Stay Awhile: Southern Grounds in Downtown St. Pete Serves Coffee, Cuisine and Community Connection

Call it a coffee shop with great food, or a restaurant with great coffee. For Jordan Hooten, Southern Grounds and Co. is, above all, a community gathering place.The Jacksonville-based franchise has locations throughout Florida, including one in downtown St. Petersburg that opened last year. Come for the coffee, then stay for breakfast, catch up on some emails, have lunch, grab drinks with a friend, stay for dinner and then squeeze in a workout with your run club. And if you’re us, record a podcast.So Hooten is right. SoGro—as the cool kids call it—is anything but a grab-and-go coffee spot. On a bustling Friday morning, the Zest team settled into a table for hot drinks and a chat with Jordan.