilhelm Kuhnert (Germany, 1865 – 1926), Gira es in Blooming Field–detail, Ulanga, Tanzania, n.d. Oil on canvas. 30 × 47 inches. Collection of the Rijksmuseum Twenthe, Enschede, Netherlands. Photograph by Rik Klein Gotink.

From the Bench

A note from the Publishers

Spring is here! So is the time when we all collectively remember to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Celebrate Earth Day (April 22) all week long with the City of St. Pete (p. 22). Movie buffs rejoice! Soon the Sunscreen Film Festival will take over the AMC Sundial to showcase the latest and greatest from a bevy of talented filmmakers (p. 12). Learn about what Tampa Bay Waterkeeper is doing to protect our waterways (p 14). Harvey’s celebrates 40 years (p. 16). RadioStPete is now broadcasting from their new home at Thrive in downtown (p. 18). And the proposed Lake House condo tower at Mirror Lake is now eleven stories instead of eighteen (p. 20). But first, read the Greatest St. Pete Story Ever Told (p. 6).

Till next time, Ashley & Tony

This issue is brought to you by advertisers and reader support. If you enjoy our stories and want to support independent media, visit greenbenchmonthly.com/support. For advertising info, hello@ greenbenchmonthly.com.

All are welcome on this bench.

The history of the green benches is layered. For some, it is a reminder of a painful period of racism and segregation. To others, it is a symbol of welcomeness and hospitality. We carry this name to shine a light on our city’s history and in celebration of those who work tirelessly towards a more inclusive St. Pete. To read more about our story and the history of the green benches visit greenbenchmonthly.com/about.

Shop 75+ local vendors at the Sunday Market St. Pete Sundays from 10am - 2pm. Photo by Chris Ryan

Tony and Ashley Sica Publishers / Owners

The Greatest St. Pete Story Ever Told

By Monica Kile, Historian and Tour Guide with I Love the Burg Tours

How many American cities have been perfectly captured at a precise moment in their history by a gifted storyteller? There’s Hannibal, Mo., forever immortalized by Mark Twain in “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” and Monroeville, Ala., fictionalized as Maycomb by Harper Lee in “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

I would submit that we can add St. Petersburg to that list. The Sunshine City was memorialized in 1922 by Ring Lardner, considered by many to be one of the greatest American authors of the 20th century, in the classic short story “The Golden Honeymoon.” If you haven’t read it before, put down this magazine and Google it. There’s a free PDF online from the Library of America. I’ve read it a dozen times, and every time, I appreciate it more.

Lardner spent many winters at the Belleview Biltmore in Belleair, just north of St. Petersburg. He visited St. Petersburg at least once, when he came to hear Will Rogers entertain a sold-out audience at the Coliseum. Based on his precise depiction of the city, and his history of covering spring training baseball, he likely spent much more time here than that.

In “The Golden Honeymoon,” Lardner brings St. Petersburg’s boom years of the 1920s to life as he relays a story of a couple from Ohio celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary with a trip to Florida. Lardner’s use of vernacular, which differentiated him as a sportswriter and endeared him to the common American, was on clear display as he picked up on St. Pete’s nicknames and unique habits.

St. Pete is what folks calls the town, though they also call it the Sunshine City, as they claim they’s no other place in the country where they’s fewer days when Old Sol don’t smile down on Mother Earth, and one of the newspapers gives away all their copies free every day when the sun don’t shine.

During their trip, the couple bump into the wife’s former flame, and a tense, modern comedy of manners ensues. Where else but St. Petersburg might a person bump into a suitor of more than five decades ago? Only in St. Pete could the rivals compete for her affection through games of checkers, horseshoes, and cards, most of which they play at Williams Park, which served as the center of the city in 1922.

The second day we was there we visited the Park, which is a good deal like the one in Tampa, only bigger, and they’s more fun goes on here every day than you could shake a stick at. In the middle they’s a big bandstand and chairs for the folks to set and listen to the concerts, which they give you music for all tastes, from Dixie up to classical pieces like Hearts and Flowers. Then all around they’s places marked off for different sports and games – chess and

Tourists playing checkers in St. Petersburg. 1933 (circa). State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory.

checkers and dominoes for folks that enjoys those kind of games, and roque and horse-shoes for the nimbler ones. I used to pitch a pretty fair shoe myself, but ain’t done much of it in the last twenty years.

In setting the story in St. Petersburg, Lardner can place his aging couple in a city dedicated to their comfort, with endless diversions – from horseshoe pits and shuffleboard, to the city’s unique cafeteria culture, catering (literally) to his narrator’s love of a good cheap meal.

Our first business, of course, was to find a place to eat and after trying several places we run on to a cafeteria on Central Avenue that suited us up and down. We eat pretty near all our meals there and it averaged about two dollars per day for the two of us, but the food was well cooked and everything nice and clean. A man don’t mind paying the price if things is clean and well cooked.

On the wife’s birthday, they splurged for a special meal at the Poinsettia Hotel, a long-time institution in St. Pete, once at 460 Central Ave.

On the third day of February, which is Mother’s birthday, we spread ourselves and eat supper at the Poinsettia Hotel and they charged us seventyfive cents for a sirloin steak that wasn’t hardly big enough for one. I said to Mother: “Well,” I said, “I guess it’s a good thing every day ain’t your birthday or we would be in the poorhouse.” “No,” says Mother, “because if every day was my birthday, I would be old enough by this time to of been in my grave long ago.” You can’t get ahead of Mother.

Readers in Lardner’s time liked the columnist for his revealing pictures of middle-class America. He started as a sports journalist and grew into a prolific and popular columnist for the Saturday Evening Post and other periodicals. Lardner had an ear for the colloquialisms of middle America, and a knack for laugh-out-loud one-liners. Some critics have claimed that his readers didn’t realize he was making fun of the people he wrote about, and thereby, society at large.

Regardless of whether that’s the case, Lardner seems to show great affection for his subjects in “A Golden Honeymoon.’ His depiction of the quibbling and petty jealousies of a long-married couple reminds us that familiarity may breed contempt, but it also breeds a sense of protection, defensiveness, and deep love for one’s partner, as the reader sees when the couple makes up on one of the city’s green benches.

“The Golden Honeymoon” is a human story, one that has earned its place in practically every anthology of America’s best short stories. Its value to the lover of St. Petersburg history is even greater: it offers a picture of St. Pete at a specific time and place, warts and all. (The racism of the era is on clear display.) The story describes tourists visiting the Chamber of Commerce to register with their state societies, widows running the boarding houses, and older retirees enjoying their twilight years in the sunshine. PBS even made it into a TV movie, filmed here in 1984 to mixed success. (Round Lake is substituted for Williams Park, and the story loses a bit of the affection Lardner has for his characters, but it’s still a fun watch!) Altogether, “The Golden Honeymoon” is a reminder of the city we have evolved from, and the flawed but loving human beings we still are.

You can read The Golden Honeymoon here: storyoftheweek.loa.org/2016/02/the-golden-honeymoon.html

Hotel Poinsettia - Saint Petersburg, Florida. 1900 (circa). State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory.

People of St. Pete: Margaret Murray

By Lynn Waddell

St. Pete is celebrated for its fabulous weather, beautiful vistas, worldclass food scene, and thriving cultural atmosphere but the people of St. Pete truly make this city something special. In appreciation, each month Green Bench shines a light on one of the many people that make St. Pete unique.

Margaret Murray has played a leading role in more than a halfdozen arts organizations in Tampa Bay and beyond. When the position opened to head Creative Pinellas, she was a natural fit to lead the county organization that supports and connects artists with the community.

Over the past 25-plus years, she’s been a dynamic player at the Museum of Fine Arts, St Petersburg (MFA); the Morean Arts Center, freeFall Theatre, Madstone Theaters, and One in Ten (in Washington, D.C.). She was the executive director of Tampa’s Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, founded Movies that Move, and created community engagement projects such as the Tour De Shine and Kerouac in Paradise bicycle tours.

Behind the resume is a lively imagination, strong business acumen, and a sharp wit. Who else might think to pair the performance of a neuroscientist jazz pianist with a mathematician father-and-son duo of origami artists and somehow make it a sellout show? As director of MFA’s public programs, Murray conceived of the event to highlight the museum’s origami sculpture exhibition. The men performed together at the MFA with the father-and-son duo creating live origami pieces while John C. O’Leary played the piano. “It was amazing,” Murray says. “As they lectured on mathematical theory, they placed origami pieces on the piano keys, manipulating the sounds to create this beautifully lyrical piece.”

Brick by Brick

Like most other successful leaders, Murray advanced through multiple jobs and connections. She grew up in Pinellas County and received degrees from the University of South Florida and St. Petersburg College. She was working at a local Barnes & Noble in the early ‘90s when she got the chance to move to New York through a job transfer to B. Dalton Bookseller. She also worked as a music buyer for Kim’s Video, an underground video and record store in the West Village with a film collection that attracted celebrity actors and filmmakers. Later, she became sales manager for the record label of the Knitting Factory, an iconic New York music venue.

Eventually, she moved to Amsterdam to become the Knitting Factory’s label manager. She worked with distribution and booked events, many of which were financed by European governments and attached to film festivals. “It gave me a different perspective on the arts and on how they were funded and treated throughout the world,” she says.

Wizard of St. Pete

In the late 1990s, Murray moved back to St. Petersburg to be closer to family. She worked for WMNF-FM radio, leading its fundraising campaign for a new building. She brought film to downtown St. Pete when there were few reasons to go after dark. Utilizing connections with filmmakers she met while at the Knitting Factory, she founded Movies that Move, a pop-up theater that projected films onto the side of buildings. One memorable event aired “The Wizard of Oz” to the soundtrack of

Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon,” transmitted via car radios. An old building in the Warehouse Arts District has never been as colorful as when Munchkinland was projected onto it to the tune of “Money.”

Florida Woman

Although Pinellas County isn’t quite Kansas, Murray’s upbringing in the 1970s had its own farm-girl vibe. She rode a pony around Gulfport and kept it tied up in a vacant lot near her family’s home. She laughs remembering an occasion when the pony escaped. Gulfport police called her mom, who then was a local bartender. “How do you know it’s my pony?” her mother asked. The police response: “Because you’re the only one in town who has one.”

Eventually her parents moved to Pinellas Park so that Murray could have not one, but two horses. Today, she has an incorrigible young Australian cattle dog mix and pines for another equine.

Future Plans

As Murray settles in to her new position at Creative Pinellas, she is percolating ideas to connect the seemingly disparate organizations – Creative Pinellas, Heritage Village, and the Florida Botanical Gardens – that share the county’s Pinewood location in Largo. “I’m really excited about finding ways that we can take the contemporary art that Creative Pinellas showcases, the natural flora and fauna of the botanical gardens, and the Florida history of Heritage Village and bring those together into one big experience,” she says. As a hint of what that might involve, she says she considers the local environment to be Pinellas’ best art canvas. “Not every arts scene has that. It is so beautiful here,” she says. “I’m excited about exploring how can we bring the outdoors in and indoors out and help build awareness of the environment here.”

Margaret Murray. Photo by Keith Kenney

Benoot Realty: Embracing Family Values

By Candy Porter

You feel creative magic when you enter the Benoot Realty office and encounter the charming Biba the Diva. The perfectly coiffed demiPomeranian, resplendent in her lustrous pearl dog collar, is the Benoot Realty official greeter, welcoming all visitors, be they of the two-legged or four-legged variety. (Rumor has it that Biba specializes in finding the perfect dog house for her discerning clientele, too.)

Next, you are drawn to the stunning artwork gracing the sleek, tidy office space. There is no visible clutter: no piles of paperwork, no clusters of work desks, no huge business-machine monoliths. Visitors are embraced by a pervading sense of calm. That enables them to enjoy the wonderfully whimsical and artfully displayed clever sculptures created by talented owner Catherine Benoot.

Lastly, you will engage with the charming owners themselves, a Belgian-born family with a long, proud history in the real estate business. Within moments, the magic continues: You will feel you’ve been blessed with the Benoot family’s friendship forever. You have just met Old World charm at its best.

Left to right, back row: Logan Dickinson (realtor), Lisa Siver (realtor), Susan Robicheaux (realtor), James Cornett (realtor), Cliff Lamb (realtor). Middle row: Kate Berlin Sontohartono (realtor), Amanda Sills (realtor), Catherine Benoot (owner) holding Benoot’s mascot pomeranian, Biba. Front row: Matthieu Benoot (Broker Associate/Manager), Geert Benoot (Broker/Owner)

Photo by Chris Ryan

European Flair

Nestled in its downtown office across from the St. Petersburg Yacht Club, Benoot Realty has established firm roots in Pinellas County. The Benoot family began their Floridian transition as tourists vacationing in Tarpon Springs in the early 1990s. Soon thereafter, they became enchanted by the European feel of St. Petersburg with its compact, walkable downtown and village-like amiability. Even as the city grows and becomes a bit more cosmopolitan, the city remains an inviting environment chockfull of friendly, happy people.

“When we are approached by out-of-town property buyers, we recommend they first take a walk down the street, then find a spot to sit and just soak up what’s transpiring all around them,” Geert Benoot says. “They find out quickly that it’s absolutely pure sunshine and smiles. …St. Pete sells itself!”

Individualized Attention

For four generations, the Benoot family has steeped itself in the real estate business, spanning two continents. Their family-focused, customercentric methodology has served them well. Word-of-mouth and repeat clients are the norm at Benoot Realty, a testament to the company’s penchant for creating lasting relationships with their customers.

Benoot Realty chooses to remain small and versatile in comparison with others, yet its success is due not only to the Benoot family themselves, but also to its cadre of agents. According to Matthieu Benoot: “Next to the Benoot family we have some very professional, experienced, knowledgeable agents helping us in our working family, and we could not have done this without them. Our agents have that warm family value which is the essence of the homes we are selling.”

The Logo Says It All

The Benoot Realty logo, fashioned by a Belgian graphic artist, is a reflection of the company’s customer-service philosophy. The bold yellow line underneath the stylized home represents a strong foundation. The light in the home’s upper-story window signifies that Benoot Realty is continuously and diligently working on its clients’ behalf. The portrayed home itself is not perfect in shape, but it will become so once the new owner takes charge and molds it to their own taste and liking. And finally, the uppermost bold yellow line that swooshes over the home’s roof signifies the feelings of security and protection provided by the steadfast safeguarding Benoot Realty offers to its clients.

In short, the Benoot Realty logo is full of promised values, salient ones the Benoot family is proud to keep on behalf of its clients.

Call Benoot Realty at (727) 944-4000, email at info@benootrealty. com, or stop by the office at 70 Beach Drive NE to chat or receive an indepth, complimentary, no-obligation consultation.

Photo by Chris Ryan

Welcome to the 19th Annual Sunscreen Film Festival

By Mary Jane Park

Call it spring break for movie buffs.

Starting Thursday, April 25, the Sunscreen Film Festival begins its 19th season, opening with “Bau, Artist at War,” starring Emile Hirsch (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”) and directed by Sean McNamara (“Soul Surfer,” “Reagan.”)

The feature is based on the true story of Joseph and Rebecca Bau, whose wedding took place in the Plaszow concentration camp during World War II, an event memorialized in Steven Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List.” It is a war drama, love story, and espionage tale. Using his artistic skills and his sense of humor in the camps, Joseph Bau survives and helps hundreds to escape. He finds love in the midst of despair, a love to last a lifetime.

Another festival highlight: “The Green Flash,” in which 70-year-old Steve Lamb knows everyone in St. Pete Beach, and everyone knows him. As he peddles his memoir, “The Smuggler’s Ghost: When Marijuana Turned a Florida Teen into a Millionaire Fugitive,” viewers learn how he

garnered local fame decades ago, and how he intends to keep it.

Longtime Chicago restaurateur and Emmy Award-winning TV personality Billy Dec recently opened Sunda New Asian in Tampa. “Food Roots” follows him as he sets off to his mother’s native Philippines to find his last living relative, learn the recipes of his ancestors, and gain a deeper understanding of his cultural and culinary identity.

A diverse schedule

The festival will present 28 features from the United States and around the world, plus 150 short films across 21 different thematic blocks.

“We’re excited to present a diverse and entertaining group of films for this year,” programming director Doug Tschirhart said. “The 2024 festival has something for everyone: comedy, action, social commentary, love, tragedy, and fun. With so many films to choose from, people of all tastes will find something to enjoy.”

Left: Jesse Kove presenting the Sunscreen Lifetime Achievement Award to his father, Martin Kove (their film, locally filmed “A Taste of Love” premiered at AMC theater).

Right: Pang Thao and other attendees feeling the love on the Opening Night’s Red Carpet event

Photos by Ryan Kern

More than half of the 2024 movies were written, directed, or produced by women. The schedule comprises local and Florida-made films, including high school and college shorts, plus a strong selection of works by people of color and those in the LGBTQ+ community

Drawing Movie Buffs to St. Pete

“Not only is the Sunscreen Film Festival the longest-running and largest mainstream film festival in the Tampa Bay area,” co-founder Tony Armer said, “but it has become globally recognized. This festival has really put the St. Pete-Clearwater area on the film-world map. It’s been amazing to see the thousands of people who have traveled in to attend and the positive effect it’s had on the area over the years.”

The festival is organized and presented by the St. PetersburgClearwater Film Society, Inc., with support from the St. Pete/Clearwater Film Commission. It runs April 25-28 at AMC Sundial 12, 151 2nd Ave. N, St. Petersburg. The awards ceremony will be held Saturday, April 27 at The James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art located at 150 Central Ave. For information, including a complete schedule, please go to sunscreenfilmfestival.com.

L-R: Cameron Kelly & Veronica Dune discuss their film, ‘Rosé All Day’ with Panel Moderator Kestrin Pantera.

Sold-out theater for local Video-game documentary “Token Tavern” Premier, directed by Bob Rose.

Today’s Action for Tomorrow’s Future with Tampa Bay Waterkeeper

By Emily Harris

Tampa Bay Waterkeeper is a nonprofit organization actively working to protect the health of the Tampa Bay watershed and our community’s right to clean water through local engagement, education, and action.

Part of the global Waterkeeper Alliance and founded in 2017, the TBWK is a huge driving force supporting the improvement and preservation of our waters, and has made significant waves in the community thus far, informing the community; directly tackling local, state, and federal environmental issues; and holding polluters accountable via the Clean Water Act.

The Tampa Bay Waterkeeper has grown significantly in recent years, in part because of the environmental disaster that was the Piney Point wastewater spill of March 2021. The organization has been fighting to hold those responsible accountable and to do everything possible to restore our waters and see to it that the Piney Point site is properly closed. TBWK is still in litigation involving the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and has contributed over $500,000 to the Tampa Bay Estuary Program through various legalsettlement winnings.

Justin Tramble, Executive Director of Tampa Bay Waterkeeper. Photo by Chris Ryan

Other successes seen by the TBWK in 2023 alone included collecting 5,000 pounds of trash in Tampa Bay waters, engaging more than 600 local middle-school students through junior advocacy training programs, and establishing the Patrol Program, a citizen-led science initiative in partnership with the Tampa Bay Estuary Program that has provided over 2,000 customized QR stickers throughout our community. Once scanned, these QR codes immediately take you to an official site to file a report regarding environmental issues in real time. For example, if you’re out on your boat and notice a swell of pollution caught in an off-shore mangrove, having the QR code sticker available allows you to scan and submit a report instantly, notifying a representative to begin investigating and initiate aid to the affected area.

The TBWK is an organization that doesn’t only make a lot of noise when things go wrong but also celebrates when there are big efforts to make things go right, including supporting water-quality projects and new initiatives. “The biggest success has been cultivating great relationships within the community,” said Justin Tramble, executive director, “and there is a very ‘alive’ desire to do what we can to protect what we have here. The people here understand the value of clean water and truly love living here. At Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, we are the recipient of that amazing energy.

“We have a very powerful board consisting of environmental attorneys, biologists, marketing specialists, doctors, GIS (Geographic Information System) experts, and schoolteachers,” he said, “many of which are new parents, young families, or graduates that bring forward a different kind of energy – one that is unique in wanting to preserve the water’s health for our community’s future, and we are in an excellent position to do so.”

As a coastal community, we are directly affected by the wellbeing of our water. To catch up with the growth we’ve seen in our county since the pandemic, there is no better time than now to get involved in advocating for our water infrastructure. To volunteer, visit TampaBayWaterKeeper.org/Volunteer-With-Us. Donations are accepted at TampaBayWaterKeeper.org/Donate.

Forty Years of Good Food and Family at Harvey’s Fourth Street Grill

By Monica Kile

After 40 years, it’s still a family affair at Harvey’s Fourth Street Grill, and we’re not talking just about the eponymous Harveys who started the restaurant. Business manager Rosie Meyer, herself a member of the Harvey family, estimates that most of the people on the payroll at the beloved St. Pete institution have been working there for at least five years, not counting the young hostesses and busboys who come and go according to their school schedules. Some of the kitchen and floor staff have been there far longer. They say it’s the feeling of community, both among the staff and the customers, that keeps them. Manager Clayton Jones has worked at Harvey’s for 17 years; his wife, Rachel Elbert, has been a server for 19 years. “What keeps me

here is the business that we do, the clientele,” Clayton Jones says. “And we’ve got a great staff because we have great owners who take care of us. We have quality of life.”

Harvey’s Fourth Street Grill is the quintessential St. Pete restaurant; its grouper sandwich is as fresh as they come. (The secret is in buying the fish whole and cutting it in house, sometimes twice a day.) The story of the restaurant’s founding is the quintessential St. Pete story. Dan Harvey Sr., or Daddy Dan (as everyone at Harvey’s still calls him) was born in St. Petersburg while his parents were wintering in the Sunshine City in 1927. After vacationing here for years, Daddy Dan moved to town permanently in the 1960s. His son, Dan Harvey Jr., started the restaurant

Harvey’s Fourth Street Grill celebrates 40 years. St. Pete locals know it as the place “where everyone knows your name”. Located at 3121 4th St N. Bartender Marc Wagner looks forward to serving you a cold one!

Photos by Chris Ryan

in 1984, when St. Petersburg needed a kick start of its food scene. He drew upon years of restaurant experience in cities like Chicago and at chains like TGI Fridays to open a local joint that would meet his goal of feeling like “it had been here 30 years” when the very first customer walked in.

Many of those very first customers are still patrons. Elizabeth Funk has been coming to Harvey’s since the restaurant first opened when she was 19 years old. She still visits at least four days a week. Sometimes it’s for lunch with her brother Sam Moore, sometimes for happy hour with the many friends who refer to Harvey’s as “HQ –headquarters.”

Funk describes why she still loves the place. “Here’s the thing,” she says. “Harvey’s is like Cheers in Boston. Everybody knows your name. You walk in, and all the bartenders and servers say hi, and then all your friends are here, too. Yesterday I had a big closing for work, so I came here to celebrate, and then all my friends came up to meet me. Eventually I look down the bar, and every stool is filled with someone I know!”

There’s an authenticity to Harvey’s that corporate chains just can’t match. Perhaps it’s the hyperlocal flair of walking on the floorboards salvaged (with permission) from the old Vinoy Hotel ballroom during the years when the majestic waterfront hotel was boarded up. Or sitting under the painted ceiling on the enclosed back porch, pieced together plank by plank after being rescued from the Soreno Hotel prior to its demolition in 1992. “I remember when I was like 13 or 14 years old, we were piecing together this ceiling in a warehouse,” Meyer recalls. “And it was so hot! They were just planks of wood that were being thrown out, so my uncle Dan bought it all, and we had to piece

it together.” She confesses she didn’t last long at the task.

The sweat equity that she and the rest of the family put in speaks to the family’s commitment to Harvey’s and to the city. “We’ve never been a restaurant group,” Meyer says. “There’s never been money from other people coming in and out.” It has always been a family-run place.

Daddy Dan comes into the restaurant nearly every day, and founder Dan Jr. is there on a regular basis. Meyer joined the team full time in 2020, drawn in by the feeling of caring and closeness. When asked why everyone loves Harvey’s so much, she responds: “I think it’s the community. There’s just a great group of people that come here. We’re your neighborhood joint. We’re in between several neighborhoods, we’re on your way to downtown and your way from downtown.

Manager Clayon Jones concurs. “The difference is the caring,” he says. “They make you feel like you’re family. Daddy Dan, he’s just a big, warm-hearted man that takes care of his people.” He laughs, citing other reasons for Harvey’s longevity. “We’re known for a nice stiff drink, yes, and our food is well portioned. We offer a great product at a good price, with great service.” But that’s not what he thinks keeps people coming back. He, too, compared Harvey’s to the popular 1980s sitcom. “It’s like Cheers. Everyone knows your name. You see people shake hands all the way down the restaurant, every single day. It’s amazing. That’s what our local people keep us about. These people have been coming here to this bar and this restaurant for 35, 40 years.”

After polishing off a Blue Max burger and potato salad on a recent visit, it’s easy to see why Harvey’s remains a beloved local destination 40 years after its opening. The feeling of love and family starts with the ownership, spreads to the customers, and makes its way into every meal that is served at this beloved St. Pete institution.

Husband and wife, Rachel Elbert (server) and Clayton Jones (manager) combined have worked for Harvey’s for more than 32 years!

Left to right, Cooks: Rob Patti, Joe Meyer, Scottie Gross

RadioStPete.com Sunshine 96.7 FM Opens a New Studio at Thrive DTSP

By Nanette Wiser

On March 6, 100+ city officials, business and non-profit leaders, local musicians, St. Petersburg Chamber members, loyal listeners and RadioStPete volunteers and show hosts celebrated the grand opening of RadioStPete’s new studio at Thrive DTSP with a ribbon cutting, live music and refreshments.

The new studio is located in the Thrive DTSP coworking space on 4th St. N. Music Director/Vice-President J Kolb and President and General Manager Joe Bourdow cut the ribbon with pride. Bourdow, who started the station in 2013, was beaming. “We are thrilled with the new studio

enabling us to expand our daily interviews with arts, entertainment, business, non-profit and government leaders in St. Petersburg and Pinellas County primarily on our Lunchtime Conversations segment six days a week.”

RadioStPete is an all-volunteer, non-commercial 501c3 non-profit radio station for people who call St. Petersburg and Pinellas County home. There are four, 24-hour internet radio station streams, including a popular local FM radio station, outstanding syndicated public radio programming and a robust podcast platform and online/on-air local magazine with audio-blogs and interviews. Led by Mike Rickord, the Florida Sports Stream Channel on RadioStPete.com offers live sports talk shows from Ferg’s Sports Bar downtown and Sea Dog Brewing Co., covering state, local teams and high school student athletes including live play by play coverage.

Says J. Kolb: “We are especially proud to welcome listeners in downtown St. Pete to “Sunshine 96.7 FM” a local radio station playing the best work of 1,000+ home grown singers, songwriters and bands regularly playing in our Tampa Bay area. We have several popular hosts featuring diverse genres including jazz, acoustic, Americana, country, classical, pop, heavy metal and more. There are 3,600 local songs in our library and growing daily.”

New programming and hosts are introduced monthly as RadioStPete.com expanded its local coverage with Green Light Cinema’s movie reviews, Book + Bottle’s book recommendations, Brian Hartz’s pickleball/tennis reports, St. Pete Catalyst’s Bill DeYoung’s Arts Alive interviews and John Miles’ Passion Struck podcast provides inspiration.

Crowds gather as Station President and General Manager, Joe Bourdow, cuts the ribbon for RadioStPete.com's grand opening at Thrive in downtown St. Pete. Photos courtesy of RadioStPete.com

In 2024, journalist Nanette Wiser joined the platform as News Director producing interviews and audio/blogs, covering events, expanding the website and newsletters, creating a hyperlocal magazine online and on-air. In addition, RadioSt.Pete.com INSIDER, Karen Carmichael (president of the Downtown Neighborhood Association) produces two podcast series, covers live events and coordinates social media. Her "The 30 Under 30" program interviews rising stars of the St. Pete community and "Sunshine Sisters" features women making an impact in the St. Pete community.

With the new studio, “The sky is the limit as to what RadioStPete can accomplish,” says Bourdon. “We are filling the mission of community radio by highlighting the contributions people make –otherwise people would not know about them.”

LISTEN NOW! RadioStPete's music, sports and content can be heard nationally and globally. Just tune in to Sunshine 96.7 FM, download the RadioStPete app, logon or simply ask Siri or Alexa to “Play RadioStPete!” to hear a unique blend of talk, music, and live local coverage of all that makes St. Pete a great place to work and play.

BECOME A MEMBER or DONATE: The station is supported by donations from individuals, businesses, and corporations. RadioStPete is a locally-based, nonprofit all-volunteer organization with 501(3)C tax-exempt status and a 10 member local Board of Directors. If you would like to lend your support to help keep the station up and running, you can become an official member for as little as $5 a month. One-time donations can be made by clicking the donation button on RadioStPete.com. Businesses can join at various sponsorship levels and receive acknowledgements on the air. Volunteers are welcome.

TUNE IN NOW to RadioStPete at www.radiostpete.com or click on the QR code for current programming. Be sure to sign up for the free newsletters and enjoy the blogs/audio and podcasts at www.radiostpete.com/podcast-archives/. Check out the Let’s Go Entertainment guide at www.linkedin.com/pulse/lets-go-guideevents-entertainment-february-2024-nanette-wiser-x1aqe/

Music Director/Vice-President J Kolb

Downtown Developments

By Brian Zucker, Owner of St. Pete Rising

It seems like each time we take a stroll through downtown there are new restaurants and galleries opening and more apartment complexes and condo towers being built. We realize it’s difficult to keep track of everything. Luckily, we’ve done the research, so you don’t have to. Each month we will feature a few of the most exciting new downtown developments that are on the horizon for the Sunshine City.

Run and Play Kids Cafe, a new interactive indoor playground and kid-friendly café, is coming soon to 3950 Central Avenue. The new business is being opened by the owners of Runrun Kids Store, which is located next door, and mobile coffee truck Bean Wandering. The

3,000-square-foot space will have a 1,700-square-foot play area designed for children ages 6 months to 9 years old. The café will serve hot and cold coffee, pastries, and mocktails for children. Run and Play Kids Café is expected to open sometime in April.

COPA, a cocktail lounge and tapas bar in St. Petersburg's EDGE District, is expanding. The owners are taking over the adjoining property at 1045 Central Avenue — formerly home to Italy Bottega, an Italian restaurant — and plan to open a daytime café in the space. The café’s menu is still in development, but the owners said it will feature breakfast sandwiches, pastries, empanadas, smoothies, and a robust selection of small-batch coffee and tea varieties. Being of Haitian descent, the owners also plan to offer items with a Caribbean or Latin American influence. COPA’s expansion is expected to debut by mid-April.

After community concerns, a St. Pete-based developer is significantly reducing the height of the planned Lake House condominium tower that is expected to rise at 200 Mirror Lake Drive North. The proposed tower is now 11 stories, a seven story decrease from the original 18-story plan. With the reduced height and setbacks on all four sides, the initially planned 77-unit residential condo tower will now have 45 units. The tower will also include 72 parking spaces in a three-level garage, a reduction of 61 spaces from the original plan.

Look Alive Coffee is now open at 1920 ½ 1st Avenue South in the Grand Central District. Look Alive is primarily a wholesale business, but anyone is welcome to order bags of coffee or sign up for a coffee subscription via the company’s website. The new local roastery roasts coffee beans on site every Monday and Thursday, ensuring that customers are always getting the freshest coffee possible. Look Alive Coffee is already being served at Pete’s Bagels and The Crumb Factory with more local restaurant partners coming soon.

Little Philly is coming soon to 2063 Central Avenue in the Grand Central District. Authentic Philly cheesesteaks (with or without Cheez Whiz) and house-made water ice will be served when the new restaurant debuts. Philadelphia-born-and-raised chef and restaurant operator Sean Ford, alongside prominent local business owner Renaud Cowez, is bringing the taste of Philly to downtown St. Petersburg. Little Philly is expected to open in April.

The Central, formerly Orange Station, has finally broken ground at 1301 Central Avenue in the EDGE District. The project, which was formerly called Orange Station, will contain a four-star Marriott hotel, 125,000 square feet of office space, 14,000 square feet of retail space, workforce apartments, and over 500 public parking spaces. The project, which is estimated to cost $200 million, is expected to be completed by spring 2026.

St. Pete Rising is an urban development blog covering future retail, restaurants, and real estate in Downtown St. Petersburg, FL. Stay up-todate, visit StPeteRising.com.

New rendering of the Lake House, a proposed condo tower at 200 Mirror Lake Drive North

APRIL 2024

EVENTS

Sunday Market St. Pete

When: Every Sunday 10am-2pm (through May)

Where: St. Pete High School, 2501 5th Ave N

Cost: Free

Over 75 vendors, including local growers, artists, makers, culinary artisans and community partners. Free parking onsite, is familyfriendly, pet-friendly, and open to all. tampabaymarkets.com

The James Museum: Survival of the Fittest

When: open now - May 26

Where: The James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art, 150 Central Ave

Cost: GA $23; Tuesdays $10 Masterworks from the

Rijksmuseum Twenthe and the National Museum of Wildlife Art. thejamesmuseum.org

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast in the Park

When: onstage through May 5

Where: Demens Landing, 1st Ave SE At Bayshore Dr

Cost: $35 & up

American Stage’s Park show is the Disney classic, Beauty and the Beast. Sing along in the park. americanstage.org

Tampa Bay Blues Festival

When: April 12 - 14

Where: Vinoy Park, 701 Bayshore Dr NE

Cost: $70 & up Artists include Grace Potter,

Larkin Poe, Samantha Fish, Tab Benoit, Blood Brothers (Mike Zito & Albert Castiglia), & more. With great food vendors, full liquor bars, craft beers and wines. tampabaybluesfest.com

Empty Bowls 2024

When: Saturday, April 13 11am - 3pm

Where: Coastal Creative, 2201 1st Ave S

Cost: $25

Featuring handcrafted bowls created by passionate artists for guests to take home as a reminder that everyone’s lives should be filled with hope. Enjoy local soups, live music, and a silent auction. svdpsp.org

Chinese Brush Painting Workshop

When: Saturday, April 20 10:15am - 1pm

Where: Morean Arts Center, 719 Central Ave

Cost: $60

Learn the basics of Chinese Brush Painting through hands-

on instruction, complete compositions, handouts, and discussion. Mastery of the brush empowers artists of any medium. moreanartscenter.org/ classes/chinese-brush-paintingworkshop/

Sunscreen Film Festival Awards Ceremony & Party

When: Saturday, April 27 9-midnight

Where: The James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art, 150 Central Ave

Cost: $65

In appreciation of Autism Awareness Month, Sunscreen and the Flutie Foundation are proud to present the “Stars of the Spectrum” performing at the event. Awards at 9:45PM. Karaoke after party immediately after the awards. sunscreenfilmfestival2024.sched. com/tickets

49th Annual Mainsail Art Festival

When: April 20 - 21

Where: Vinoy Park,

701 Bayshore Dr NE

Cost: Free Admission.

Featuring artists exhibiting across 13 categories; Ceramics, Digital Art, Fibers, Glass, Graphics, Jewelry, Metal, Mixed Media, Oil/Acrylic, Photography, Sculpture, Watercolor, and Wood. mainsailart.org

Earth Week 2024

When: April 20 - 27

Where: various locations

Cost: Free

Celebrate Earth Day all week long starting with the Deuces Food Forest Garden Day (April 20), Community Swap Event (April 22), Recycling Facility Tour (April 23), Pinellas Solid Waste Tour (April 26), Cleanup (April 27). See website for details. stpete.org/events

Green Thumb Festival

When: April 27 - 28

Where: Walter Fuller Park, 7891 26th Ave N

Cost: Free

St. Petersburg’s annual Arbor Day Celebration with more than 120

garden, plant and flower vendors and exhibitors.

stpeteparksrec.org/greenthumb/

St. Pete Italian Fest

When: Saturday, April 27 10am - 4pm

Where: St. Pete Pier, 600 2nd Ave NE

Cost: Free

Get ready to indulge in mouthwatering Italian cuisine and experience the vibrant culture of Italy right here in St. Pete. stpeteitalianfest.com

Tampa Bay Chalk Festival

When: Saturday, May 4 9am - 4pm

Where: The Deuces, 22nd Street S between 7th Ave S & 9th Ave S

Cost: Free

The theme is Environmental Consciousness, the historic Deuces will be transformed into a kaleidoscope of colorful squares. tampabaychalkfestival.com

For more events, or to submit event info, visit greenbenchmonthly.com/events