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Gourmet Locale Market set for afternoon opening at St. Petersburg's Sundial

 
Celebrity chefs Don Pintabona and Michael Mina, far left, pose with Locale Market employees Tuesday afternoon during a group photo session in front of the restaurant in St. Petersburg. [BOYZELL HOSEY   |   Times]
Celebrity chefs Don Pintabona and Michael Mina, far left, pose with Locale Market employees Tuesday afternoon during a group photo session in front of the restaurant in St. Petersburg. [BOYZELL HOSEY | Times]
Published Dec. 17, 2014

At 3 p.m. Wednesday, Locale Market opens its doors in the new Sundial St. Pete.

The much-anticipated collaboration between celebrity chefs Michael Mina and Don Pintabona represents a quantum leap for gourmet markets in Tampa Bay, with 11 different full kitchens, 15 professionally trained chefs and legions of high-priced equipment that together will blend the shopping experience with dine-in options.

New York has Eataly, San Francisco has the Ferry Building Marketplace, and now St. Petersburg has the 20,000-square-foot, two-story Locale Market (its FarmTable Kitchen opens in January).

On Day One, customers can browse the chocolatier station, ogle the seafood kitchen for raw or prepared fish, view the liquid-nitrogen ice cream machine and sample something gooey from the "grilled cheese program."

Born of a 23-year friendship between Mina and Pintabona (who graduated from University of South Florida), this new market offers locals a curated experience, every element carefully sourced, much of it from local farms and purveyors.

Locale Market is located at 179 Second Ave. N; it has a nearby parking lot, valet parking and 50 bike-rack spots. Regular hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., the bar opens at 11:30 a.m., Sundays at noon.