The St. Pete Chamber of Commerce will be opening the St. Pete Store late next month. The space directly across the street from Sundial on Second Avenue North in downtown will sell St. Pete-centric items created by local artists and vendors.
While the Chamber has not yet decided exactly what it will sell in the store, visitors can expect things like t-shirts, post cards, mugs and cups, local art, candles and tote bags. Kristina Alspaw, the Chamber’s visitors experience manager, said one of the items she’d like to find to include in the store are Tervis cups with St. Pete murals wrapped in them. That’s a product she has yet to identify, however.
Construction on the space started about two months ago and received its final certificate of occupancy last week. The Chamber expanded already existing space in a tourist visitor center using a combination of grants from the city and through contributions from local businesses.
The Chamber received highly discounted services from PJ Callahan for construction and free paint from Scott Wagman. Alspaw said without those partnerships the project would have been about $50,000-$60,000 but instead only cost about $18,500.
The city is giving the Chamber three $10,000 grants to help cover costs.
Items on sale in the store will typically be under $50 and provided on consignment by local artists. Alspaw said 60 percent of proceeds will go back to the artists while the other 40 percent will be used to cover operating costs like staffing. Any excess will be used to market and improve the store and for other initiatives aimed at furthering tourism.
The Chamber is currently seeking vendors to provide items in the store. Local artists can apply at St. Pete Store’s website. A jury will be formed, including a representative from the city, one from the arts alliance with another slot still being finalized. The jury is expected to choose the first round of vendors sometime in about two weeks.
Alspaw said the store will cycle through various St. Pete merchandise.
The idea is to work in coordination with local artists and vendors by providing a one-stop shop for tourists to see what St. Pete has to offer. Alspaw said the store is planned to be in cooperation with local stores, not competition. For example, if a local store sells scented candles, the St. Pete Store may only sell a couple of the scents and refer visitors to the brick and mortar store for a wider selection.
Some artists don’t have a physical location to sell their work. The St. Pete Store will give those artists a chance to have their work displayed and sold in a retail storefront. The store will hand out business cards or some other contact information for artists when their merchandise is sold, lending those creators the opportunity to garner more business.
“Our goal is to encourage visitors to discover other parts of St. Pete,” Alspaw said.
