Thursday, April 17, 2025

In this week's edition: Easter events around town, the scoop on South Tampa's legendary Bern's Winefest and why it's a big day for the local food scene.

THINGS TO DO

[MARTHA ASENCIO-RHINE | Times]

With Easter on its way, beaches continue rebirth

Hello, this is culture and food reporter Sharon Kennedy Wynne.

We’ve written quite a bit about how our beach communities have done monumental work cleaning up after back-to-back hurricanes. And now they are trying to get the word out that most of them are back, and businesses are in need of support. 

So it was like a bright sign last week when St. Pete Beach’s pink palace, the Don CeSar, announced it was open again after major storm damage. Take a look inside a freshly remodeled pool area, lobby, bar, restaurant, temporary coffee shop, spa, fitness center and stores. There is still more work to be done to bring back its ice cream shop and ground-level retail and fine dining options. But just opening the doors of the historic hotel caused a boost in business at nearby bars and restaurants.