Crepe cafe to open in St. Petersburg Ark Innovation Center
A new creperie and coffee shop is set to open inside the technology business incubator under construction in St. Petersburg.
Point Chaud Coffee & Crepes signed a sublease to be in the Ark Innovation Center, the Tampa Bay Innovation Center announced in a news release Thursday. The cafe chain, founded in 2005, has roots in Washington, DC, and Maryland, and this will be its first Florida location.
The cafe is designed to foster collaboration between business professionals, innovators and investors who will be at the incubator, the release said. It will have an outdoor patio and free internet. Point Chaud serves a variety of both sweet and savory crepes as well as salads, paninis and quiches. The cafe will also have Lavazza brand coffee and can cater for corporate events.
The cafe at 1101 Fourth St. S is set to be open daily from 7 am to 7 pm, the release said.
The Ark Innovation Center — a hub for tech companies and entrepreneurs that will have offices, innovation labs, meeting rooms and event spaces for startups, researchers and investors — is set to open in October, the Tampa Bay Innovation Center said. The incubator development focusing on robotics, artificial intelligence, energy, health care and education businesses is being spearheaded by the Tampa Bay Innovation Center with support from the Federal Economic Development Administration, Pinellas County and St. Petersburg.
Ark Invest, the famous Wall Street financial firm led by investor Cathie Wood, is a sponsor of the incubator project and committed to it when the company moved from New York to St. Petersburg in 2021.