Photo courtesy of Independent Bar St. Pete via Facebook.
Over the weekend, The Independent St. Pete announced their upcoming closure on Facebook.
“It is with a heavy heart that we are announcing the closure of the Indie St. Pete on October 2, 2022,” the group posted to Facebook. “This amazing place will forever have a place in our hearts, and we will always appreciate the community that has supported us these past six years.”
John Vellines and Veronica Danko opened the first Independent Bar in St. Pete in 2005, followed by a second location in Tampa’s Seminole Heights in Oct. 2009. After their divorce, Vellines ran the St. Pete location under another name while Danko assumed full ownership of the Seminole Heights location.
Vellines closed the original St. Petersburg location in 2012. Four years later, in 2016, Danko opened the new Independent St. Pete location at 1049 Central Ave. — the location that will close in less than two weeks.
Despite this, Oktoberfest is still on, as Indie St. Pete serves several classic Oktoberfest brews, including Hofbrauhaus, Ayinger, Barriehaus, Motorworks, Weihenstephan, and King State drafts through Oct. 2. German food, however, is only available at the Seminole Heights location.
Indie St. Pete closes out Oct. 2 with a final Sunday Jazz Project featuring James Suggs, Sandi Grecco and Mark Moultrup. The Independent Bar Tampa remains open, entering its 13th year in Seminole Heights this October.
