USA, FL: Golden Isles Brewing Co. to join St. Petersburg’s booming craft beer scene this spring

Golden Isles Brewing Co. will be the latest addition to St. Petersburg’s booming craft beer scene when it opens in the spring at 3000 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street North, in the city’s Magnolia Heights neighborhood, St. Pete Rising reported on January 17.

The brewery, owned and operated by Jonathan and Angie Bryan, will take the place of a former gas station. According to Pinellas County records, the property was sold in June 2022 for $933,400 to PBC St George LLC, a St. Pete company owned by Dr. Gehad Aboud, a medical professional who specializes in diagnostic radiology.

Dr. Aboud also owns a 0.45-acre property at 900 Central Avenue in downtown St. Pete, which he is under contract to sell to Houston-based The Dinerstein Companies.

The Bryans plan for Golden Isles to be a family- and dog-friendly establishment. In addition to a wide range of beers, it will offer prosecco and wine on tap, as well as non-alcoholic beverage options such as organic sodas made by the Bryans’ business partner in Nashville.

Golden Isles patrons will have plenty of food options to choose from, as well, including a New York-style hot dog cart, wet lemon pepper wings, and a rotating selection of food trucks. The Bryans also plan to offer “OG arcade games,” such as Ms. Pac-Man and Golden Tee, for kids (and nostalgic adults) to enjoy.

The Magnolia Heights district has developed nicely over the past few years but lacked a craft brewery, so Golden Isles will fill a void.

“We’re super excited,” Jonathan Bryan says in an interview with St. Pete Rising. “It's a prime location. We've got the bike lanes going both ways all the way downtown. So, we like to think that we're kind of set off from everything downtown, but still connected.”

Jonathan hails from LaGrange, Georgia, and spent time on Jekyll Island on Georgia’s southeast coast, where he had originally planned to open Golden Isles Brewing Co. Angie, however, is a St. Pete native. She moved away in 1996 but returned a couple years ago, when the family relocated from Denver during the pandemic.

“We just love St. Pete, and we're so happy to have this opportunity,” Jonathan says.

Golden Isles, Jonathan continues, will live up to its name by brewing lighter beers such as pilsners and lagers. “My friends call them lawnmower beers, but I call them Sunday afternoon beers,” he says. “You know, warm weather beer.”

The Bryans plan to feature beers from other local breweries, as well, so there will be something for everyone. They’re targeting May 1st for a grand opening but would like to get up and running sooner, if possible.

Jonathan says Golden Isles Brewing Co. will retain several elements from the property’s past life as a gas station, including the large repair bay doors.

“It’s going to be an indoor-outdoor bar with those roll-up doors,” he says, adding that there will also be a fenced-in patio to keep dogs and kids sheltered from the traffic on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street North.

“We’d like to keep the rest of the aesthetics as much as we can,” he says.

19 January, 2023