Central Park St. Pete is finally open — and it's just getting started
St. Pete's most-anticipated food hall, Central Park at 551 Central Ave, is rolling out 14 concepts across five stories this summer. Here's what's open now.
On the map
The exact spot — handy for figuring out which neighborhood you're really in.
Six years in the making. Three opening-date promises. One very patient Central Avenue block. And now — finally — Central Park St. Pete is open and actively rolling out what could become the most ambitious dining destination in downtown St. Petersburg's history.
I drove past 551 Central Ave last week and the lights were on. That's still kind of a surreal thing to say.
What is Central Park St. Pete, exactly?
Central Park is a 27,700-square-foot food hall at 551 Central Avenue that will roll out 14 concepts in phases rather than opening all at once.
The building is operated by Sarasota-based Hi Hospitality Group, founded by Natalia Levey, whose portfolio already includes well-regarded Gulf Coast restaurants.
The full vision spans five stories with nine dining concepts, four bars, a boutique, event spaces, and a members-only club.
It's not just a food court — it's layered, floor by floor, like a vertical neighborhood.
The project was first announced in early 2020, two years after the Dome Grill closed
at that address. Construction began, stalled, restarted, and by early 2026 the building was finally ready to welcome its first guests. St. Pete locals who've been watching this block for half a decade deserve a slow clap.
What's open right now
The soft opening kicked off on February 19 with Palm Avenue Deli and Constellation Burger, both operating for takeout and delivery starting at 5 p.m.
Palm Avenue Deli is a proper New York-style operation — pastrami, reubens, latkes, matzo ball soup, house-made bagels.
Most New York delis don't stock Aperol behind the counter next to the mustard, but Palm Avenue Deli does, so you can enjoy an Aperol spritz with your pastrami reuben.
Only in St. Pete.
Constellation Burger offers a fast-casual lineup of creative burgers and sandwiches, including everything from classic beef patties to a Local Rock Shrimp Katsu Burger.
Dine-in is now available, and hours currently run Sunday through Thursday 5–10 p.m. and Friday–Saturday 5–11 p.m.
What's still coming
This is where it gets really interesting.
Central Park's first-floor food hall will eventually include elevated Mexican concept Don Ricardo's Taqueria, pizza spot Park Pie serving Roman and New York-style pies, Italian eatery Speaks Pasta, and Asian street food concept Kojo Wok.
A dessert café called Meadows, a frozen cocktail bar called 27 North, and retail boutique Worth will sit on a mezzanine overlooking the main food hall.
A full-service modern Asian restaurant, Kojo, and Bar Hana by Kojo will anchor the fourth floor, while The Winfield cocktail parlor will be hidden away in the basement.
A rooftop bar with sunset views over downtown St. Pete. A basement speakeasy. Nine dining concepts stacked between them. If everything executes, this building alone could reroute where St. Pete locals spend their Friday nights.
"We are creating all of the concepts internally, with Culinary Director Chef Hart Lowry at the helm of recipe development," said Natalia Levey, founder of Hi Hospitality Group.
That's notable — these aren't franchises or pop-ins. They're house-built concepts, which means the flavors are consistent and the team is invested.
Why this matters beyond the menu
Central Park sits on Central Avenue — the spine of everything happening in downtown St. Pete right now. The Edge District, the Grand Central District, the Pier — they're all within walking distance. A destination of this size and ambition doesn't just feed people; it anchors foot traffic for the entire corridor.
Central Park St. Pete, the five-story food hall that had been rumored to be "coming soon" for over five years, has finally opened, sort of — two of the eight restaurant and bar concepts, Palm Avenue Deli and Constellation Burger, debuted on February 1.
More concepts are rolling out through the summer and into fall.
Work began on Central Park in 2021, but extensive renovations, construction of its new basement, and delays took several years to finish.
The wait has been long enough that the opening itself became part of the St. Pete legend — locals will tell the story of "the building that kept almost opening" for years.
Worth adding to your summer list
The full build-out is still in progress, but right now is actually a fun time to go. You can eat at a place most people still haven't discovered is fully open yet, and watch new floors come online in real time. Think of it like watching a neighborhood being built, one taco and rooftop cocktail at a time.
Central Park is at 551 Central Ave in downtown St. Pete — walkable from the Pier, a short ride from the Grand Central District, and exactly the kind of anchor that makes this zip code worth paying attention to if you're thinking about where to buy in the city. More restaurants and energy at street level almost always moves values in the blocks around them. Just something to keep in mind.