The Pirate Candy Shop will open its first Pinellas County location at 1614 Central Avenue in downtown St. Petersburg on Sunday, June 28. More than 100 imported items from Scandinavia will come to the Grand Central District.
The big day runs from 10:05 AM to 9:00 PM. Gifts will go to the first people who RSVP and show up.
The 850-square-foot storefront once housed Tabatha Exquisite Touch Beauty Salon. Now it carries sodas, chocolates, gummies, and pick-and-mix candy from Sweden.
What started as a pop-up at 716 S Village Circle in Hyde Park Village, Tampa, grew fast. Long lines formed. Social media posts spread. The owners decided to cross the bay.
“Growing up on other continents of Earth, knowing the pleasure and taste of natural ingredients from true chocolate and candy is something we would like to share with friends and with the United States,” said the owners to St. Pete Rising.
BUBS candy stands out as the featured product. These gummies come in sour and fruity flavors and are 100% vegan, made without gelatin or animal-derived ingredients.
Customers can build their own bags or buckets from self-serve bins. Pre-made bags put together by staff offer another option.
This self-serve setup mirrors the “lösgodis” pick-and-mix culture popular in Sweden, where shoppers scoop candy into containers weighed at checkout.
Two international families run things as a passion project. They want European-style sweets made with fewer artificial additives than typical American products.
Downtown St. Pete will have a longer-term opening. The Tampa location continues as a pop-up that may stick around.
The Grand Central District offers walkable access to independent shops, bars, and restaurants, while murals fill the corridor where this new store sits.
The Hyde Park Village location helped the concept go viral last fall. Weekend crowds and word-of-mouth pushed the decision to expand into St. Petersburg.
This shop positions itself as both a nostalgic taste of home for European transplants and an “adventure candy” experience for local families, while tourists trying Scandinavian sweets for the first time make up another customer base.
Imported sodas and treats show off natural flavors and ingredients. Staff can explain the difference in texture and taste compared with gelatin-based American gummies.