Velvet Coupe Pours a Sustainable, Organic List in the EDGE District

Velvet Coupe opened June 4, 2026, at 25 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street South in St. Petersburg's EDGE District, a 40-plus-seat wine lounge — with additional outdoor seating for ten — built around a single editorial decision: every wine and beer it pours is sustainable, organic, or both. Founder Dina Branham runs the lounge under a three-word tagline, "Luxury by Omission," and the phrase is literal. Only producers that leave out harsh chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, and added sulfites make the list, so what remains is the quality the name points to.

The rule covers the whole program rather than a single shelf. The by-the-glass pours, the bottle list, and the beer selection all clear the same sourcing bar, and the lounge describes its menu as sustainable, organic, and in places biodynamic, with a noticeable European lean. The cocktail side stays anchored to the grape as well: rather than a spirits back bar, Velvet Coupe builds its specialty cocktails on sparkling wine, which lends the list an added note of elegance.

The business states the position on its own marquee, pairing the phrase with the exact inventory of what it serves: sustainable organic wine, beer, and sparkling wine cocktails. Bottles are available to take home as well.

The address puts that idea on one of downtown St. Petersburg's connecting streets. The lounge occupies a storefront on the south end of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street, inside the 33705 ZIP code, in a space that previously held Baked in the Burg and, before that, a Subway sandwich shop — a full transformation from its earlier lives. The EDGE District location gives Velvet Coupe a dedicated evening room within walking range of the district's foot traffic, and the lounge posts its hours, contact details, and event information across Instagram, Facebook, and its website at velvetcoupe.com.

The room carries the other half of the argument. The velvet seating sits low, sparkling pours arrive in coupe glasses, and the palette runs black, pale gold, burgundy, and plum. The stated register is quiet, understated luxury; Dina describes the aesthetic in her own words as moody sexy chic. The name, in the end, is a literal inventory of the furniture and the glassware.

Dina arrived at the concept with a wine room already behind her. She ran Wine House Social, a boutique wine shop and bar in Delray Beach, before relocating to the Gulf coast from Sarasota after a visit to St. Petersburg convinced her the city fit. "The passion and energy here inspired me to go for it," she said of the move. She holds dual Italian citizenship, which shows up on the list in the strength of its many Italian selections.

The kitchen plays a supporting role by design. A short menu of small plates keeps tables settled without competing with the pours: build-your-own charcuterie boards, whipped feta, burrata, fish dips, and bacon-wrapped dates for now. The format assumes guests came for the wine and the lounge, and the food works at the pace of a second glass rather than a dinner rush.

The lounge is aimed at ladies' nights and date nights, two occasions that map onto a room built to hold a conversation. The summer schedule is shaped to match: Velvet Coupe currently runs Tuesday through Thursday from 6 to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 6 p.m. to midnight, a five-night week that concentrates its longest service on the weekend. The lounge also books private experiences under its "Whisper Room" event planning. Inquiries route through the lounge's Instagram DM at @velvetcoupewinelounge or by phone and text at (727) 401-8145.

The public calendar is still filling in, with wine tastings, live and DJ music nights, and burlesque shows among the plans, and more to come as the lounge settles into its first full season.