BellaBrava reveals details of new Beach Drive tavern
By Laura Reiley
Tampa Bay Times
Published: Nov 13, 2014

ST. PETERSBURG - The partners of BellaBrava restaurant have revealed plans for their new Stillwaters Tavern, coming to 224 Beach Drive NE.

The 4,600-square-foot space will open in the spring of 2015 and "will include items you'd expect to find at a tavern, as well as dishes that are inspired from my culinary travels," said chef Jeffrey Jew, a Washington, D.C., transplant and contender on Bravo's Top Chef who will oversee the kitchen.

Robert Reid Wedding architects have been employed to re-envision the space and demolition will start this week on the storefront that once housed Bruce Watters Jewelers, which moved a few doors away. The new building will feature a white brick facade with a modern industrial warehouse look, while inside will have an open kitchen with subway tile, brick and concrete interiors with furnishings by T2theS of St. Petersburg.

Along with the details of this new 260-seat indoor/outdoor restaurant, the partners announced the formation of 2BHospitality, which will include partners Robert Sanderson and Dyce Craig, director of operations Lee Karlins and Jew.

This new project underscores the street's shift from retail to restaurants in the past two years: From Cassis to Moon Under Water to 400 Beach and Birch & Vine, the short stretch has an increasingly rich culinary scene. And with the dramatic increase in downtown apartments and condos, the saturation point may be a ways off.

Jew and crew are not yet ready to reveal menu items at the new restaurant, but in March, Sanderson said: "It won't be Italian and you can probably put it in the realm of a 'gastropub.' It will fill a niche that hasn't been filled on the street."

A little more mystery serves to underscore the old truism: Stillwaters run deep.

Contact Laura Reiley at lreiley@tampabay.com or (727) 892-2293. Follow @lreiley.