A St. Pete Beach space formerly used for Italian restaurant Verducci’s will be transformed into a new seafood restaurant concept.
Florida-based Haran Hospitality signed a five-year renewable lease May 28 with landlord Rudy Consoni of St. Pete-based MHRR Investments for the property at 7736 Blind Pass Road.
Helm Provisions and Coastal Fare, a seafood-drive lunch and brunch raw bar focused on local ingredients, has taken possession of the space and is set to begin buildout immediately. The new restaurant will also offer a home-meal-solutions market as well as options for vacationers on the go.
Michael and Heidi Butler, co-owners of Helm Provisions and Coastal Fare, go over interior drawings after signing their lease at 7736 Blind Pass Road.
Blakemore Kearney and Joshua Sims of St. Pete-based Vector Commercial Real Estate helped facilitate the lease agreement between Haran Hospitality and landlord Consoni.
“We have always fantasized about having our own place. We have both worked for years as consultants doing concepts and design and this particular concept spoke to us,” said Heidi Butler, co-owner of Helm Provisions and Coastal Fare.
She told the Catalyst they wanted a location “where we would draw locals and tourists.”
Butler expects the restaurant to open in August. Before deciding on the space, she and her husband, Michael, looked at three other locations. They needed the space to be a certain size in order to obtain a liquor license, she said.
The 2,700-square-foot property became available when Verducci’s moved to its current space next door.
MHRR enlisted Vector to find the ideal tenant for its daytime-use-only building.
“This space has generated a ton of interest from the outset, but due to its unique daytime-use-only requirement, it was going to take a very specific business model to make it work,” Kearney said in a prepared statement. “Not only is Helm a great fit for the space, but it’s exceptionally rewarding when given the opportunity to put great people together.”