Sundial Tenants Include Florida-Based Retailers

Kathy Steele | Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Florida talent will have the chance to shine at Sundial amid the latest national, regional and local retailers added to the upscale mall's tenant portfolio.

Sundial, owned by The Edwards Group, replaces the defunct Baywalk shopping complex at 153 Second Ave. N., in downtown St. Petersburg.

Tracy Negoshian & His, Florida Jean Company, Happy Feet, juxatapose apparel & studio, The Shave Cave and Jackie Z. Style Co., all have Florida or hometown connections. Other retailers recently announced by The Edwards Group are lululemon, L.O.L. Kids, Tommy Bahama, Swim 'n Sport and Marilyn Monroe Glamour Room.

Diamonds Direct is a previously announced tenant.

In the restaurant category, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and Sea Salt, are joining Farmtable Kitchen and Locale Market.

Rounding out the list are Chico's, White House Black Market and Muvico 19 + IMAX. All are holdovers from Baywalk.

Most shops will have "soft" openings by September. The restaurants and market will open by Thanksgiving.

“I am thrilled with the mix of retailers and restaurants we have been able to assemble,” says Sundial owner Bill Edwards, president of The Edwards Group. “We have businesses that truly represent what a downtown shopping destination should be."

Jackie Zumba is among the Florida-based retailers who landed at Sundial.

For two years Zumba's shop, Jackie Z. Style Co., has been named "best boutique" by Sarasota Magazine. Zumba, 27, opened her men's and women's clothing boutique on Sarasota's Main Street in 2011 and will soon move into the new Mall at University Town Center. Her high-end brands include Moods of Norway, Psycho Bunny and Mr. Turk.

At 3,000 square feet, Zumba's Sundial shop will be nearly double the size of her original Sarasota store. "It will mean more room for men's suits, more high-end dresses, shoes and accessories," she says.

She was selective when it came to finding a second location. Miami didn't make the grade but a trip to St. Petersburg and a stroll along Beach Drive convinced her.

"I was looking for something of Sarasota's local feel," she says. "(St. Petersburg) is a tight knit community that supports small businesses. I'm really excited to be part of it. The community seems excited. It's a good mix."

Other Florida-based notables include Tracy Negoshian & His, featuring trendy clothes for the entire family in designs with bold colors and prints. The St. Petersburg-based designer has hundreds of boutiques around the country including a flagship store in Naples.

Happy Feet got its start selling comfort footwear, including Birkenstock and Dansko, in St. Petersburg in the 1980s. There are nine stores now in St. Petersburg and Tampa.

Juxtapose apparel & studio opened its first store in Hyde Park Village in Tampa in 2011. The shop offers women's contemporary fashions, home decor, and off-beat, one-of-a-kind artisan pieces.

The Shave Cave is the first hair salon from St. Petersburg founders of Mens Direct, which sells grooming products. Customers can sip craft beer, fine wine or whiskey while getting haircuts and hot towel shaves.

Florida Jean Company got off the ground nearly eight years ago as a home-based seller of preworn jeans scrounged from yard sales and thrift shops. Today the St. Pete Beach-based retailer sells everything from designer jeans to hats and shoes and board shorts. A shop opened on Ybor City's Seventh Avenue last year.

Celebrated Chef Fabrizio Aielli has owned several restaurants ranked among the top in the nation including Osteria Goldoni and Teatro Goldoni. He moved to Florida and opened Sea Salt in 2008 in Naples. One year later Esquire named it one of the nation's top 20 best new restaurants. Sundial is Aielli's second Florida location for Sea Salt.

Farmtable Kitchen and Locale Market is a creative partnership between California-based chef Michael Mena and former New York-based chef Don Pintabona who is now living in St. Petersburg. Pintabona also is a graduate of the University of South Florida.

Writer: Kathy Steele
Sources: Bill Edwards, Sundail; Jackie Zumba, Jackie Z. Style Co.

Read more articles by Kathy Steele.

Kathy Steele is a freelance writer who lives in the Seminole Heights neighborhood of Tampa. She previously covered Tampa neighborhoods for more than 15 years as a reporter for The Tampa Tribune. She grew up in Georgia but headed north to earn a BA degree from Adelphi University in Garden City, NY. She backpacked through Europe before attending the University of Iowa's Creative Writers' Workshop for two years. She has a journalism degree from Georgia College. She likes writing, history, and movies.