Rowdies Den in downtown St. Pete to be replaced by new restaurant

Rowdies Den is gone: think of the Rowdies Den as free advertising for the Tampa Bay Rowdies for a few years until Bill Edwards could find a better run business to sell that location to.

I went to the Rowdies Den a few times when visiting St. Pete. The food was "meh". French fries were sub-par (tasteless, over processed frozen fries that Americans have become used to thanks to the fast food industry).

I walked down Central Avenue to Central Melt and had a good grilled cheese sandwich and fresh cut french fries. Far superior food, in a grotty hole in the wall. Sports bar "atmosphere" isn't everything.

Nothing but complaints about the Rowdies Den from Ralph's Mobsters on Facebook; not well run at all.

The Rowdies Den had a good draft beer selection at least.

Nancy Bataille (of the Rowdies Gear shop) will get her Rowdies collectibles back (they were loaned to the Rowdies Den for decor). Hopefully we'll have a Rowdies museum/trophy room in a new SSS at Al Lang and they can go there.  

(Follow link for full article.)

http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2016/11/07/rowdies-den-in-downtown-st-pete-to-be-replaced-by.html?ana=fbk

Rowdies Den in downtown St. Pete to be replaced by new restaurant

Nov 7, 2016, 11:03am EST

Soccer fans will soon have a new restaurant option before Tampa Bay Rowdies games.

Ford's Garage, which was founded in Fort Myers and has locations throughout the Bay region, is taking over the space currently occupied by the Rowdies Den at the corner of 1st Avenue South and 2nd Street. It will open in summer 2017, according to a news release from The Edwards Group.

The parent company of Ford's Garage, 23 Restaurants, has purchased the ground-floor restaurant space and parking spaces in the McNulty Station parking garage. The sale has not yet been filed in Pinellas County property records.

Bill Edwards, who owns The Edwards Group, Tampa Bay Rowdies and Rowdies Den, said the restaurant will be a "great addition to downtown."

Edwards opened the Rowdies Den in mid-2015, replacing a bar that was previously there.

Edwards said in a statement that Fords Garage President Marc Brown has assured him that the spot "will still be the official gathering spot for Rowdies fans, so it’s a win-win for everyone involved."

The location will mirror the other Ford's Garage restaurants in the area, with a 1920s service station aesthetic. The restaurant company also has locations in Brandon, Wesley Chapel, Countryside and Westchase.

“We are thrilled to be a part of downtown St. Petersburg,” Brown said in a statement. “We were looking for the perfect location and we are certain this corner is it."