Debbie and George Sayegh came from Brooklyn, where they ran restaurants including a Cuban coffee shop that used the same Cuban sandwich recipe Bodega serves today. George trained partly in Miami and fell for Latin food; the couple say they built Bodega for themselves because they were hungry for something different. It is a walk-up window with all outdoor seating and a juice bar next door, and the Cuban sandwich and lechon platter are the dishes the venue ties its name to. The same couple opened Baba in Grand Central in 2019 and closed it on 3 July 2026.
A St. Pete-born bakery and cafe that says it is 'dedicated to creating the ultimate bakery experience without the use of gluten'. The downtown shop is one of two, with the other at 6653 Central Ave, and St. Pete Rising reported in September 2026 that a third cafe and production kitchen was due in the Skyway Marina District in October. The menu marks vegan dishes, including a daily vegan soup and Ed's Vegan Burger.
This is the room that was Love Food Central, a vegan and gluten-free kitchen in Grand Central for nearly a decade. It reopened in December 2025 as FireWater with chef Sal Corteo and a menu that added vegetarian and pescatarian dishes. St. Pete Rising lists the vegan plates that stayed, among them the Portobello Burger, the Thai Peanut Cucumber Wrap and a Maple Dijon Chickpea salad. The stated goal: a table where a vegan and a vegetarian can both order comfortably.
A small German counter on the 900 block serving sausages, schnitzel, spaetzle and dumplings, with vegan dishes on the menu. The site publishes no origin story or owner name.
BellyUp St. Pete / Vegan
Vegan St. Pete
A vegan option and a vegan kitchen are two different dinners.
Fully vegan kitchens and the places that mark vegan dishes on their own menus, from Central Avenue to the Gulfport waterfront.
What these spots are known for
The same vegan spots, sorted by the reasons people actually pick them.
4 spots
Debbie and George Sayegh came from Brooklyn, where they ran restaurants including a Cuban coffee shop that used the same Cuban sandwich recipe Bodega serves today. George trained partly in Miami and fell for Latin food; the couple say they built Bodega for themselves because they were hungry for something different. It is a walk-up window with all outdoor seating and a juice bar next door, and the Cuban sandwich and lechon platter are the dishes the venue ties its name to. The same couple opened Baba in Grand Central in 2019 and closed it on 3 July 2026.
A small German counter on the 900 block serving sausages, schnitzel, spaetzle and dumplings, with vegan dishes on the menu. The site publishes no origin story or owner name.
The Matchin family opened Plant Love here in spring 2019. Mama Jo develops the recipes and her son Jordan handles expansion. The shop makes its dairy-free ice cream in house, more than 50 rotating flavors, and the own site now says it has added Hershey's dairy ice cream in 12 flavors at both shops. That means the counter that was fully vegan is no longer fully vegan.
Chef Ronicca Whaley started Shiso Crispy as a food truck in Pinellas Park, hand-folding gyoza. The site says Tampa Bay Times readers voted it 'Best of the Best' in 2020 and 2021 and that she has appeared six times on Guy's Grocery Games. The Central Ave room is the original storefront and what the group calls its flagship; there is now a second St. Pete kitchen on the Jannus Block and one in downtown Tampa.
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