For St. Petersburg restaurants, summer has always meant slimmer margins. This year, operators say the slow season is arriving with a longer list of challenges than they’ve faced in years.
“If it was one thing, there wouldn’t be this urgency,” said Roger Curlin, director of business growth and engagement for the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce. “It’s literally like 12 different things that are pushing on the industry.”
Rising food costs, higher insurance premiums, increasing rents, lingering hurricane recovery and consumers dining out less frequently have all contributed to the strain, Curlin said. Independent restaurants operate on thin margins, leaving little room to absorb declining sales or rising expenses.
Those challenges are one reason organizers say more restaurant owners are looking to one another for ideas instead of trying to solve every problem alone.
One example is “In Good Taste,” a July 20 event at Forbici St. Pete that aims to bring hospitality professionals together to discuss common challenges and practical solutions.
The event is the second installment of In Good, a speaker series created by Mia Tramontana and Hannah Victoria Lewis. After launching with a broader conversation about community leadership this spring, the organizers shifted toward industry-specific discussions after seeing attendees leave the inaugural event with new collaborators and lasting professional relationships.
“We’re struggling with the same things,” Tramontana said. “Let’s not reinvent the wheel. Let’s come together.”
About 40 hospitality professionals are expected to attend the evening, which includes networking, a fireside discussion with four local hospitality leaders and audience questions.
Organizers say they selected panelists from different corners of the industry so attendees hear a range of perspectives and leave with ideas they can apply in their own businesses.
For Curlin, the growing interest in events like “In Good Taste” reflects the increasingly fragile economics of the restaurant business.
“The general public doesn’t understand the complexities of the hospitality industry,” he said. “It’s a 3% profit business.”
He said restaurants are grappling with higher lease rates, rising insurance premiums, more expensive food and labor costs, all while consumers facing tighter household budgets are dining out less frequently. Restaurants can’t simply raise prices enough to offset those costs without risking customers staying home or choosing another restaurant.
“The weekends don’t matter,” Curlin said. “Monday through Thursday determines whether that business survives.”
Summer simply magnifies those existing pressures. “We gather all of our acorns from October to Mother’s Day,” Curlin said. “Then we spend all those acorns from Mother’s Day to October, hoping to have one acorn left to do it again.”
This year, he said, restaurants entered summer with fewer “acorns” because revenues softened before the slow season arrived while expenses continued climbing.
Those pressures have sparked several efforts aimed at helping restaurant owners share ideas and attract more business.
Earlier this year, the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce launched its quarterly Chef’s Circle Forum with a discussion titled “Saving Summer,” bringing restaurant owners together to discuss many of the same issues, from inflation and consumer spending to marketing and operational challenges. Curlin said the Chamber has increased its focus on hospitality because the industry’s challenges have reached what he described as a “red alert” stage.
The Chamber has also partnered with Visit St. Pete-Clearwater, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Tampa Bay Rowdies on its Game Night St. Pete campaign, encouraging residents and visitors to support local restaurants, bars and entertainment businesses throughout the slower months.
The conversation comes as tourism continues to drive billions of dollars into Pinellas County each year. But recovery from Hurricanes Helene and Milton has been uneven, with some beach businesses reopening only recently after months of repairs.
For Tramontana, that’s exactly why conversations like “In Good Taste” matter.
“We see an opportunity for owners and operators to have a little more breathing room,” she said. “Step out of that daily grind and work on their business instead of just in it.”
Instead of talking in generalities, organizers want panelists to share ideas attendees can actually use. They point to collaborations already happening across Tampa Bay, including chef partnerships, joint events and cross-promotions designed to bring customers through the door during slower periods.
“We’re hoping two guests walk away and do something unique together,” Tramontana said. “A chef collaboration, a venue partnership, an event. That’s what we’re hoping comes out of this room.”
“In Good Taste” will be held Monday, July 20, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Forbici St. Pete. The event will feature a fireside discussion with four Tampa Bay hospitality leaders followed by audience questions and networking. Organizers hope attendees leave with ideas they can put to use in their own businesses and relationships that continue after the event.
Lewis said that’s the goal that has guided the series from the beginning: “In Good is about creating relationships that outlast the night.”
This content provided in partnership with StPeteCatalyst.com
