The Chattaway, the 75-year-old St. Petersburg restaurant known for its burgers, live music, and landmark garden patio, has new owners — and will stay open under them.
Mark Ferguson, founder of Ferg's Sports Bar & Grill, and John Delladonna, owner of Shrimpy's, have acquired The Chattaway following a period of uncertainty about the restaurant's future, according to the operator's Instagram. The restaurant remained open through the transaction and will continue operating under the new ownership group.
The deal pairs two operators with established presences in the St. Pete market. Ferguson built Ferg's into one of the city's most durable sports bars; Delladonna has run Shrimpy's as a local staple. Their combined move to absorb The Chattaway reads as a preservation play — a bet that the restaurant's existing identity is the asset, not a platform for reinvention.
Per the operator's Instagram, the new team has a set of upgrades planned for the months ahead: a liquor license, a covered patio, expanded live entertainment, vendor markets, and an extended seafood menu. Each addition is additive rather than structural. A full liquor license opens the door to broader programming for the live music and vendor market calendar the new owners are building out. A covered patio extends the usability of the garden — The Chattaway's most distinctive physical feature — through Florida's summer heat and afternoon rain. The seafood expansion builds on a menu already anchored in casual classics.
What the new owners say they're preserving is the character that kept The Chattaway running for three-quarters of a century. At 75 years old, the restaurant occupies a specific niche in St. Pete: a low-key, outdoor-oriented spot with deep neighborhood roots that resists easy categorization. The choice of local operators rather than an outside hospitality group reflects that intent.
A timeline for individual upgrades hasn't been announced. Worth watching in the months ahead: whether the vendor market programming takes on a regular cadence and positions The Chattaway's garden as a weekend destination in its own right — a role its footprint could credibly support.
