St. Petersburg | It’s been nearly two years since St. Petersburg staple Georgie’s Alibi closed its doors for the last time at 3100 3rd Avenue North, but the spot synonymous with Pride and the LGBTQ community is getting ready for its comeback: in the form of Bambusa St. Pete.
Bambusa Bar & Grill, an LGBTQ-friendly restaurant and entertainment hotspot in Naples, recently announced their St. Petersburg expansion via social media, albeit with limited details. Speculation as to the location of the incoming eatery began almost immediately.
It was soon confirmed by Megan Towers, one of “Bambusa’s Babes,” self-described as the cast of female impersonators who perform at Bambusa in Naples. “At this time construction has not [begun] but should happen shortly,” Towers shared via social media. “Once the remodel is near completion the hiring process will begin!”
“As for the location, I know some have speculated [its whereabouts],” Towers wrote. “I can confirm it will be in the former Alibi location!”
Reception online has been largely positive, with residents of the Historic Kenwood neighborhood particularly excited. Frank Clemente, a sponsor coordinator for the upcoming Come OUT St. Pete, publicly celebrated the announcement. He called the news uplifting and noted that St. Petersburg’s “gayborhood” was “doing up the magic all over again!”
As for Bambusa itself, the eatery features a diverse menu and full-liquor bar, complete with a happy hour. Food options begin with appetizers like poutine, pot stickers and angus sliders, and others with an Italian-flair like fried mozzarella and “mama’s meatballs.”
There are a range of pizzas, salads and burgers, as well as full-blown entrees and seafood options. A variety of sandwiches, Tex-Mex, wraps and desserts round out their offerings.
The Naples location offers a plethora of entertainment as well, including the aforementioned “Bambusa Babes.” Weeks are rounded out with card games and Bingo, with an alliterative adjective we can’t print here. (It rhymes with “itchy.”)
On top of the drag performances and communal gatherings for gaming, other nights feature karaoke and the potential for other live performances and fundraisers. As the night progresses, a DJ becomes the featured entertainment.
With fun comes responsibility, something Bambusa Bar & Grill advises it takes very seriously. Their website boasts that the restaurant does its best to seek natural products that come from animals raised in “a truly natural manor” with “no antibiotics, no added hormones, no growth promoting drugs, no artificial ingredients, a 100 percent vegetarian diet and humane animal handling practices.”
It further asserts that the restaurant’s produce is grown “without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides… not from GMO crops,” and to help the environment, they recycle their glass bottles, aluminum and oil used to prepare food. (They also use mostly-compostable paper products.)
Bambusa Bar & Grill’s St. Petersburg location is expected to open in late 2017. You can follow their progress and stay up to date on their latest updates by visiting BambusaOnline.com.
