The Violet Stone to Open Second Location in South Tampa

The Violet Stone, a St. Petersburg pizzeria known for well-done pies and Philly cheesesteaks, is set to open its second location in October.

The new restaurant will be located at 3644 W. Kennedy Blvd. in South Tampa, in the space formerly occupied by Renzo’s, an Argentinian steakhouse.

When the expansion was announced in May, construction was expected to begin in July. On Sept. 10, the Tampa Bay Times reported the Tampa restaurant would open the following month. The pizzeria’s website still lists the Tampa location as “Coming Soon” without a specific opening date.

The Violet Stone began as a food truck in the St. Petersburg area in 2022. The restaurant’s website names the husband-and-wife team behind the business as Dan and Brit. The food truck originally focused on pizza.

In 2024, Dave Portnoy rated the restaurant’s cheesesteak a 9.2, which The Violet Stone said was the highest score he gave during his trip. Later that year, the business moved into a small storefront on Ninth Avenue North before relocating to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street North in 2025. The current location features a Philadelphia-themed dining room with nearly 100 seats.

The restaurant makes its bread in-house each day and uses the same scratch-made approach for its long-fermented, well-done pizza. Its tagline is, “We make bread. With that bread, we make pizza and sandwiches.”

The current menu includes 18 pizzas, 12 sandwiches and nine sides, including hand-cut fries and cheesesteak egg rolls.

The restaurant’s ribeye cheesesteak with caramelized onions also drew attention from Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who rated it among the best cheesesteaks he had eaten outside Philadelphia.

As The Violet Stone expands into Tampa, the restaurant plans to bring the same concept to its second location, including scratch-made pizza and Philly cheesesteaks.

The Violet Stone said it hopes to grow into a generational family business in Tampa Bay.

While Tampa awaits the new location, customers can continue visiting the St. Petersburg restaurant for its regular menu, events, online orders and catering.