Neighborhood News Bureau

Author: Indhira Suero Acosta

  • Midtown Moments: Mercy Keepers Food Pantry

    Midtown Moments: Mercy Keepers Food Pantry

    By Andrea Perez

     

    A corner house willing to help

    The non-profit organization, Mercy Keepers Inc., located right across from Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church on 9th Avenue South, has been providing food and clothing items to members of Pinellas County since its establishment in 2005. Individuals with low-income, as well as other financial or household difficulties can stop by every Tuesday or Thursday of the week, from 10 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. and pick up a meal consisting of a basic nutritional menu.

     

    Giving back

    A volunteer pushes a cart with corn filled boxes, a staple produce of the organization. In partnership with Feed America, they are able to offer each person who registers a donation package. Other foods include dried tomatoes, lettuce, potatoes, bread, and a variety of canned goods.

     

    Food for days


    “Some days you don’t see a lot of people come by, but then by word of mouth from someone who got their package, we’ll have others floating in you know, by word of mouth. ‘Hey, they have milk today at the Pantry.’ Whatever we have, if they register, they get it”, expressed H. Hall, who volunteers as secretary of the Board of Members since 2013.

  • Midtown Moments: Uhuru Food and Pies

    Midtown Moments: Uhuru Food and Pies

    By Tamiracle Williams

    Uhuru Food and Pies was one of Saturday Morning Market goers’ favorite spots during the marketing with an average of 5-6 people waiting in line throughout the market’s duration. Uhuru, located at 1245 18th Ave South is one of few vendors at the Saturday Morning Market with a home base in Midtown.

     

     

    Pictured is Kunde Mwamuita preparing a quesadilla for their lunch special. Uhuru Food and Pies is a branch of the Uhuru Movement started by Omali Yeshitela (Joseph Waller) who was best known for destructing a racist mural in St. Petersburg City Hall in 1966.

  • Midtown Moments: The Chattaway

    By Brittany Cravatta

    Enjoy Your Meal Next to a Beautiful Garden

    The Chattaway’s is a privately owned restaurant on the corner of 22nd Ave and 4th St. South. Built in the 1920s, people stopped by to buy snacks while traveling to other cities. Owner Jillian Frers claimed that she had been running the business since the 1950s when it officially became a restaurant.

    Frers placed a garden on the outside of her restaurant as a memoir of her mother who loved to garden.

     

    Enjoy A Day in the Tea Room with a Reservation

    When one makes a special reservation, they can enjoy a day in the tea room. Originally from London, England, Frers stated the tea room was a “representation of her family’s British heritage.” Customers can enjoy the taste of Britain while dining in a more casual and comfortable environment. The design of the room shows many beautiful antiques brought back from Frers homeland.

     

  • Midtown Moments: The Blue Nile Food Store

    Midtown Moments: The Blue Nile Food Store

    By Angelina Bruno

     

    The towering sign outside of the store tells passerby of the particular offerings of the day.

     

    BBQ is served outside Thursday through Sunday, with options ranging from ribs to smoked mullet.

     

    A handwritten sign inside the store hangs above a hot food line.

     

     

     

  • Midtown Moments: The Royal Theater

    By Joseph Conte

    A much-needed escape into the world of film for the community during tough times

    The Royal Theater located on the 22nd Street South, opened it’s doors to the public in 1948. The black community received the opening with great joy and festivities. The theater was kept in operation throughout 1966 and was one of only two movie theaters providing films for African-Americans during the divided time of segregation.

  • Midtown Moments: Morean Center for Clay

    By Lee Britain

    Midtown History Revived, Renewed, Rejuvenated

    Built in 1926, this historic Midtown St. Petersburg building was once the Seaboard Freight Depot. According to General Manager Valerie Scott Knaust, “everything that came into St. Pete once came in through this space.”

    The historic building has been turned into the Morean Center for Clay which is located at 420 2nd Street South. “We are nationally renown, but locally no one knows about us,” Knaust said. The center offers free classes every Sunday from 1pm-3pm, in hopes of expanding the Midtown communities interest in the arts. According to Knaust, they also offer summer camp for children, four major workshops and on Friday nights at a price of $25 adults can join in “if they bring a towel, their favorite beverage, and a sense of humor.”

  • Midtown Moments: Lorene’s Fish and Crab House

    Midtown Moments: Lorene’s Fish and Crab House

    By Alyssa Fedorovich

    One of the oldest restaurants on the Deuces

    Situated at 929 22nd Street S. adjacent to a mural showcasing Ella Fitzgerald, Lorene’s Fish and Crab House offers a wide variety of foods such as burgers, jumbo shrimp, and even chicken strips. Owners Lorene and Arthur Office opened the restaurant over 25 years ago, and the business continues to thrive today.

     

    Lorene’s Fish and Crab House expands menu


    Including only two tables inside the quaint restaurant on the Deuces, Lorene’s Fish and Crab House receives most of their business from take-out orders. Throughout the years, owner Lorene Office has expanded the menu to customers. The place sells crabs by the dozen with platters also available for purchase.

  • Midtown Moments: Black History Month

    Midtown Moments: Black History Month

    By Abigail Payne

    Black History Month in St. Petersburg had a productive start this 2017.

    For the second year in a row, Mayor Rick Kriseman rose the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American History Museum flag above City Hall. The event took place on Feb. 1, 2017, to jump start Black History Month.

    From left to right. Mayor Rick Kriseman (center) and Deputy Mayor Kanika Thomalin (right) during the rise of the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American History Museum flag above St. Petersburg, Fl, City Hall on Feb. 1, 2017.

    It represented the hard work that Dr. Woodson was able to put forth for the recognition of African American History.

    “Dr. Carter G. Woodson is the father of black history month,” Terri Lipsey Scott said.

    Black History Month was originally known as Negro History and Literature Week.

    According to the attendants, Woodson was the reason to celebrate this month due to his efforts dating back to 1926. The acknowledgment and recognition of this cultural history are integral to the history of St. Petersburg.

    In the event, participated members of ASALAH and Omega Psi Phi, two organizations that had tied with Dr. Woodson. There were also students from Mt. Zion Progressive Christian Academy; author Jon Wilson and Gwendolyn Reese from the African American Heritage Trails of St. Petersburg, among many of the community’s entrepreneurs, artists, and public figures.

    It is important for the young populace of the community to see that African-American History is recognized and that they learn the rich history that shaped the city as it is now.

    With the reminder that there are failing schools in Pinellas County, all predominantly African American, history as powerful as the one of this city should be exalted to revamp those institutions.

     

  • Where are the voices of Midtown in the Tropicana Field redevelopment?

    Where are the voices of Midtown in the Tropicana Field redevelopment?

    “Even though the construction of Tropicana Field did, in some ways, bring new life to the city according to some, the stadium was a catalyst for a lot of the rebirth of downtown St. Petersburg, but to many in Midtown it remains a point of contention.”

    Written by NNB student Erin Murphy, this article was published in The Weekly Challenger Newspaper.  Other students that contribute to this report: Alana Long and Jessie Santero (research), Caitlin Clem and Shelby Brown (visuals).

    Read this article:

    http://theweeklychallenger.com/where-are-the-voices-of-midtown-in-the-tropicana-field-redevelopment/

  • Midtown Plaza struggles to stay in business

    Midtown Plaza struggles to stay in business

    “Going grocery shopping for the week is a chore within itself. Without any means of transportation, that errand often becomes an all-day affair. This situation is the reality for many Midtown residents, and as it stands, their fate rests in the hands of the City of St. Petersburg, and what will become of Tangerine Plaza, or as it is now known, the Midtown Plaza.”

    Written by NNB student Anna Welch, this article was published in The Weekly Challenger Newspaper.  Other students that contribute to this report: Kaitlyn Kelley (editor), Alana Long (research) and Mary Putulin (visuals).

    Read the full story :

    http://theweeklychallenger.com/midtown-plaza-struggles-to-stay-in-business/