Southern Grounds in St. Petersburg has a funky vibe and robust food menu. | Photos courtesy of Southern Grounds.
Jordan Hooten, co-founder of the St. Petersburg, Florida, location of Southern Grounds, has always worked remotely, often choosing a coffee shop as his office.
“I stopped in a Southern Grounds location in Jacksonville, Florida, and the food attracted me as a customer,” he said of the café. “It had the most robust menu of any coffee shop I’d been to.”
Hooten, who is in real estate, was a regular at a First Watch in his hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida, where he was automatically taken to “his” table in the back near a power source for his laptop. He would stay for a couple of hours, enjoying the restaurant’s innovative breakfast selections while he worked.
Southern Grounds seemed like the kind of place that could become a less-structured hangout than a full-service restaurant; a community hub that offered better food and a funkier vibe than St. Petersburg’s current crop of coffee cafes.
When the Jacksonville operator approached Hooten to help expand the eight-unit fast-casual coffee concept, he agreed. Along with his partner Nick Presti, the two became Southern Grounds’ first franchisees. First order of business: hire a chef to curate the menu.
Locally sourced, scratch-made menu
A coffee concept has to have good coffee, and Southern Grounds prides itself on its fair-trade program. The chain sources directly from farmers through its roaster, Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea, and offers a full range of espresso drinks as well as chai and matcha beverages. But the extensive food menu is what sets the place apart.
The Breakfast Burrito is a hearty way to start the day.
While guests can pair their latte or macchiato with any number of treats from the pastry menu, it’s the hearty breakfast menu that is a differentiator. “A customer can have a full meal here, made from scratch, any time of day,” said Hooten.
Protein-packed choices include the Grits Bowl featuring stone ground grits, poached egg, cheddar, bacon crumbles and chives; the Breakfast Burrito with sausage, fried potatoes, cheddar, jalapeño and scrambled eggs topped with house-made ranchero sauce and salsa verde; and a Greek Omelet with lamb, feta, tomatoes, spinach, onions, house-made tzatziki and dill. Prices range from around $9 to $16.
On the lighter side are Avocado Toast and a Burrata Tartine with fresh burrata cheese, roasted heirloom tomatoes, arugula, balsamic glaze and za’atar on sourdough toast.
“Our chef trained with the chef up in Jacksonville, and we source locally as much as possible,” said Hooten. “Everything is made to order, and guests who come in for breakfast—or any time of day—are welcome to hang out as long as they like. People also meet up just to socialize and not work, many with their dogs.”
The Korean Steak Bowl has been a hit with Southern Grounds guests.
To cater to appetites later in the day, the choices are more lunch- and dinner-centric. One of the biggest hits, said Hooten, is the Korean Steak Bowl, composed of grilled hanger steak over jasmine rice with cucumber slaw, soy glaze, cilantro and gochujang yogurt sauce. A trio of burgers made with local grass-fed beef are also popular options, especially the Southern Ground Burger with gruyere, bacon, sauteed onions, herbs and mushrooms on an ancient grain bun. These come with French fries cooked in beef tallow.
“We’ve been told our fries are the best in St. Pete,” said Hooten, adding that the kitchen is nearly seed oil-free.
The menu also offers a variety of sandwiches, salads and even entrees such as Churrasco Steak Frites ($22). Wine and beer are also available, the latter through a partnership with St. Pete-based Green Bench Brewing Company. Some of that local brewery’s beers are on tap.
Creating a community vibe
The lineup of smoothies, cold-pressed juices, lemonades and other caffeine-free beverages attracts non-coffee drinkers later in the day, as do the baked goods from local Blueberry bakery.
Southern Grounds cakes and pastries are from Blueberry bakery.
“Blueberry is the Jacksonville bakery that partners with Southern Grounds,” said Hooten. “It supplies everything from full cakes to single cookies.” Among the specialties are a Gingersnap Cheesecake Sandwich, Blackberry Chocolate Chip Muffin and Eggnog Bourbon Cake.
With its location in a pedestrian-friendly section of St. Petersburg, this Southern Grounds location has the potential to become the community hub Hooten is planning. Since its opening last August, it’s already become a meeting place for a variety of social clubs, he said.
“I would say it’s close to being a bridge between Starbucks and First Watch, but less transactional and funkier; not as structured and more like a club,” he added.
Pat plans and executes menu, food and drink stories for Restaurant Business and hosts the weekly Menu Talk podcast. She provides in-depth coverage of chefs, trends and menu innovation.