When Jamie Farquharson and Evelyn Powell acquired the storefront
property at 2451 Central Ave. in St. Petersburg, they decided to start
over -- literally and figuratively.
"We totally
gutted the building," explains Farquharson. "It had been a food and
beverage operation, but we basically built it to look like it's been
here for about 40 years."
What they've created
is now a unique tavern called
Beak's Old Florida. The
restaurant and
bar venue
offers patrons a casual main room, an outdoor bamboo dining bar and a
garden patio with free live music and a "comfort food" menu serviced six
nights a week as well as Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
Farquharson is the creator of
The Bubble Room,
which he owned and operated for 13 years before selling the franchise
in 1991 and moving to St. Pete. He and Powell opened Beak's in 2006.
"We just love the area," says Farquharson. "The
area that we're in -- the
Grand Central district —
is just fabulous. It's one human family. It's got all different kinds
of people living here. It's representative in my opinion of how society
should be in terms of diversity."
Farquharson
is proud of Beak's position in that community. "We're racially mixed,
economically diverse and we welcome people from all walks of life.
There's great pride for people who live in this area. For their
accomplishments and what they value in life. It's really not about
money. It's about quality of life."
Beak's Old
Florida is for the over-21 crowd only and is open Tuesday through Friday
from 4 p.m. until close, and noon until close on Saturdays and Sundays.
Featured banks include Dave & Rogers, Bradley Ashby and Bob
Jockers.
Writer:
Missy Kavanaugh
Source:
Jamie
Farquharson, Beak's Old Florida
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