"We care about every photo that's under polyurethane stuck to the bar," Cullen Mahoney told St Pete Rising. "We care about every plaque screwed into the wall. We're keeping it what it is because that's what makes it important to St. Pete."
In March, the corner of 22nd Avenue South looked like it was closing for good. The St Pete Catalyst reported that The Chattaway reopened on September 24, 2026. The detail that matters most for Old Southeast is what the new owners bought. They bought the restaurant and also the 0.70-acre property beneath it. That land includes a parking lot. On Saturday, October 24, the lot becomes the starting point for the Old Southeast Artist Enclave Studio Tour.
The Deal That Almost Went the Other Way
Creative Loafing reported the planned closure on March 17, 2026. The property was under contract and expected to change hands in early August, and the last service was planned for mid-July. The family that had run it for decades was ready to step away from a full-service restaurant. In St Pete Rising's closure story, Debby Kitto called the work "a lot of work" that "never really stops."
The site first came to Mahoney as a redevelopment opportunity. According to St Pete Rising's reopening story, the envisioned uses for the 0.70 acres were townhomes or mixed-use retail. Mahoney said his reaction was immediate. "We have to find a way to preserve this," he said. "There's no other place like this on the south side."
He lives within walking distance and had invested in restaurants before, though he had never run one. He looked for partners who wanted to keep the place intact. Mark Ferguson of Ferg's Sports Bar grew up in Lakewood Estates and remembers biking to The Chattaway as a kid. John John Delladonna, owner of Shrimpy's Waterfront, rounded out the group.
Owning the land changes what the restaurant can promise. "We want to hold onto it in perpetuity," Mahoney told St Pete Rising. "Now that we own it, we want to ensure it doesn't go anywhere." A tenant restaurant stays only as long as its lease does. When the operators also hold the deed, the patio, the garden and the lot stay under the same people who said they want them kept.
How Old the Corner Actually Is
You've probably heard The Chattaway called "century-old," "more than 90 years" old and "75 years" old. Those numbers measure different things. The building on the site went up in 1922 as a wooden structure, and its first tenant was Four Corners Grocery. After Prohibition ended in 1933 it became the Chattaway Drive-In. Helen Lund bought the business in 1951, when it already carried the Chattaway name. Her son, Everett Lund, later joined her, and eventually his wife, Jillian Frers, did too.
Frers gave the place its most unexpected tradition. In 1999, according to the Catalyst's history of the restaurant, she began converting the former game room into an English tea room. In 2021 the Tampa Bay Times described a reservation-only afternoon tea with sandwiches, scones and sweets, booked at least 48 hours ahead. The current menu on thechattaway.com lists a pot of tea. It shows no bookable afternoon-tea service, so call ahead if that's what you're coming for.
What Changed, What Stayed
The new owners have kept the old character and spent their money on the things that used to send people home early, especially rain.
| Since the September reopening | |
|---|---|
| Kept | The burger Mahoney called "the holy grail" of the Chattaway experience, the photos and plaques, the leafy courtyard, the bathrooms largely as they were |
| Added outside | A second outdoor bar, plus an overhead canopy with fans so the patio can stay open in rain |
| Added behind the bar | A full liquor license |
| Added to the menu | Seafood inspired by Shrimpy's, Ferg's wings, vegan options |
| Added inside | A new mural in the front restroom by Doodles by Lu |
| Still to come | Work on aging equipment, safety needs and the tea room's worn floor, so the room can be used for regular dining; shirts printed with vintage photos |
The canopy matters most for regulars. Before it, rain could make the patio unusable and force the restaurant to close. On the restaurant's Visit page, hours run 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Reservations and private events go through 727-823-1594. Hours can change, so check the page before planning around them.
The owners are considering live music, community events and weekend markets, but none had been announced as of the reopening coverage. Mahoney said the goal is to avoid becoming a crowded sports bar. He wants a place where neighbors, families, children and dogs gather as development keeps moving through St. Pete.
October 24 Is the First Test of That Idea
The Studio Tour is the neighborhood event Mahoney's description fits most closely, and it lands one month to the day after the reopening. On Saturday, October 24, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Old Southeast artists open their home studios. The tour is free and self-guided. According to the Old Southeast Neighborhood Association's event page, you pick up a map at the information tent in The Chattaway parking lot, or at any participating studio.
Old Southeast can host this kind of tour because of a designation few St. Pete neighborhoods have. According to OSNA, residents supported an Artist Enclave designation in a 2013 vote, and the City of St. Petersburg granted it in 2014. Under it, artists can use their homes as work studios, artist lofts, galleries and instructional spaces. Old Southeast and Historic Kenwood are the only two neighborhoods in the city with the designation.
The tour is newer than the designation. Old Southeast artists Scott Durfee and George Medeiros are credited with establishing the enclave. In a 2019 report, The Crow's Nest said Esther Aall helped revive it and organized its first self-guided tour that October with others, when 13 residents opened their homes. By 2022 the tour had grown to 21 artists across 13 studios. The Artisan Magazine counted 19 artists at 15 studios in 2024.
Whose Studios You Might Walk Into
The 2026 tour map comes out on the day of the tour, and no participant list has been published. OSNA's artist directory shows the range of work made in the neighborhood. Any of these artists may or may not have a stop on October 24:
- Amanda Westenberg hand-builds ceramic vessels.
- Annie Johnson runs a letterpress studio that makes cards, prints and posters.
- Brian Ottoson sculpts flowers and birds from scrap steel and silverware.
- Nancy Jones makes stained glass.
- Joanne Manwaring makes shell art.
- Jean Triol paints in watercolor, oil and acrylic, and Sara von Waltsleben works in watercolor and colored pencil.
- Donika Vlada works across recycled-material art, photography, writing and graphic design, and Tom Gammack has a background in ceramics.
According to the directory, Mary Grieco takes part in every Studio Tour. If you make art in Old Southeast and want a spot on the map, the enclave asks you to email [email protected] with your name, contact information and medium.
Planning the Saturday Around the Lot
The tour and the restaurant keep different hours, and that shapes how the day goes.
- 10 a.m. The tour starts. Pick up your map at the tent in The Chattaway parking lot at 358 22nd Ave S. The restaurant doesn't open for another hour, so get the map and start walking.
- 11 a.m. The Chattaway opens. A midday stop for a burger or Ferg's wings splits the route in two, and the canopy covers the patio if an October shower rolls through.
- Afternoon Finish the studios before 4 p.m. Recent tours have had about 13 to 15 stops, which is a lot to cover on foot after a long lunch.
- Evening The Chattaway stays open until 11 p.m. on Saturdays, so dinner on the patio can close out the day.
The studios have work for sale at every stop, according to the tour listing from Visit St. Pete/Clearwater.
For most of this year, Old Southeast expected The Chattaway's corner to become something else by now. Instead, on October 24 the tour hands out its maps from the tent in that parking lot, and the restaurant opens its doors an hour later.
At Melody Stang, we follow the corners and traditions that give Old Southeast its character, from The Chattaway's patio to the studios along the tour route. If you'd like to talk about what's changing on your street, let's connect. Schedule a consultation.
