An ode to Wayward Goose and the St. Pete that was
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My Wayward/Blue Goose bathroom selfies over the years, in which you can see the evolution of my fashion and phone camera quality, and on the right, my final photo, taken this month. Photos: Kathryn Varn/Axios
This September marks 10 years of living in St. Petersburg, and I'm having a lot of feelings about it.
Why it matters: It's still, in so many ways, the beautiful, vibrant, artsy Sunshine City I fell in love with. But, amid this ongoing development boom, there have also been some brutal losses.
The latest: The Wayward Goose, a cozy dive-adjacent bar, pool hall and local art space that opened about a decade ago in the Edge District (and that will always be The Blue Goose to me, trademark law be damned) is closing this month.
- "Our lease is not being renewed, and that's probably all that needs to be said," the owner wrote in a heartfelt Facebook post.
- I don't have any more details on the lease issue or what the space will become; a representative from the bar declined to comment, and I wasn't able to reach an actual human at the Connecticut-based investment firm that owns the building.
Here's what I do know: The bar about a month ago posted about its new pool tables, an odd move if it had been planning to close.
- The same investment firm, Belpointe, also owns the 15-story apartment buildings rising next door, according to property records.
- And the Goose's neighbor, burger joint Engine No. 9, in the last year or two signed a 10-year lease to remain at the property, restaurant owner Jason Esposito told Axios.
What he's saying: "It's saddening, I can tell you that," Esposito told me about his neighbor's closure.
- His restaurant opened in 2012, when the beloved dive bar The Bends was the only other game in that part of town, he said. The Goose opened a few years later.
- "Us three together, we really made what's now called the Edge District," Esposito said. He's held on through rent increases, new competition and the loss of on-site parking.
Yes, but: He's watching the changing city with increasing concern, noting that his locally owned neighbor is closing around the same time another corporate chain opened on Central Avenue. ("The Melting Pot?" I asked him. "You said it," he said.)
- "I don't want Central to be a Fourth Street," Esposito said.
- And, no matter what happens to the Goose space, he said, "it's never gonna be the same."
My nostalgic heart swelled. I grew up at the Goose, sipping their signature lavender lemonades through the highs and lows of my 20s.
- I flirted with first dates over darts games, played "Dance Yrself Clean" on the jukebox way too many times, and stumbled in to retrieve my credit card the day after raucous nights to non-judgmental eyes from the bartenders.
- I'd often head across the street to The Bends to finish the night, and for that institution, I have what feels like good news: The Bends' ownership group in 2023 bought the building it shares with Amulet Tattoo and a law firm, according to property and business records.
For everything else in this shifting city, this sentiment from the Goose's closing announcement rings true:
- "This city was a different place when we began. It's lost a bit of its soul with all the out-of-state developers putting up condos," it says, "but, that's progress."