Five years past the expected opening date and $20 million later, St. Petersburg’s highly anticipated food and beverage hall is finally making its grand debut.
Central Park St. Pete officially opened to the public Feb. 23, inside the five-story building at 551 Central Ave. The sprawling 28,000-square-foot space, formerly home to the old Woolworth building, has been in the works since early 2020, and was initially slated to open in summer 2021. Construction lags, permitting setbacks and a number of other issues caused delays over the years, but now the spot is finally ready to welcome diners — that is, in stages.
With such an ambitious undertaking, the staggered opening will help chefs and staff get their bearings, said Robert Castellon, the director of operations at Hi Hospitality Group, the restaurant group behind the project. Part of the difficulty in opening a hall of this scale, Castellon said, is that it is coinciding with Tampa Bay’s busiest tourist season. Once all the concepts are up and running, the hall will be staffed by roughly 125 to 145 employees…