The Historic Uptown neighborhood in St. Petersburg is getting a small renaissance with the opening of Pete’s General next month. Think of it as a small supermarket similar to the weekend markets in the Tampa Bay area. Residents can walk up and buy a variety of goods, from food to flowers, sold by different vendors. Owners Steve and Sara Peterman noticed the area wasn’t walkable so they made the decision to bring it back to where people stayed in the neighborhood and didn’t feel like they have to go to Central Avenue to get what they want.

In my latest for Creative Loafing, I talked to Steve and he told me everything from which vendors they’re interested in and what they’re bringing to the Historic Uptown. Here’s an excerpt:

“A new store has started taking shape in the Historic Uptown district of St. Petersburg. Located at 493 Seventh Ave. N., Pete’s General is inspired by the weekend markets in Tampa and the bodegas of New York.

Husband-and-wife owners Steven and Sara Peterman noticed a lack of walkable community markets in St. Pete, so they decided to launch their own. They want residents to be able to step outside and right into Pete’s General, which will function as an affordable emporium of fresh, locally sourced products.

“In New York, we have a lot of bodegas and corner stores,” Steven says, “so we’re excited to bring a hyper-local version to St. Pete.”

The couple split their time between Brooklyn and St. Pete’s Magnolia Heights neighborhood, but now they’ll spend even more time in the Sunshine City.

“Our idea is to stock the market with necessities and be waste-conscious,” says Steven.

The idea behind Pete’s General is simple: keep everything local. The store will allow area vendors to showcase their talents in a centralized location, outside of Saturday markets. The Petermans plan to offer items that include fruits, veggies and flowers, along with breakfast foods like bagels.”

To learn more and keep up to date, you can find Pete’s General here and here.