Florafête Bouquet Bar is turning a previously home-based, market-oriented floral business into a permanent downtown St. Petersburg shop. The business plans to open at 400 Beach Drive NE with a build-your-own bouquet bar, retail goods, custom floral arrangements and a nine-seat wine and coffee bar; an official opening is expected in October.
The storefront, in Suite 173 of the 400 Beach Drive Condominiums, is undergoing an interior buildout led by Talica Design. The planned space is intended to support floral workshops, private events, memberships and drinks alongside the bouquet bar, according to St. Pete Rising.
The Beach Drive location was not Watkins' original plan. She had intended to open Florafête's first physical storefront at St. Pete Beach's Dolphin Village, but changed course after a three-alarm fire tore through the shopping center in May 2025, heavily damaging several retail spaces, including the plaza's CVS and Publix, according to the same St. Pete Rising report.
From a Home-Based Pop-Up to a Full Storefront
Watkins began showcasing and designing bouquets at Tampa Bay markets in 2022, inspired by a build-your-own bouquet flower cart she'd encountered in Miami, according to WTSP. The first cart concept involved building bouquets from a variety of stems, Watkins said, and the business has since grown from operating out of her home into a full-service floral design company offering traditional custom arrangements, signature bouquets, and gifts alongside floral-inspired merchandise.
Watkins previously worked in hospitality before becoming a florist, a background that shapes the new shop's dual identity. The new shop combines hospitality principles with the natural joy of flowers.
Before landing a permanent address, Watkins had already built a presence in St. Petersburg's arts scene, serving as a featured floral designer at the Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg's 27th annual Art in Bloom exhibition in April 2024 — a showcase where florists craft live floral interpretations of fine art, according to Creative Pinellas.
A Prime Spot in One of Downtown's Landmark Towers
The new storefront is at 400 Beach Drive, a 29-story luxury residential tower completed in 2007, according to a 2005 report from the Tampa Bay Times. The Ten Penny Collection lists 92 residential units.
Suite 173 previously housed Savory Spice Shop, which operated at 400 Beach Drive in 2011 and whose space closed in 2024, per WTSP. Local residents Paul and Joan Bailey operated the shop and invested in the franchise, according to 83 Degrees Media. Beach Drive itself is widely recognized as downtown St. Petersburg's premier waterfront dining and shopping thoroughfare, anchored by the Museum of Fine Arts and the nearby Renaissance Vinoy Resort, with a pedestrian-friendly layout lined by sidewalk cafes, art galleries and boutique retail, according to Beach Drive St. Pete.
Downtown context
The available research does not quantify how Beach Drive's retail and restaurant mix has changed since 2020, but it underscores the district's broader commercial importance. According to the Downtown St. Pete Partnership's 2025 Development Guide, downtown occupies 3% of the city's physical space while containing 30% of its jobs.
Part of a Bigger Sip-and-Shop Flower Trend
Florafête's dual concept isn't happening in a vacuum. St. Petersburg has seen a wave of hybrid floral-beverage venues in recent years, including Bouquet & Bordeaux, a French-inspired floral boutique and wine bar developed by Leigh Catoe Tillman that announced a 2,700-square-foot space in the EDGE District, according to St. Pete Catalyst. Another concept, Pistil House, is planned for the Grand Central District, featuring flower-prepping bars, to-go wine, a front porch and a fireplace, per St. Pete Rising's earlier reporting on that project.
Miami International Airport handled 91% of all air-imported flowers nationwide in 2025, according to Miami International Airport. Most of those imported blooms originate from production centers in Colombia and Ecuador.
The interior buildout is underway ahead of the opening. Watkins has told WTSP she's targeting late October or early November for the doors to officially open on Beach Drive.
