Uptown Eats Attracts Loyal Customers During Slow Opening

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Uptown Eats, a new coffee and pastry shop in St. Pete, is already feeling a lot of love from the community as it is slowly opens.

It's already become a popular hangout with its hours of operation from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Fridays only. People trickled in well after 10 on Friday morning as a Patch reporter watched excited customers anticipate the biscuit bombs created by owner Dan Schmidt, and gulped lattes, caramel steamers, iced double-brew coffee and regular coffee from a local roaster, Blazing Bean in Clearwater.

Kristen Motulewicz of Blazing Bean created coffee blends for the new shop, and the main blend is mixed with a medium and dark roast called "Uptown Eats Blend."

Uptown Eats is in the former Banyan space on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street North near Seventh Avenue North.

Schmidt wanted to create an easy breakfast item that didn't fall apart for a person on the go and that didn't cost $10. Biscuit bombs can be ordered with a combination of bacon, cheddar and egg or spinach, tomato, cheddar and egg.

"I love the locale, and I love the friendliness of this place," George Sykes, who is already a Friday regular, told Patch. "They have good, quality products."

Sykes enjoys sitting in the outside seating area and drinking coffee with a couple of other Friday regulars.

Schmidt said they acquired the space in February but because of the coronavirus pandemic it took longer to open because of the hurdles that has come along with it.

"That's been one of the main reasons we have decided to open the way we have, because our primary concern was being safe for our customers but also economically as we didn't want to chance anything with a 50 percent capacity," Schmidt said.

Schmidt said that by next week, they are probably going to open with its official hours. For the past month, they have committed to Friday morning hours because they wanted to do a slow opening to the public because of coronavirus safety.

Natalie Moore, front of house manager, who just moved back from Portland to help Schmidt open the location said during the cosmetic fix up of the inside they tried to be as green as possible by resurfacing the floors. They repurposed the tables with new tiles. New furniture was also purchased.

"We live over on 9th, and this is like our regular area so we walk past here a lot," said Daryn St. Pierre. "This is in a great spot, and it's nice to see this place revived with new characteristics."

For more information about Uptown Eats, visit its Facebook page.

Update: As of September 18, Uptown Eats is open Wednesday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.