A Brooklyn-Italian restaurant known for its shareable plates and house-made pasta is moving into the space that Sesh St. Pete left behind. Pelato plans to open at 2221 4th Street North, the longtime restaurant address on the city's 4th Street North corridor, after its parent company closed on the 7,630-square-foot property for $4 million.
A Big-Money Deal for a 4th Street Landmark
The purchase, made by Nashville-based Avenue T Hospitality Group, was finalized through a deed recorded on October 7, according to St Pete Rising. Avenue T also took out a $5.355 million loan from Pinnacle Bank as part of the transaction. The company owns both the Pelato and Luogo Italian restaurant brands, per a separate report from St. Pete Catalyst, which notes the property stretches across four parcels totaling 0.47 acres and includes a restaurant building plus an adjacent 25-space parking lot.
No opening date has been announced for the St. Petersburg location. Pelato currently operates in Nashville and Franklin, Tennessee, as well as Charleston, South Carolina — a footprint that grew from a single restaurant born out of a cross-country move.
From a New York Relocation to a Growing Restaurant Group
Pelato was created by chef and restaurateur Anthony Scotto and his wife, Teresa, after the couple relocated from New York to Nashville in 2022. Scotto, who serves as owner and proprietor of Avenue T Hospitality Group according to the company's own team page, had already opened the Italian restaurant Luogo in Nashville's Gulch neighborhood the previous fall, as reported by Axios. Pelato's first location followed in Nashville in 2023, with restaurants in Charleston and Franklin opening after that.
The brand's growth has been steep. Revenue at the original Nashville Pelato climbed 76% from its first full year to its second, then rose another 34% the following year, according to Fortune. The company has committed to opening two more restaurants in 2027, the outlet reported, part of an expansion that now includes St. Petersburg.
What's on the Menu
Pelato is known for shareable small plates and a menu built for the table rather than a traditional entree-and-sides format, per St Pete Rising's report. The lineup includes potato croquettes based on Teresa's mother's recipe, panelle with whipped ricotta, Brooklyn-style fried calamari, and chicken scarpariello drawn from Anthony's family recipes. House-made pastas such as radiatori vodka and bucatini cacio e pepe round out the kitchen's offerings, alongside wine and Italian beer.
A 4th Street Address With a Long History
The property has cycled through several identities over the decades. It was built in the 1930s by woodcarver Earl Gresh, who operated the Earl Gresh Wood Parade tourist attraction on the site — though St. Pete Catalyst's two reports differ slightly on the exact year, with one citing 1930 and another the late 1930s. The building later housed the French restaurant Rollande et Pierre from 1959 to 1985, followed by The Melting Pot for more than three decades.
Matthew Powers purchased the property in 2021, paying either $1.43 million or $1.425 million depending on which St. Pete Catalyst report is cited, before renovating the space and opening Sesh in 2023. Sesh, a restaurant and brewpub, closed permanently in late 2025. The current layout includes an indoor-outdoor bar facing 4th Street North, along with a patio and a large main dining room centered around a brick chimney.
