St. Petersburg to join Michelin Guide in latest Florida expansion
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Visit St. Pete-Clearwater president/CEO Brian Lowack speaks to reporters on Beach Drive in downtown St. Pete. Behind him are Pinellas County commissioners Kathleen Peters and Brian Scott. Photo: Kathryn Varn/Axios
The Michelin Guide and its coveted stars are coming to Pinellas, the county's tourism board announced Tuesday.
Why it matters: Restaurants from St. Petersburg to Tarpon Springs will now be eligible to appear in the Michelin Guide and for award recognition — any of which would put Pinellas on the map for culinary excellence.
State of play: The guide expanded to Florida in 2022, becoming the fifth U.S. destination after New York, D.C., Chicago and California.
- But only Tampa (the city, not the Tampa Bay region), Orlando and Miami were eligible for Michelin honors.
How it works: Florida's tourism board and the local tourism agencies representing those cities shelled out close to $1.5 million total over three years to expand the guide to the Sunshine State, the Miami Herald reported in 2021.
- Visit Tampa Bay's payments of about $116,000 per year for three years brought the guide to Tampa, per the Tampa Bay Times.
- Visit St. Pete-Clearwater, Pinellas County's tourism arm, wasn't part of the deal — until now.
Driving the news: The agency announced Tuesday that it had signed a two-year contract with Michelin that will make Pinellas restaurants eligible for the next round of awards, which are typically handed out at a springtime ceremony.
- Visit St. Pete-Clearwater will pay Michelin $90,000 a year under the contract, tourism agency president/CEO Brian Lowack said.
- The organization is funded by the county's 6% tourism development tax on hotel and rental-home accommodations.
What they're saying: "People come to this county because we have beautiful beaches and beautiful cities, and they discover that we have delicious food," Dunedin restauranteur Zach Feinstein said at a news conference Tuesday. "Now they're gonna know before they come here."
- And the timing couldn't be better as Pinellas continues to recover from last year's brutal hurricane season, County Commissioner Kathleen Peters added.
- "Our businesses are back open, our beaches are strong," she said, "and now we've got the opportunity to really boast about the incredible restaurants and dining experiences we have."
The big picture: The Florida expansion also includes Greater Fort Lauderdale and the Palm Beaches, Michelin announced.
Between the lines: The money helps offset the cost of making the guides, which are printed and available online, per the Herald. But the payments don't sway the inspectors who hand out the awards, Michelin says.
- The goal for the tourism agencies was to attract more international travelers to the Sunshine State. Those tourists stay longer and spend more, a representative from Miami's tourism arm told the Herald.
Zoom in: Tampa wasn't awarded stars the first year, but since then five restaurants have received one star each: Ebbe, Lilac, Koya, Kōsen and Rocca.
- Streetlight Taco, Rooster and the Till, Gorkhali Kitchen and Psomi have received the Bib Gourmand designation, which honors good food at a great value.
- The guide includes 29 Tampa restaurants in total, including institutions like Bern's Steakhouse and Columbia.