Pete’s Bagels will open second St. Petersburg location at historic gas station

Maggie Duffy, Tampa Bay Times
Updated ·2 min read
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Pete’s Bagels has signed a lease to open a second location in St. Petersburg at the Harbordale Standard Oil Station — the historic gas station owned by former St. Pete City Councilmember and mayoral candidate Robert Blackmon and his mother, Carolee Blackmon.

Blackmon confirmed that Steven and Sara Peterman, the owners of the bagel and coffee shop, signed a lease this week to become the tenants at 2439 Fourth St. S in the Harbordale neighborhood, an area south of 22nd Avenue S between Ninth and Fourth streets. The drive-thru coffee shop is expected to open in January, Blackmon said.

Pete’s Bagels originally opened in St. Petersburg’s Historic Uptown neighborhood in 2019. It moved to St. Pete’s Grand Central district in 2021 and opened a location in Ybor City in 2022.

Steven Peterman said he is excited to expand into a new neighborhood.

“We want to be a part of the community and make sure everyone feels welcome,” he said.

It’s important to him to keep the prices affordable. In addition to the drive-thru, there will be a walk-up area.

The menu will be an express version of what they do at the other locations, with an expanded coffee and espresso program. They’ll be using a new coffee roaster, Look Alive Coffee, which will be opening soon in the Grand Central District.

Blackmon’s vision for the 1926 gas station has been to turn it into a drive-thru coffee shop. He’s been restoring the building with a new copper roof, replaced the bricks with original ones from Georgia and is working on the buildout for the restaurant. The interior space is 326 square feet.

The partnership came about quickly: Peterman said he reached out to the Blackmon family about a week ago.

Blackmon said that the popularity of Pete’s Bagels and its “community boosterism” — like their merchandise with St. Pete branding — makes for a great collaboration.

“I think this is going to be a huge deal for Harbordale,” he said. “That neighborhood is seeing a massive renaissance right now, but it’s still a very underserved corridor. Pete’s Bagels is going to do wonderfully with its multiple options ... they’re going to be offering something that benefits the whole community in an area that is a food desert.”