{"id":294870,"date":"2026-06-03T20:27:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T20:27:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/294870\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T20:27:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T20:27:19","slug":"papas-kitchen-cocktails-is-open-in-san-marco-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/294870\/","title":{"rendered":"Papa\u2019s Kitchen + Cocktails is open in San Marco"},"content":{"rendered":"

Instead of going to a reunion, Bob Carter is reliving his high-school days by opening a restaurant.<\/p>\n

After a career in finance, Carter, 59, now runs Papa\u2019s Kitchen + Cocktails, applying lessons he learned working at Renna\u2019s Pizza while a student at Englewood High School.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI worked for Joe and Tony Renna for three years in high school, and I was always impressed with both of them. We made everything in-house, you know, it was all homemade, and I really developed a joy for cooking,\u201d Carter said.<\/p>\n

Papa\u2019s Kitchen + Cocktails soft-opened May 7. The official opening is June 4.<\/p>\n

The Italian-American restaurant is at 1402 San Marco Blvd. and specializes in pizza.<\/p>\n

\"After<\/p>\n

After a career in finance, Bob Carter now runs Papa\u2019s Kitchen + Cocktails.<\/p>\n

Photo by Dan Macdonald<\/p>\n

The building sits on the former site of Applejack\u2019s, another pizza-and-music restaurant. Carter is frontman for the band North of 40.<\/p>\n

Carter spent about $160,000 to remodel the space that had been several different restaurants. At almost 4,500 square feet, it seats 120.\u00a0<\/p>\n

An oval-shaped bar seats 25. There is a stage with light and sound systems, and customers can watch bands on televisions mounted throughout the dining room.<\/p>\n

There also is a private dining space that seats up to 20 that can be used for parties or meetings. It is closed off by a sliding barn door.<\/p>\n

A 14-inch dinner cheese pizza costs $14.99. The 10-inch lunch cheese pizza will be $10.99.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The menu includes burgers and chicken wings, as well as more unconventional options such as short rib lasagna ($20.99), a meatball hoagie that comes with two, 4-ounce meatballs and a bistro dip made with short ribs ($14.99).<\/p>\n

There is no Papa, Carter said. Rather, he wanted a familiar name that reflected the Italian roots of the menu.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur focus here is good food,\u201d Carter said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a restaurant first, and then we\u2019ll do craft cocktails.\u201d<\/p>\n

The list of craft cocktails offered includes a blood orange negroni, velvet express martini, cucumber blossom and raspberry margarita. They sell for $12.<\/p>\n

\"Papa\u2019s<\/p>\n

Papa\u2019s Kitchen + Cocktails is at 1402 San Marco Blvd. and specializes in pizza.<\/p>\n

Photo by Dan Macdonald<\/p>\n

Carter still is looking for servers and kitchen staff. Currently, he has about a half dozen workers, including himself, but hopes to build a staff of 20.<\/p>\n

\u201cHiring staff, especially in the kitchen, is a challenge. I think from all the folks that I\u2019ve spoken with, it\u2019s been a challenge for some time,\u201d Carter said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you first open, you don\u2019t know what your processes are, so you have to do brute force labor to get to that point. But in this market, there\u2019s just not a giant labor pool.\u201d<\/p>\n

North of 40 played at Papa\u2019s soon after it opened. Carter said the event was a great success.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy band had to do the first two sets by themselves. I was listening in the kitchen while I was making pizzas because we were so busy,\u201d Carter said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a little bit of a wake-up call. My choice of opening a restaurant is probably going to impact a little bit on the band schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n

Papa\u2019s opens at 4 p.m. daily and is closed Mondays. Starting June 8, Carter plans to add lunch service from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.<\/p>\n

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