ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — Tens of thousands of people flooded downtown St. Petersburg Saturday for the 11th annual Localtopia.
“It’s grown tremendously,” Kawha Coffee’s Raphael Perrier said. “The last 5 years have been insane. It’s a lot of people. It’s fun. More and more local businesses, the area is growing it’s just fun.”
Localtopia showcased over 300 local businesses and organizations.
Patrick Dukes was one of those vendors serving up his slow cooked BBQ.
“People would ask about the ribs and say, yeah, they’re really good but we don’t want the bones,” Dukes explained.
So, he debuted these rib bites.
They’re now a staple for his small business.
“At Localtopia is where we first tried it out and it was an instant hit,” Dukes said.
Business owners tell 8 On Your Side this event is a gamechanger for them shedding light on local businesses Tampa Bay residents might not have known existed.
“Actually I had a guy at the house the other day, a plumber, he said I’ve shopped in your Airstream before, my wife goes there and he’d never even been to the store,” Ashe Couture Boutique owner Amanda Henderson explained.
Henderson said it’s all these local businesses that make St. Pete home.
“It makes you curious, it educates you on how much stuff is in the community,” she said. “That’s what makes St. Pete what it is, all these local businesses that set us apart.”
