Popular Sake Bomb Will Reopen Friday on Central Avenue

ST. PETERSBURG – Tai and Tom Truang have lived in downtown St. Petersburg for the better part of 30 years. Over that time, they have seen a dramatic shift in the cultural outlets (restaurants, stores, art galleries) of their native town.

“Central Avenue used to be bare,” said Tai. “Most people went out in Tampa.”

As St. Pete has grown and developed a hub of activity downtown, startup bars like Sake Bomb, the Truang brothers’ joint, opened their doors and developed loyal custmers.

Sake Bomb is a familiar name on the drinking scene. It had an out-of-the-way location on MLK Street until the lease ran out.

With an expanding business and palpable buzz, Tom and Tai sought to relocate to a higher-visibility place downtown.

They have found such a spot on 548 Central, and will open March 4^th. The bar seems right at home among the galleries and trendy restaurants, like Acropolis. It offers its own thread in the downtown patchwork of eclectic and cool places to eat, drink and have a good time.

Sake Bomb's specialty is the rice wine that its name suggests. Most sushi restaurants serve sake warm, but the higher end stuff, according to Tai, is best cold. Sake Bomb will serve 15 to 20 different varieties of the alcoholic beverage, in addition to “saketinis.”

Recently Tai sat down with Patch to discuss the Sake Bomb vibe, and how he and his brother decided to open a sake bar.

Q. What kind of ambiance are you going for?

A. We want it to be super laid back. Sake Bombis not a dive bar, but it also is not an ultra lounge, either. We want it to be comfortable – no fights, just like our old place.

Q. How are you going to use the large space?

A. We are going to have a deejay on the second floor, live music acts, some art shows – I’m really into local artists. We want to capture the locals; have this be a place that people in downtown go.

Q. Are you going to serve food?

A. Not at first. March 4^th is a soft opening, so we want to see how it goes and iron out any of the wrinkles. After a month or so, we will offer sushi for lunch and dinner. This is not a restaurant, but we also want people to be able to eat while they are getting a drink, instead of going to another place.

Q. How is it working with your brother?

A. We each bring something different to the table. Tom has a lot of experience managing restaurants. I’m more involved with the marketing and getting the word out.

Q. How is it that you guys came up with the idea to start Sake Bomb?

A. We got the idea, after we visited Vietnam in 2009.