Independent Bar St. Petersburg to close next month

ST. PETERSBURG — St. Petersburg’s much-beloved Independent Bar has fought the good fight — first opening its doors in 2005, then closing in 2012, only to reopen once more four years later.

But on Saturday, after six years in the ‘Burg’s Edge District, the bar’s owner announced on social media the doors will close for good after last call on Oct. 2.

“This amazing place will forever have a place in our hearts, and we will always appreciate the community that has supported us,” read a post on the bar’s Facebook Page. “Our last two weeks will be full of love, live music and celebration.”

Messages to the bar and its owner, Veronica Danko, weren’t immediately answered Saturday evening.

A follow-up Facebook post told followers that the bar would be hosting a private event in the hours after its closing was announced Saturday, but that it would reopen for service from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m.

The Independent Bar’s Seminole Heights location and Florida Avenue retailer The Jug & Bottle Dept. will not be affected by the St. Pete bar’s closure, staffers at both locations said.

Those wishing to mourn the loss of the Independent’s home on Central Avenue will have plenty of opportunities in its last two weeks of operation, which have been earmarked as an early Oktoberfest.

The bar will also host a concert by the Burke Bros. Trio on Sept. 30 and close its doors after one final Sunday Jazz Project, featuring musicians James Suggs, Sandi Greco and Mark Moultrup, on Oct. 2.

The Independent can rightly bill itself St. Petersburg’s “Original World Class Beer Hall” thanks to its original 2005 incarnation, which closed amid Danko’s divorce.

The separation allowed her to branch out to Tampa, where the Seminole Heights bar and associated liquor store have continued to flourish since their inception in 2009.

It was 2016 when Danko saw her opportunity to once again bring the Independent back home by taking over the space at 1049 Central Ave., which had previously held the Amsterdam.

Ever since, the bar has boasted a selection of constantly rotating local, national and international drafts on tap, a limited number of curated craft bottles, a unique wine selection and a few specialty beverages.

“We cannot thank everyone enough for the amazing years and memories we have shared together and we look forward to seeing everyone for one last beer before we go,” the announcement said.