China Finders in St. Pete’s Grand Central district to be redeveloped into restaurant, retail space
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jul 20, 2023

A St. Petersburg investor plans to transform the China Finders property in the Grand Central district into a multi-tenant building with space for restaurants and retailers.

Rahul Gupta of RKG Holdings closed on the property at 2823 Central Ave. on July 12 for $2.18 million, according to Pinellas County property records. He also secured a $2.06 million mortgage from Waterfall Bank. Gupta told the Business Journal he and Mohan Kumar, founder of OddFellows Ice Cream Co., partnered together on the deal. OddFellows has a location in Hyde Park Village.

China Finders specializes in china, crystal, dinnerware and glassware. The store is approximately 4,550 square feet and opened in the early 2000s. It will close in the coming months, Gupta said.

Gupta said he plans to subdivide the building into space for three or four different concepts. The plan is to have one or two restaurants and additional retail space.

“The reason I got interested in property is because it’s in the Grand Central district,” Gupta said. “I see that area as a continuing hotbed of development. I think it’s very clear around what’s going on. There’s explosive growth all around this property and the area more broadly, with all of the residential projects under development there.”

The plan is to file for permits within the next few months, Gupta said, and they hope to “have something open” by the second quarter of 2024.

The renovation will include subdividing the existing building and potentially adding an outdoor patio where the current parking lot is to accommodate a larger restaurant tenant. He said he is currently talking to “highly regarded restaurant operators” with concepts in Tampa for the space.

The property is in a prime location on Central Avenue and is surrounded by several recent redevelopment projects. Directly adjacent to the property, St. Pete Development Co. is building the second phase of the mixed-use townhome development Driftwood on Central.

The store is a block away from both the Wild Child and Baba restaurants and the new Mutts and Martini’s dog bar.

Gupta moved to St. Pete around a year-and-a-half ago and said he is an investor in the Sunset Grill property at 2996 Dr. MLK Jr. St. N. and the adjacent retail plaza.

He is a former Wall Street professional and said he became interested in real estate because he wants to “be a part of creating a city” he loves to spend time in. He said he loves “curating a community” and hopes this will be the first of several other projects to come in the area.

“I think Grand Central is becoming a destination in St. Pete because of all of the restaurants, bars and coffee shops that are there,” Gupta said. “Just given population growth and where people are moving to and types of people moving to St. Pete, there’s a need and demand for even more continued great retail and great restaurant concepts for the area.”