Green Bench Brewing Company, which opened in 2013, could have only been created in St. Petersburg. Even its name reflects on the city’s history.
The establishment’s owners are expanding the concept outside of St. Pete for the first time. A new tasting room is scheduled to open next month in Tampa, at 200 N. Tampa Street.
“Our basic goal, first and foremost, is always to try to provide beer direct to consumer,” co-founder and co-owner Khristopher Johnson said. “We can provide some of our products outside of the core range to the Tampa market that otherwise do not get there very often if at all.”
Conversations about the expansion began earlier this year. The space is currently operated by The Pint and Brew. He added that the process has been going “quickly.” Green Bench signage has already been installed. Currently, the team is making necessary changes at the facility.
By next week, Johnson hopes to have the location “completely flipped.”
This marks Green Bench’s third location. In early 2019 the company opened the Webb’s City Cellar tasting room, which also serves as a barrel aging facility, adjacent to its original location in the EDGE District.
Green Bench, which operates a production brewery, has an annual 372,000 gallon capacity. In December 2024, VinePair named Green Bench Brewing as one of “30 best breweries in the country right now, according to beer pros.”
“Beer for me has become a medium,” Johnson explained. “It’s sort of my method of expressing how I feel, my desires and my passion.”
The Tampa location is Green Bench Brewing Co.’s first outside of the St. Pete market.
The naming of the company was intentional. Green benches were a commonality in St. Petersburg during the early and mid 20th century. They were symbols of leisure and hospitality. However, the benches have a dark past.
During the era of segregation, African Americans were not allowed to sit on the benches. Johnson and his partners decided to reflect on this history, while honoring the city’s diversity and progress.
“Our goal is to ultimately represent our community and team as well and as respectfully as we can,” he said. “To that end, we want to be very proud of what we do, the decisions that we make and the values that we hold and that usually stems from understanding what our community has been through and where it stands now.”
More so, it’s an opportunity to “inspire where it goes next.”
Green Bench’s Webb’s City Cellar tasting room also has ties to the city’s history. It was named after a former retail juggernaut in St. Petersburg. Founder Doc Webb, who opened the store in 1926, sold a variety of products including groceries, furniture, clothing, pharmaceuticals, toys, auto parts and records.
True to the era, segregation was a part of the Webb’s City experience. While African Americans were able to shop at the store and nearly 10 percent of Webb’s 1,700 employees were Black, they were not permitted to eat at the lunch counters.
In the 1960s, hundreds of African American individuals held demonstrations at the green benches and lunch counters.
“Anywhere we go, the goal is to continue to proudly represent St. Petersburg and our history and community,” Johnson added. “We want to make sure that’s always at the forefront of what we’re doing.”
