St. Petersburg residents are known for being religiously committed to buying local. We take pride in the homegrown businesses that make our neighborhoods such incredible places to live, work and play. However, one of the byproducts of Downtown St Pete’s meteoric growth over the past 5-10 years has been a sharp rise in commercial rents.

Some are concerned that local shops will be priced out of downtown and what has made St. Pete special will fade away. While the city is doing its best to keep St. Pete local, with initiatives such as the Storefront Conservation Corridor Plan, they cannot legally force downtown landowners to rent exclusively to locals.

In the end, the residents and visitors decide who goes and who stays. In essence, we vote with our wallets. And although rising rents have put pressure on local businesses, some have continued to thrive, and others have even expanded.

One of my favorite local success stories is that of Pete Boland and Ian Taylor, both born and raised in the ‘Burg. In 2016, the duo opened The Galley, a nautical-themed St. Pete tavern, at 27 Fourth Street North.

After much success, they expanded upon The Galley with the debut of their event space and rum bar, The Ship’s Hold, which opened back in March.

Now Boland, along with Taylor, is teaming up with Roger Zeghibe to transform what was most recently Sea Dog Pub DTSP into their newest venture — Mary Margaret’s Olde Irish Tavern. The new traditional-style Irish restaurant and bar will be located at 29 3rd Street North on the historic “First Block”, just one block east of The Galley.