Following eight months of renovations, Naked Farmer will be re-opening its original restaurant location in St. Petersburg March 27. For founder and CEO Jordan Johnson, it’s a “full circle moment.”
The brand has locations all around Florida – and a restaurant in North Carolina. Johnson plans to expand the concept to Nashville later this year. In 2020, the first venture opened on 200 Central Avenue.
“I started Naked Farmer after reading a book called Food Fix by Mark Hyman, who is a functional medicine New York Times bestselling author,” Johnson explained. “The whole premise of the book is how eating food from local farms is better for the planet, better for our bodies and better for the economy too.”
This led him to create a concept that revolved around agriculture, chefs and community. Seasonal items are key to the experience. Everything is fresh and cooked from scratch.
“The idea was simple – take fine dining culinary techniques and apply them to the convenience of fast casual,” he said, “and build a better food system by sourcing food from farms close to home.”
It took off.
Jordan Johnson
The initial St. Pete restaurant led to establishments in Tampa, Coral Gables, Sunrise, Miami, Sarasota and Fort Lauderdale. In 2025, the company moved its headquarters to the Thousand & One office tower in the Water Street Tampa neighborhood.
Renovating the downtown space was a way to reinvest in the “proving ground for everything the brand has become,” Johnson explained. Additionally, the company plans to open another St. Petersburg location on 4th Street this summer.
“St. Pete is a food curious city with people who genuinely support local businesses,” he added. “That kind of community is exactly what a concept like Naked Farmer needed to grow.”
The over $1.5 million project was extensive. Johnson and his team even installed a new plumbing system below the concrete floor.
“Nothing that was in the location before – not a single piece of tile or kitchen equipment – will be returning,” he said. “It will be a completely new location.”
The restaurant’s size has also increased. Johnson explained that the landlord offered more space for the renovation. This has allowed the team to build out a larger kitchen to accommodate the “demand.”
It will have an aesthetic design that is similar to newer locations. Additionally, the establishment will feature natural finishes and colors to reflect Naked Farmer’s focus on the Earth.
“We want to bring our very best,” he said. “Redesigning the restaurant up to today’s standards with all the learnings taken from the last six years was something that needed to be done.”
The effort was initially scheduled to be completed at the end of 2025. Permitting challenges delayed the process, Johnson added.