St. Pete is Our LA

Trends are Taking Over and I’m Not Mad

Ryan Rolle, A&E Editor

February 26, 2026

Coffee from “Coffee Concrete” and tanning setup at North Shore Park.

Everyone knows that each state has a couple big cities that people from out of the state can recognize. For Florida, I would say that our “big three” cities are Miami, Orlando and Tampa. However, my friends and I have recently been escaping Tampa on a weekend basis to enjoy the luxuries of St. Pete, and I think that everyone should be aware of how up-and-coming this beachy, touristy city is.

One piece of St. Pete that is always worth the commute is the food. From Robinson, most of the trending restaurants in St. Pete are only 20-30 minutes away. A few staple cafes that I would recommend is Daycation, Pete’s Bagels and Coffee Concrete. Coffee Concrete is a pop-up that combines art and coffee, which to me feels like a famous place called Community Goods in Los Angeles. As I’ve mentioned before, there are few things that bring me less joy than a delicious breakfast. There are plenty of lunch and dinner spots that hit just as good, and they are located all around the city.

Another thing about St. Pete that I really enjoy is their presence of a downtown. Walking around Tampa downtown, all I seem to see are corporations and offices, with a few enjoyable restaurants. However, St. Pete has lots of fun places to shop, parks to walk around in, quick food spots and of course, Jannus Live. Jannus Live is a small and affordable concert venue in downtown St. Pete, surrounded by apartments and high-rises which really elevates it to have that city feeling.

When you drive through St. Pete, it’s hard to ignore the murals that cover most of the walls of buildings around town. As most people know, LA has a famous ‘pink wall’ that people take photos in front of, and St. Pete actually has one as well. This cements it’s status in my opinion as a fun and trending city.

Obviously, it’s hard to forget about the St. Pete beaches. Having a mix of city vibes and coastal beach vibes makes St. Pete in my opinion much more fascinating to explore than Tampa. Obviously I love our city but I think that we shouldn’t let the medium distance drive scare us off from the wonders that St. Pete holds.

st pete

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About the Contributor

Ryan Rolle, A&E Editor

Ryan Rolle is a senior at Robinson and is the A&E editor for the Knight Writers. This is her third year on staff. Rolle decided to join Knight Writers, as she always adored reading and writing and wanted to communicate her thoughts from pop culture to school issues, while also deepening her involvement with the school. “I joined when I was a sophomore and I decided to join because I’ve always had a passion for reading and writing and I thought it would be fun to be able to voice my opinion to the school while getting involved in something academic,” Rolle said. Outside of the school newspaper, you can likely find Rolle spending her free time on the water, rowing for the varsity team at the Tampa Bay rowing club. “Two of my closest friends have been rowing since sixth grade and our team is small, so they were asking new girls to come out and try it. So, my sophomore year I decided to give it a try, and I loved and have been doing it ever since,” Rolle said. Whenever she’s not rowing, Rolle greatly enjoys using her time making matcha and listening to various genres of music, with her tastes changing depending on the time of year. “I listen to different music genres throughout the seasons but right now, since it’s fall, I’m listening to a lot of Smashing Pumpkins and Radiohead,” Rolle said. This being her third year on the Knight Writers staff, Rolle has formed many unforgettable experiences but of all the memories, her favorite has to be when she attended the Florida Scholastic Press Association competition last year in Orlando. “We got to stay near the SeaWorld for a weekend, and we just had so much fun entering competitions and hanging around the hotel,” Rolle said. Part of the class of 2026, Rolle plans to attend college after high school either furthering her passion in journalism by majoring in biology or furthering her passion in journalism by majoring in creative writing. “My biggest dream ever would be to get into Dartmouth and major in biology or journalism/creative writing with a minor in Spanish, then go on to become an orthodontist,” Rolle said. (Profile by Avani Madabhushanam)