Fall is among us, which means great weather and more people out and about.
That’s what gave Matt Shapiro an idea. Shapiro is the General Manager of SHAPIRO’S Gallery.
“Towards the end of summer, I kind of talked to the various businesses and said, ‘let’s do some sort of block party to celebrate the end of summer, beginning of fall, cooler weather,'” he said.
Then Hurricane Helene hit.
“We kind of transitioned a little bit to let’s start supporting the community. Then Hurricane Milton came,” he said.
Two hurricanes and unprecedented devastation for St. Pete made him even more excited about the block party.
Michelle Richards, the General Manager of Allelo, helped make Shapiro’s idea come to life.
“With everything going on, we have to. The St. Pete community is everything to us. So, we need to give back and we were extremely fortunate in both storms and we are grateful and thankful for that, to be honest, and we need to be there for the community for that reason,” she said.
Six businesses joined in: Allelo Mediterranean Restaurant, SHAPIRO’S Gallery, Parkshore Grill, Paciugo Gelato & Caffe, Style Clothing and EnnYe African Boutique.