Manhattan Casino St Pete Fl
History
The historic Manhattan Casino has been one St. Petersburg's premier event facilities for decades. The facility offers affordable elegance in the heart of St. Historic Manhattan Casino, Saint Petersburg, FL. The vision is for Historic Manhattan Casino to once again become a key venue for cultural arts along 22nd Street. Saint Petersburg, FL 33712 Map Pre-paid Parking The Historic Manhattan Casino is a beautifully renovated and historically significant building in the heart of the area known as The Deuces.
Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughn, Fats Domino and the Ink Spots, can still be imagined playing the stage with their jazz and rhythmic sounds, in the Manhattan Casino. Built in 1925, Elder Jordan, a successful black businessman and his sons (with R.L. Sharpe) built the 12,000 sq. ft., two-story Manhattan Casino, and named the Jordan Dance Hall in 1931. Jordan Dance Hall was built to provide a place for entertainment to showcase for local African American artists, since it was not an opportunity afforded to them by the St. Petersburg Coliseum. The Manhattan hosted dances and often featured local jazz, blues and rock & roll artists. The Manhattan Casino closed its doors in 1968. After sitting empty for 43 years, Mayor Bill Foster invested $2.8M to renovate the historic site as a part of his Foster Forty Plan. It was first operated by the City and a private entrepreneur. However, in November 2017, the St. Petersburg City Council unanimously voted to award the Callaloo Group a five-year lease to conduct business in the historic Manhattan Casino
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Manhattan Casino has a rich and celebrated history as one of the first social gathering places for St. Petersburg's Black community, but in the present, it’s had difficulties finding new ways to stay relevant. So after more than one restaurant has come and gone at that location, owners are building on a new concept.
“So what we decided is to turn this into is a multi-restaurant food hall,” Callaloo co-founder Mario Farias said, “and we’re also going to do co-work space, which is going to be pretty unique, in the building next door.”
The idea is to bring four restaurants together working out of one big kitchen. Opening just one restaurant during a pandemic can be a risky business deal, but Farias said he thinks the time is right for this food hall.
“There are a lot of young chefs that may be out of work because a lot of the restaurants let them go,” Farias said, “and they might have a great concept on their head, and this is a great opportunity and when adversity hits, it’s a great opportunity for opportunity.”
Manhattan Casino St Pete Florida
With the additional co-working space for these aspiring restauranteurs, developers said they hope this historic space can make history again as a breeding ground for future businesses.