BY CARLY ROMANO
NNB REPORTER
Use this map as your guide to take a walk through historic Midtown of St. Petersburg.
The marked destinations highlight thriving places, attractions, and restaurants within the progressing area.
Click on each hot spot for pictures and information, including addresses!
Note: Zoom in for larger view.
BY ZENENA MOGUEL
NNB Reporter
ST. PETERSBURG – It was just another night where the sound of music and laughter filled the air of this vibrant community. It was Midtown in the 1940s bringing out the African-American culture. But, it was not always that way. It took brave and valiant individuals to build the lively and joyful culture of Midtown. Then, Sidney Harden and his grocery store was one these individuals, and today, it is Elihu and Carolyn Brayboy.
In 1942, Harden opened ‘Sidney Harden’s Grocery Store’ on 22nd Street South. It was the place to get cultural food and resources throughout the community, according to the St. Petersburg Times. The grocery store also served local residents in times of need and comfort.
Harden was a neighbor and hoped the best for his community. According to a staff report from the City of St. Petersburg Community Preservation Commission, when local residents didn’t have enough, he gave and was known to hire residents for minor labor in exchange for food. He is remembered for his donations to different charities in the hope to make Midtown a better place for those in the community.
In the 35 years since the closing of Sidney Harden’s Grocery Store, that same passion and determination can be seen in Elihu and Carolyn Brayboy, better known as Mr. B and Mrs. B, and their hope to build a stronger and diverse Midtown. Despite a tough start and individuals’ perception of Midtown as being a rough place, the Brayboys decided to start their own business. They even have a reply for those with a misconception of Midtown.
“We’re putting the neighbor back into the hood,” said Elihu Brayboy. “Therefore it is a neighborhood.”
Although it was not what they intended, it became a place they now hold dear and true. Like Harden, the Brayboys are trying to invigorate the community. With just the start of a café, the Brayboys hope other businesses will see the opportunity Midtown has to offer.
“We value it and our view is it’s a great area and all it needs is love,” said Elihu Brayboy.
Named after Elihu Brayboy’s mother, Mary ‘Chief’ Brayboy Jones, a native of South Louisiana who catered to many celebrities such as Teddy Pendergrass, the Chief’s Creole Café serves a taste of Creole dishes including shrimp and grits, spicy jambalaya and Creole gumbo. Along with a delicious meal, customers have a choice of a spacious, elegant and vintage dining room or the outdoor patio setting to enjoy.
Chief’s Creole Café celebrates their first year anniversary on Nov. 1. The celebration starts with a momentous ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 30 with Mayor Rick Kriseman. The event leads into the ‘Masquerade Under The Stars’ with live entertainment and dancing.
“We are ready for the storm,” said Kenny Roberts, a restaurant employee. “We know it’s coming.”
This is just the start of a new and diverse Midtown. The Brayboys and their employees are definitely excited, but so are those in the community.
Cranston Cumberbatch, office manager of Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum, has been a regular at Chief’s Creole Café since its opening.
“I really think that it’s a real treasure to this community,” said Cumberbatch. “For what (the Brayboys) are providing I think it’s really something good to help in the resurgence of this community to getting back to those memorable iconic places that so many residents in this community are familiar with.”
By Daniel Figueroa and Patrick Kiernan
Greg Baker takes a swig of his beer and pulls a drag from an e-cigarette.
“I buy two dollar plates. I get a chip in it. Am I supposed to throw it way? Is that sustainable?” Baker says.
Baker is the head chef and co-owner of The Refinery, a restaurant in Seminole Heights. In just a few years, Baker has launched full force into the Tampa Bay dining scene. His approach has earned appearances on television shows, myriad print articles from Southern Living to the Tampa Bay Times and a number of James Beard Foundation Award nominations.
The Refinery offers sustainable, locally sourced food for low prices in a casual, communal atmosphere.
By Patrick Kiernan
While sipping her soy latte, Abbie Rae points to her freezer door. A magnet that reads “God Bless John Wayne” holds a sticker she received from a recent online order from Compassion Clothing, a company that promotes animal rights and vegan living. In bold type the sticker reads: “Compassion Clothing — It’s Okay To Give A F—.”
On this Saturday morning, Abbie Rae flips through her record collection, deciding which album would suffice as the soundtrack to her brunch. Lifting the plastic cover to her record player, she slowly places Beirut’s “Flying Cub Cup” on the platter and guides the needle to the wax.
Shuffling to the kitchen, she bends down to her miniature daschund, Cooper, and kissed his head while tickling the golden wrinkles of his neck.
From her refrigerator, Abbie Rae unloads onions, tomatoes, kale, mushrooms and tofu. The white gelatinous tofu plops into a plastic press and drained of the water. Within minutes, the tofu is sliced into cubes and then mashed. Tossed into a pan with other veggies, the tofu sizzles and pops as Abbie Rae hums to the music echoing from her living room. Tofu scramble is her favorite brunch food and it remains a symbol of her devotion to animal rights and living as a vegan.
By Jaclyn Cayavec and Meaghan Habuda
Nearly two months have passed since the Sweetbay Supermarket at 22nd Street and 18th Avenue South closed its doors to Midtown. Farmers markets have served as alternative places to buy fresh produce.
There are two market locations accessible to Midtown residents: the Gulfport Tuesday Morning Fresh Market and the Saturday Morning Market. Each market offers a variety of fruits and vegetables. The produce is grown locally and a few stands provide buyers with organic options.
Worden Farms, an 85-acre farm in Punta Gorda, has sold organic produce at the Saturday Morning Market, hosted from downtown’s Al Lang Stadium parking lot, since 2004.
“Organic has to do with the way that it’s grown. It’s grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers,” manager Dalton Tininenko said. “We work with nature in a very natural way.”
By Tyler Killette and Chelsea Tatham
Family owned and operated since 1975, Mastry’s Tackle offers an unconventional shopping experience for St. Petersburg seafood connoisseurs. Instead of glass freezers of neatly arranged fish filets, Mastry’s displays its grouper, tilapia, snapper, catfish, mackerel, perch and jumbo shrimp in large plastic white coolers — bones, scales and eyes sill intact.
Owner Larry Mastry said the store has always been set up this way.
“You don’t find many markets where you buy fish out of a cooler,” he said.
But the set up seems to work well for the self-dubbed “down home country store.” On a Tuesday afternoon, a steady stream of customers flow in from Fourth Street S.