ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A South St. Pete food hall that recently opened its doors then announced on Wednesday that it was closed for good is now working with community partners to reopen.
22 South opened in April with the hope of highlighting the city's diversity.
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In February, shortly before the opening, former Bucs player and 22 South partner Vincent Jackson died unexpectedly. According to a Facebook post on Wednesday, his sudden death and "the lack of desire by his Trust to continue" led to the closure.
"We’d like to thank our loyal customers and supporters who saw our vision in creating opportunities in our community and embraced it," 22 South wrote on Facebook. "We all learned through this how fragile life is and how much effect we have on each other."
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In another turn of events, the food hall said on Monday that the remaining partners were contacted by a group of community partners and are now working with them to reopen.
"We are encouraged with the progress of the negotiations and look forward to joining forces to continue the mission of creating opportunities within the community for new exciting restaurants," the group wrote on Facebook.
The group said member chefs have been consulted and agreed to return should an agreement be reached.
Vincent Jackson’s trust released the following statement in regards to the statement released by the owners of 22 South.
“While we’re saddened to learn that 22 South decided to cease operations, neither Vincent Jackson’s survivors or trust had any involvement in the organization’s decision to close. We wish all parties the best and encourage the community to continue their support for the independent restaurateurs that made this establishment great.”
