The hand-painted GOOD EATS mural in black on the sunflower-yellow wall, signed V9

Good eats, since 2020.

A family dream, an old service station, and a whole lot of neighbors.

The dream

V9 Eats started out as just a dream our family would tell each other about for twenty years. Our passion for cooking fresh, delicious food showed up day in and day out, at every table we ever set.

The bright interior counter strung with paper lanterns and lights

When the dream finally became real, it moved into an old service station on 9th Ave N in west St. Pete. The station quickly turned into a bright and eclectic family spot. We kept the history and the bones of the place and gave it our own take on vintage: painted walls, garage-bay windows and a marquee sign over the dining room.

Our mission is simple: homemade, mouth-watering food for the local community, served in a room that feels like home.

An atmosphere reminiscent of your kitchen table.

Our family's mission, from day one

We opened with five menu items and grew from there, one season at a time. Wings and baby back ribs go low and slow in the smoker out front. The pickles, the hibiscus tea, the cheese sauce, the chili and the bourbon BBQ are all made in house.

The marquee V9 EATS sign on the dining-room wall

On the shelf you'll find Mama Pearl's bread and goods from other local makers, because the neighborhood is the whole point.

The station

The yellow building with the GOOD EATS mural
The old station on 9th Ave N
The chevron-striped wall beside the garage-bay window
The chevron wall
Bacon burger and fries under the painted mural and marquee sign
Under the marquee
Dining room with red and teal chairs and the marquee sign
The dining room

Old-timers who pumped gas here still come in wearing their old uniforms.As told to I Love the Burg

Sandwich in a checkered boat held up against the GOOD EATS wall
Against the GOOD EATS wall
Salmon sandwich in the dining room with paper lanterns
Lanterns over lunch
Two loaded dogs under the marquee sign
Two dogs, loaded
Chicken parm sandwich and a drink before the marquee sign
Chicken parm, sometimes on the menu

Milestones

  1. 12·05·20

    Opening weekend. The old service station starts serving.

  2. 12·05·21

    One year and counting: an anniversary party with live music on the patio.

    The crew under the 1 Year and Counting banner
    Live music on the patio under the umbrellas
  3. 12·03·22

    "2 Years OPEN." A birthday party, with Santa stopping by.

  4. Year 4

    A fourth birthday, celebrated with everybody who keeps coming back.

    The V9 EATS marquee sign badge

Anyone's welcome at Thanksgiving.

Every Thanksgiving Day we open the doors for a free turkey dinner, open to anyone who needs one. In year three we served nearly 200 dinners, all of it possible because staff, friends and family donated their time and food.

We're proud members of the Gulfport Kiwanis Club, which meets right here at V9. The club has held its officer installation dinner here, plus charity poker nights and a Key Club car wash fundraiser out front.

And when the St. Pete Fire Fighters needed feeding, we catered for them too.

A long buffet laid out along V9's counter, staff behind it
Staff, friends and family feed a crowd.
A sandwich held up in front of the GOOD EATS mural

I Love the Burg · March 14, 2024

“St. Pete's ultimate locally-owned comfort food restaurant”

The paper tells how our owner left a career as a conceptual designer for a kitchen, and how the menu started with five items and kept growing with the seasons.

It also found the smoker out front, where the wings and baby back ribs go low and slow, plus the house hibiscus tea and the pickles you can take home.

One local food reviewer called our Shrimp Po'Boy “the best po'boy in the burg.” And the neon sign inside says BEST BURGERS IN TOWN. We'll let you be the judge.

Read the article