Amidst the revelry of the annual Geckofest in this suburb of St. Petersburg, a new LGBT business endeavor welcomed its first customers. Dive Bar and Grill, owned by GaYbor staples Steve Donahue, Steven Moss and Ernie Webb, opened its doors Labor Day weekend.
“We want to come to Gulfport to help with business, not compete with it,” said Donahue. “We’re hoping that many of our clientele will also patronize other bars and restaurants in town, shop in our shops, enjoy the wonderful live entertainment that is often featured in town and generally enjoy the delightful and welcoming Gulfport ambiance. We’re hoping people come to town with open minds and open wallets.”
The new restaurant and bar at 3128 Beach Blvd had a few minor opening weekend struggles—food ran short and the venue had trouble staying within the occupancy limit for the upper deck area because the crowd was too large. Since nearly 10,000 people were in town celebrating Geckofest, it’s assumed that the opening weekend was busier than what a typical one will be in the future. In, all, the restaurant opened to rave reviews and the community as a whole seems excited about Dive.
“We’re looking forward to a very healthy new addition to Gulfport,” said Lori Rosso, president of the Gulfport Chamber of Commerce. “Of course there is going to be a period of time where they are getting used to us and we are getting used to them. But I’ve found the owners very accessible and have been impressed with how they’ve reached out to their new community. Gulfport is all about inclusion, though, and as long as they keep that in mind I think we could have a really great relationship.”
Dive features a full service restaurant in the low to moderate price range featuring a unique line of kabobs, sandwiches, alligator and conch specialties according to Webb. Webb said the restaurant will eventually offer doggie dining once it receives the appropriate licensing. The atmosphere of the newly renovated 185-seat restaurant is different than other nearby LGBT attractions, according to Webb, and is not in competition with those places.
“We want to be the kind of restaurant where once you’ve spent a day sunning out on Gulfport Beach you can feel comfortable grabbing a bite to eat with your sandy feet and in your flip flops,” said Webb. “We also don’t want to compete with such establishments as the Flamingo Resort or Georgie’s Alibi. Our competition would have been Bedrox or The Lighted Tree if they were still open.”
Despite the support of Rosso and the community as a whole, there was some controversy surrounding the opening of Dive. A local publication insinuated that the diverse and accepting community was not supportive of the new endeavor, although very few sources were cited.
The article compared the new restaurant to the successful and popular LGBT night spots G. Bar, Honey Pot and the Eagle in Ybor City, which are also operated by Donahue, Moss and Webb. Many saw the comparison as a “scare tactic” to express concern over a change in atmosphere in Gulfport. But that just didn’t make sense, according to Paul Ray, who lives in Gulfport with his partner, Wes Sloat.
“From what we saw on their website we were concerned that their bartenders and staff would look like the people on their website—young, pretty boys and girls,” Ray said. “But we were pleasantly surprised to see that the staff looked a lot like us, older and more mature. We even saw a lesbian bar tender with tattoos and spiked hair and we both laughed and said, ‘now that’s keeping in line with keeping Gulfport weird.’”
According to Donahue, he and Dive staff plan to keep with the theme of Gulfport and even met with several city officials before opening the doors. The group also presented city leaders in Gulfport with letters of recommendation from Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor, and Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner.
Webb and Donahue said that they settled on Gulfport for their new business venture after researching both Orlando and Atlanta as potential sites.
“When we came around the corner into the Historic Arts District of Gulfport and started up Beach Boulevard, we both looked at each other and said, this is it,” Donahue said.
In addition the bar and restaurant, the establishment also features a new MC Film Festival gift shop run by owners Mark Bias and Carrie West.
