A Hidden Room Above the Stills
There's a bar in St. Pete's Warehouse Arts District that doesn't have a sign out front. You walk through the distillery's Welcome Salon, past the copper stills and oak casks, up a staircase to a door that wasn't there a year ago. On the other side of it: 31 South Speakeasy, a 45-seat cocktail lounge perched above the production floor of Florida's largest craft distillery, where the spirits in your glass were made forty feet from where you're sitting.
Opened May 1st inside St. Petersburg Distillery at 800 31st Street South, the lounge is only open three nights a week—Thursday through Saturday, 6 to 11 p.m.—and you'll need a password to get in. That password changes daily and lives on the bar's Instagram, a detail that feels less like a gimmick and more like a nod to the building's Prohibition-era inspiration.
The Room: Art Deco Meets the Working Distillery
Step inside and the first thing you notice is the view. Through broad interior windows, the lounge overlooks the distillery floor below—working copper pot stills, rows of aging barrels, the hum of a production facility that happens to be Florida's largest by both size and volume. It's a rare thing: a bar where the raw material of every drink is made on site, in sight.
The design pulls from the 1920s without tipping into costume. Deep greens and blues against warm wood. Golden accents on the bar rail. Vintage glassware that clinks heavier than modern stemware. Locally sourced furnishings and historic photographs of old St. Petersburg line the walls. The 45 seats are divided between the bar itself and a handful of intimate tables; the booth near the back window is the best seat in the house.
The Bar: Nine Cocktails, One Distillery
The cocktail menu is tight—nine drinks, no filler—and every one of them is built on spirits distilled downstairs. The distillery's portfolio includes Banyan Reserve Vodka, Old St. Pete Tropical Gin, Old St. Pete Righteous Rum, Old St. Pete Sunshine Whiskey, and Tippler's Orange Liqueur, all made from Florida-sourced ingredients.
Standouts from the current menu:
Maple Old Fashioned — Old St. Pete Sunshine Whiskey, maple, bitters. The whiskey is young American, distilled on-site; the maple rounds the edges without burying the grain.
Matcha Latte Martini — Banyan Reserve Vodka, matcha, cream. Clean, earthy, served up. The distillery's vodka has a softness that lets the matcha read clearly.
Hibiscus Gimlet — Old St. Pete Tropical Gin, hibiscus, lime. The gin carries citrus and floral notes from its botanical bill; the hibiscus pushes it toward something you'd drink on a veranda.
Mai Tai — Old St. Pete Righteous Rum & Spice, Tippler's Orange Liqueur, orgeat, lime. The rum is spiced but not sweet, and the house orange liqueur keeps the drink leaner than the resort version.
Espresso Martini — the one that's developed a following. Vodka, fresh espresso, a touch of something they're not putting on the menu.
Not drinking? Four- and six-flight spirit tastings let you work through the distillery's range without committing to a full cocktail.
The Kitchen: Two Bites, Michelin Training
The food is handled by Chef Johnathan Rodriguez, whose résumé includes Tampa's Sal Y Mar in Midtown, an appearance on Food Network's Supermarket Stakeout, and back-to-back Best Chef awards at the Savor St. Pete Food & Wine Festival in 2022 and 2023. He now operates under his own banner, FOMO Chefs, and the menu at 31 South is a rotating "Michelin Inspired Two Bite" pop-up—small plates designed to complement the cocktail list without requiring a full dinner commitment.
Expect dishes that change with the chef's sourcing. Recent plates have included seared Gulf shrimp with citrus butter, compressed watermelon with feta and mint, and a short rib slider that punches well above its size. The format is intentional: these are accompaniments to the bar, not a restaurant menu, and the pacing matches the room.
The Distillery: Florida's Quiet Heavyweight
St. Petersburg Distillery opened in 2014 and has grown into the largest craft distillery in the state by both footprint and production volume. The daytime operation is a different animal entirely—tours, tastings, a Spirits Garden, and the monthly Makers + Shakers Market that draws local artisans and live music. The distillery produces whiskey, vodka, gin, rum, and a line of liqueurs, all from Florida-grown ingredients when available.
CEO Evan Brownstein describes it bluntly: "During the day, St. Petersburg Distillery is a place where guests can experience the spirit of St. Pete. Now, at night, guests can discover a whole new experience—a place true to St. Petersburg's elegant bootlegger spirit in a convivial club-like social setting." In August 2026, the distillery went a step further, bottling the speakeasy's signature cocktails as ready-to-pour releases, so you can take the Maple Old Fashioned home if you'd rather drink it on your own porch.
The Ritual: Passwords, Parties, and Getting In
31 South is first-come, first-served. No reservations. Your entire party has to be present before you're seated, and the room caps at 12 guests without a private buyout—beyond that, you're booking the whole space through the events team. The daily password is posted on Instagram @31southspeakeasy, and it changes every day the bar is open. The speakeasy gimmick could feel forced; here it works because the space genuinely feels hidden, and the password is less about exclusivity than about keeping the crowd manageable in 45 seats.
Show up at 5:45 on a Thursday and you'll walk right in. Show up at 9 p.m. on a Saturday and you might wait an hour. The room holds its crowd well—turnover is slow, and that's by design. This is a cocktail lounge, not a high-volume bar.
Plan Your Visit
Location: 800 31st Street South, St. Petersburg, FL 33712 — inside St. Petersburg Distillery (Warehouse Arts District)
Hours: Thursday–Saturday, 6 p.m. – 11 p.m.
Instagram: @31southspeakeasy — password posted daily
Pro Tip: Book a distillery tour for the afternoon (they run throughout the day), then stay for the speakeasy when it opens at 6. You'll walk into the evening already knowing which spirits you like, and the transition from production floor to cocktail lounge is the best experience this building offers.
Final Note: A Room Worth Finding
St. Pete has cocktail bars. It has distilleries. What it hasn't had, until now, is the two stacked on top of each other—a working production facility with a hidden lounge directly above it, pouring spirits that traveled fifty feet from still to shaker. 31 South doesn't need to shout about being special. The view through the window does that for it.
Ready to go? Check @31southspeakeasy for tonight's password, head to the Warehouse Arts District, and walk past the copper stills on your way upstairs. Tag your photos #31SouthSpeakeasy — this is the kind of room you'll want to remember you found first.
