by | March 4, 2026
12 New Openings in Florida This Spring
Florida businesses are blooming this spring, including a 30,000-square-foot Sanctuary Spa, drive-thru flower shop, custom hat bar and more.
North
Headley Hat Co.
Seaside
Head’s up—that’s always the case at this popular milliner, which started in Seaside’s Pop-Up District, where Tyler and Kala Headley first imported their hat business from Springfield, Mo. The signature wide-brim straw hats are custom-made for sun-drenched beach escapes. Last April, they expanded into a larger storefront in Four Corners, complete with two custom hat bars, Western boots and home goods. As ever, the trucker hats are big on humorous slogans and time-tested homilies. “Work hard and be nice,” one reads, a credo that has served the Headleys well.
headleyhat.com
Midtown Reader
Tallahassee
When beloved tiki bar Waterworks shut down in 2024, it was the end of an era. But then Midtown Reader, the Capital City’s leading independent bookstore, inaugurated a new one. The shop expanded onto the property, nearly doubling its retail space to 16,000 volumes total and expanding seating for its author events to 100. “Books matter, and stories matter. Tallahassee is a community of readers,” says owner Sally Bradshaw. “We’ve tried to provide a space that welcomes a diverse group of readers and celebrates the ability to learn and grow together.”
midtownreader.com
Hearth & Soul
Atlantic Beach
The all-in-one boutique, with shops in Tallahassee and St. Louis, launched a third store in November in Atlantic Beach. The space, organized into departments offering clothing, home goods, fine art and books, is laid out like a well-appointed home, creating a welcoming ambience for community-oriented events, including partnerships with nonprofit groups and artists. “A lot of times artists don’t have a gallery opportunity,” says founder Susie Busch Transou. “We benefit from it as well because we have their beautiful work in our home-like setting.”
hearthandsoul.com
36 Granada
St. Augustine
Enjoy two restaurants under one roof at this multicuisine hub. The concept is the brainchild of John Valentino, Janice Hudgins and her husband, Johnny Hudgins, whose enterprise combines the best of several worlds: Little Miss Ha serves up soulful and satisfying homemade Vietnamese dishes, while in the same building, The French Pantry offers temptations you’d find along a Parisian boulevard. But there’s more here than just dining. La Petite Kitchen is a spot for cooking classes, and Cache-Cache, a secluded “speakeasy,” is a seductive post-dinner destination with specialty cocktails and groovy DJ sets.
36granada.com
Central
Notta Gallery
Lakeland
Florida artists Tony Agnello, Danielle Klonecki, Katie Webb and Andy Webb have each built careers across a range of styles. Now, joining forces, they’ve created something beyond a canvas: a downtown hub where art, learning and community converge. In a nod to its name (pronounced “not a gallery”), the studio breaks norms of a traditional white cube gallery. Here, art—by mostly local artists—adorns brick walls and metal displays. The space, which opened in September, is designed for both shopping and workshopping, plus room for events like weddings.
nottagallery.com
Arms of Persephone & The Roaming Petal
St. Petersburg
St. Pete’s first drive-thru flower shop wouldn’t exist if Regan Smith and Erica Holland hadn’t burned out in their media careers and started separate floral shops around 2020. In the fall, they came together under one roof. “We want it to be a community space where you aren’t just picking something up and leaving,” Holland says. If time is tight, the drive-thru offers bouquets. While inside, experimenting in workshops and trying out the seed vending machine is greatly encouraged.
@armsofpersephonefloral
Creptopia
Sarasota
This shop is known for serving up sweet crepes, with combos from strawberry Nutella to Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but since opening in September, an off-menu offering has stolen the show: fruit-shaped desserts, made famous on TikTok. Their sculpted exteriors look convincingly like real oranges, mangoes or raspberries, and the inside surprises with a mousse filling. The mini masterpieces go quickly. Luckily, there are plenty more items to tempt, like waffles, banana splits and a selection of Dubai-inspired offerings that pay homage to owner Darin Abdel’s Middle Eastern roots.
crepetopiaofficial.com
June
Orlando
At this Mexico City-inspired restaurant, authentic flavors arrive in unexpected forms, guided by what Chef Nick Grecco calls a focus on “clean, honest cooking”—no seed oils, minimal refined sugars and quality proteins and vegetables. His recommendation is the serves-two duck, cured for 24 hours, slow-cooked confit-style, then finished over a wood fire and served with tortillas and salsas for a build-your-own taco experience. Opened in July, the eatery is wrapped in natural materials and moody lighting, evoking the feeling of stumbling into a spot in one of Mexico City’s most vibrant enclaves.
juneorlando.com
South
Pari Pari Handroll Bar
Miami
If you haven’t experienced the pleasure of a fresh hand roll, Wynwood’s Pari Pari is where you’ll want your first bite. Friends and restaurant founders Hugo Dayan, Edouard Benitah and Benjamin Chemouny were regulars at Chef Yasu Tanaka’s Michelin-recognized sushi counter, where inspiration struck. “I made them a hand roll just for fun. That moment sparked the entire concept,” says Tanaka, a Pari Pari collaborator. His pro tip? Start with the hamachi jalapeño, then the hamachi chimichurri and finish with the uni wagyu. “Those dishes really capture the range of what we do,” he says.
pariparimiami.com
West Palm Cowboy Club
West Palm Beach
Florida-raised DJ Diplo (Thomas Wesley Pentz) is bringing his cowboy era home as musical director at West Palm Cowboy Club, a barbecue, live music and sports venue in the heart of downtown. Inside, cowhide, gator and denim textures make a design ethos inspired by honky-tonks with a Florida edge. “I grew up and cut my teeth in South Florida, and it inspired so much of who I am,” Pentz said in a press release. “I’m really proud to bring this energy home.” Kick back at the club, where the glowing marquee makes it an instant landmark.
westpalmcowboyclub.com
Naples Beach Club, A Four Seasons Resort
Naples
Just opened in the fall, this luxury beach club spans 1,000 feet of white-sand beach with 220 well-appointed guest rooms and five dining options, including two-time James Beard Award-winning chef Gavin Kaysen’s The Merchant Room. Spend your morning at the 30,000-square-foot Sanctuary Spa—complete with a Finnish sauna and a rooftop lap pool—then catch golden hour at Sunset Bar with Latin-inspired bites. Book the resort’s 34-foot boat for a trip to an island for a seashell safari or a sunset sail.
fourseasons.com
Buccan
Coral Gables
Chef Clay Conley is bringing his seven-time James Beard semifinalist magic to Miami’s Miracle Mile this spring, and he’s not stopping at one concept. Three side-by-side spots—Buccan, Japanese-inspired Imoto and Buccan Sandwich Shop—will mirror the beloved trio up north in a new Coral Gables location. “Much of the menu will be the same, but we will introduce dishes inspired by Miami,” Conley says. The chef is also excited about plant-based offerings, like the butter “chikin” and grilled carrot salad. “I love the simplicity of pure ingredients,” he says.
buccancoralgables.com
