Corey Avenue and Blind Pass Road Are Refilling, With New Names in Old Storefronts
October 8, 2026
October 8, 2026
"I'm so happy to see that the stores that were vacant are now starting to really fill up," Yvonne Marcus, owner of Art Expo on Corey Avenue, told Tampa Bay 28 on October 4. She and an employee put on hazmat suits to clean out her back room after Helene. Milton made landfall days later, on October 9, 2024. Two years on, the same report found that most businesses along Corey Avenue are open again.
Who is filling those storefronts matters as much as the fact that they're filling. On Corey Avenue and Blind Pass Road, many of the doors that have opened since the storms belong to different businesses than the ones that closed. A seafood parlor took over a pizzeria. A bank building is becoming a gallery. A house is under review to become a café. The north end of St. Pete Beach is coming back as a reshuffled version of itself, and this October gives that new lineup its first full fall season.
The clearest example sits on Blind Pass Road. Verducci's Trattoria & Pizzeria, at 7800 Blind Pass Rd, closed after the 2024 hurricane season and never reopened. Its neighbor, The Helm Seafood Parlour, moved next door into that larger space. The restaurant's own site now lists 7800 Blind Pass Road under the name The Helm Provisions & Coastal Fare, with reservations and posted hours.
Co-owner Michael Haran Butler told What Now in early August that the bigger room allows a reworked menu that keeps the staples and adds new dishes. In his words, the goal is "bringing the Northeast and the Southeast to the west coast of Florida."
The Helm's old address, 7736 Blind Pass Rd, is set to change use entirely. The plan is The Scullery, which Butler described as high-end retail with a bridal registry and classes in cooking and crafting. St. Pete Rising reported that it would also carry kitchenware and gifts. As of August 5, Butler said that opening was "still a few months out."
So one storm closure on Blind Pass Road has turned into two new uses on adjoining lots.
The same thing is happening a few blocks away. Here is what has changed hands or changed purpose on Corey Avenue in 2026, according to local reporting:
| Address | What it was | What's there or planned now | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 344 Corey Ave | Storefront | Fellas Vinoir, a café, espresso counter and wine bar | Opened June 2026 |
| Next door to Fellas | Leased space | An ice cream and gelato shop from the Fellas owners | Planned, no name or date yet |
| Former Wells Fargo building | Bank branch | The Art Vault on Corey Avenue | Targeted Sept. 1; opening not yet confirmed |
| 620 Corey Ave | House | A small limited-service café with takeout and outdoor picnic tables | Under city review, no timeline |
Fellas Vinoir mixes Greek, French, Italian and Peruvian influences, with crepes, coffee and wine on the menu, according to the Tampa Bay Times. General manager Diana Pemelton told Tampa Bay 28 in June that the change on the street was easy to see: "It's so wonderful to see these shops opening up and not a whole bunch of 'for lease' signs on them."
The Art Vault shows the same reasoning from the owner's side. Joe McEntegart and his family bought the old bank building. "The storm was here, and Corey was kind of trashed, so it's like, OK, maybe I can help the community and at the same time start my business," he said. The gallery was aiming to open by September 1. No opening has been confirmed in the reporting we found, so call ahead before you go.
On the business side, Art Expo store manager Johanna McGraw put it plainly in October: "This year has really been better than the other two where the business is up."
Turning one kind of building into another is how the north end got one of its anchors in the first place. Mastry's Brewing Co. moved into 7701 Blind Pass Road in 2016. The building was a former auto repair shop, which became a brewery, taproom and outdoor gathering space and made Mastry's the city's first microbrewery. It started as a nano-brewery inside C.D. Roma, a family Italian restaurant in St. Petersburg's Tyrone area. Today it runs a five-barrel brewhouse, a scratch kitchen and an on-site distillery that makes bourbon, rye and vodka.
Founder Matthew Dahm, a third-generation member of the Mastry family in St. Petersburg hospitality, told the St Pete Catalyst that the biggest lesson of the decade has been "patience and consistency." The brewery celebrates its 10th anniversary on Saturday, October 10, with new beer releases, collaboration brews, food and live music. At 7701 Blind Pass Road, Mastry's shares a stretch of street with The Helm's new home at 7800, so that party marks ten years at one converted building on the same street as the newest one.
The fall calendar is what fills these storefronts with foot traffic, and October brings a cluster of dates on the north end and around the island:
The October Sip & Stroll and the Sunday markets will be the first events of the new season with Fellas Vinoir open on the block, and possibly The Art Vault too. Both Corey Avenue events draw people past the doors that were for lease last year.
The north end is further along, but the rest of the island is following the same pattern of keeping what survived and building around it. At 4200 Gulf Boulevard, the Miramar Resort has a new eight-story tower standing beside the remaining buildings of a motel that first welcomed guests more than 70 years ago. The project changed direction partway through, which saved part of the original property from demolition. The 50-room hotel will keep the Miramar name as part of the JdV by Hyatt collection, with 30 rooms in the tower and 20 in renovated sections of the old motel. An eighth-floor restaurant and bar called Solara will serve steak and seafood. Owner Kevin Bowden is aiming for December but is telling guests to expect the winter 2026–27 season. "I don't want to overpromise," he told the Catalyst.
The city has also scheduled an informational meeting for Wednesday, October 14, on a conditional-use request to renovate and expand the Beach Haven Resort Motel on Gulf Boulevard. In Pass-a-Grille, the Seahorse at 800 Pass-a-Grille Way reopened on February 6 after nearly 18 months closed. Bids to rehabilitate the 7th Avenue Pier at 700 Pass-a-Grille Way are due November 4. The contract allows 180 calendar days from the start of work.
Back at the north end, the sand is finished too. Pinellas County lists the Upham Beach nourishment as complete, with dune planting wrapped up on May 21, 2026. That puts a rebuilt beach a short walk from a Blind Pass Road and Corey Avenue that are open for the season with a partly new set of tenants.
If you own on the north end and you're wondering how this year's storefront turnover on Corey Avenue and Blind Pass Road affects your home's value, The Link Property Group can walk you through it. Request an instant home valuation or schedule a consultation, and we'll give you a clear read on your own block.
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