Businesses Issue Plea To Help Save St. Pete's Community Cafe

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — The owners of a popular eatery on Central Avenue in downtown St. Petersburg is desperately looking for a new location after being told their lease would end Nov. 30.

Community Cafe, specializing in vegan and vegetarian fare, opened at 2444 Central Ave. on Dec. 27, 2013. Since then, it has become a fixture in the Midtown business district, offering a relaxed place to get a sandwich or cup of coffee. It's also the go-to place for book signings, film screenings, community meetings and Drag Queen Story Hour.

The cafe was making plans for its third annual community vegan Thanksiving feast when the letter arrived from the landlord's attorney announcing that the restaurant's lease would not be renewed.

"This completely blindsided us as we've been in discussions with them (the landlord) for over a year about expanding into the space next to us when that space vacates this fall," said owner Mandy Keyes. "We were just texting two weeks ago about that space's availability being delayed until the end of the year. We've never been shown any indication that our lease would not be renewed until the lawyer's letter."

Keyes' announcement on the Community Cafe Facebook page prompted a flurry of protests from patrons and a challenge by Keep St. Pete Local, a nonprofit group made up of locally owned, independent businesses.

"Since this morning when we learned about this dire situation, we've been doing everything we can to save the business," Keep St. Pete Local said on its Facebook page. "This is an incredibly special place - that's why they named it the Community Cafe, because it serves everyone in our community. They are irreplaceable. Please, please see if there's anyone you know who can help, anything you can do. We have every hope that our community will rally and ensure that the Community Cafe lives on."

The owner of record for the 3,600-square-foot building divided into three storefronts is RMD Associates LLC of St. Petersburg, according to the Pinellas County Property Appraiser. Patch was unable to reach anyone at the company for comment.

"We need a miracle. We need a 1,500-2,000-square-foot restaurant space for an affordable rent in St Pete's current expensive economy," said Keyes. "... We don't know if we're going to survive this. We're terrified."