Matt Kaye will launch Easy Tiger next month at 915 1st Ave. N. in St. Petersburg’s EDGE District. It’s a hi-fi listening lounge and cocktail bar. The 1,600-square-foot spot sits on the same block as The Bends, which Kaye started over ten years ago.

Vinyl DJ sets will spin through a Klipsch Heritage speaker system paired with McIntosh amplification. DJ Casper will guide the music and invite local DJs plus traveling ones across many genres.

“You can still talk to the person next to you, but the music sounds incredible,” Kaye said, according to St. Pete Rising. “It’s about creating an atmosphere where everything works together — the sound, the drinks, the design.”

Kaye runs this project with his wife, Victoria Kaye, and partners, Chris Stone and Craig Dragoonis. He also owns Wild Child, a bistro and cocktail bar, and Slim Charmer, a martini bar with Mediterranean small plates. Both sit in the Grand Central District.

Oliver Shaw helped design materials and textures. Kaye and Stone built the interior together.

Chris Trull serves as beverage director. He designed drink programs at Wild Child and Slim Charmer. Easy Tiger’s menu will offer 15 to 18 cocktails plus zero-proof options.

“I wanted the cocktails to reflect the room,” Trull said. “Playful but polished, with a little bit of nostalgia but also a lot of global influence.”

One drink reimagines the Incredible Hulk, a late-1990s club drink made with Hennessy and Hpnotiq. This one’s clarified and force-carbonated. The updated version uses Japanese melon, citrus, and carbonation for a highball-style cocktail.

Lavish Habits features marshmallow-infused Tequila Ocho Reposado, lactic passionfruit cordial, Chinola, and prosecco acid with passionfruit caviar. El Tigre is a house martini with Spanish gin, sherry, vermouth, and pepper brine. There’s also an Enzoni variation that leans grape-forward, using pisco and verjus.

Kaye studied graphic design at the School of Visual Arts. He worked in New York City’s nightlife scene for over a decade before returning to St. Petersburg, where he opened The Bends in 2013.

Kaye purchased the building from Sanford Goldman, an architect who studied under Frank Lloyd Wright. “It was important to him that the building didn’t get torn down,” Kaye said. “Being able to keep the character of the space and continue doing something creative here means a lot.”