Largo's new downtown civic complex is getting two new restaurants, including a live-music offshoot of a St. Petersburg sports bar, after city commissioners approved 10-year leases on August 18 for Bocelli Modern Italian and Dead Bob's inside Horizon West Bay. The vote came with a catch that has some residents grumbling: the city will reimburse Dead Bob's for up to $414,400 in construction costs to build out its raw commercial space, with the restaurant covering anything beyond that.
A Sports Bar Brand Bets on Live Music
The new location, branded “Live at Dead Bob's,” will take over 2,072 square feet inside the complex's parking garage building, complete with outdoor patio seating tied to an adjacent, city-built covered stage, according to St. Pete Rising. It marks the brand's first venue designed around regular live performances. Dead Bob's is known in St. Petersburg as a sports bar, and co-owner Ben Scherlis has been expanding his footprint across Pinellas County, including opening a separate pizzeria concept called Bob's Side Piece in March at the original West St. Petersburg location after moving the main bar to a larger Central Avenue spot in late 2025, as Hoodline previously reported.
Anchoring the front of the complex along West Bay Drive will be Bocelli Modern Italian, a Tampa-based restaurant taking over more than 6,400 square feet, according to Tampa Bay Times. Largo describes the flagship dining spot as featuring house-made pasta, brick-oven pizzas, an open kitchen, private dining, and a full-liquor bar, marking the restaurant group's second Tampa Bay area location. Both restaurants are expected to open in 2027.
The Vote That Split the Commission
The city commission approved the two leases on a 5-1 vote. Commissioner Curtis Holmes cast the sole dissenting vote against both leases, objecting to the use of city funds for private commercial buildouts, while Vice Mayor Chris Johnson abstained from both votes due to a business conflict of interest, the Times reported. The debate over public buildout allowances has become one of the more contentious threads in Largo's push to fill out its new downtown hub, even as the two new leases pushed the commercial component of Horizon West Bay to 75% leased, per Spectrum Bay News 9.
The scrutiny is not new. Horizon West Bay, an $85 million mixed-use civic development combining an 87,000-square-foot City Hall, a 350-space public parking garage, and 15,000 to 18,000 square feet of commercial space, officially opened on May 19, according to Beacon Media. Hoodline covered the opening and City Hall's move to West Bay Drive earlier this year. Construction had already been delayed by more than a year due to 2024 hurricane recovery efforts and a $500,000 change order approved in March to resolve fire panel and emergency sign code compliance issues before opening, the Times reported at the time.
Filling Out a Growing Tenant Roster
Bocelli and Dead Bob's join a tenant list that already includes Louis Pappas Fresh Greek, Parlor Doughnuts, Strachan's Ice Cream, and beauty studio The Tox, according to St. Pete Catalyst. Hoodline reported in April on Parlor Doughnuts' arrival along the same West Bay Drive corridor, part of a broader effort by the city to curate a walkable mix of food and lifestyle businesses around its new civic core.
That push got another boost in June, when the Largo City Commission passed Ordinance No. 2025-07 establishing the West Bay Drive Downtown Entertainment District, an open-container “sip-and-stroll” zone between Clearwater-Largo Road and Missouri Avenue that allows 16-ounce drinks from designated venues, as Hoodline reported at the time. With Dead Bob's outdoor patio and covered stage programming planned nearby, the entertainment district could give the new sports bar and its neighbors a built-in reason for evening foot traffic once construction wraps up next year.
