Volta Wine + Market plans to open in 2026 at 400 Central with a small-format wine shop and specialty grocery built for repeat visits, not spectacle.
At roughly 2,000 square feet, the downtown St. Petersburg concept is not chasing luxury cues or lifestyle theatrics.
Instead, owners Zach Pace and Rachelle Tomushev are betting that gourmet grocery works best when it feels useful.
The goal is simple. Make good wine and good ingredients feel normal on a weeknight.
“We’re very, very conscious about making it approachable,” Tomushev said.
That approach contrasts with gourmet grocery in many U.S. cities, where food shopping has shifted from routine to performance.
Across major U.S. cities, gourmet grocers have become cultural flashpoints. Stores like Erewhon and Meadow Lane have drawn attention for pristine displays, cultural cachet and prices that signal aspiration as much as quality.
They have also drawn criticism for turning basic food shopping into a lifestyle signal, accessible to few and alienating to many.
Volta is intentionally moving in the opposite direction, pushing gourmet grocery back toward routine.
Designed for use, not display
That philosophy shows up immediately in how the space is designed.
There will be no TVs, no QR codes and no free Wi Fi. The goal is not to keep people scrolling or working while sipping wine. It is to create a place that feels grounded and social.
At the back of the shop, a small listening lounge will anchor the space. Two turntables, a curated vinyl collection and vintage audio equipment are meant to slow the pace and encourage people to stay present.
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“We’re very in-person, physical people,” Pace said. “This is about creating meaningful social interaction.”
The listening lounge is not meant to be a destination in its own right. It is meant to support the same visit. Shop. Pour a glass. Stay a little longer.
A grocery store that fits real routines
Volta’s footprint is intentionally modest. The layout prioritizes flow and ease rather than abundance or visual overload.
A compact wine bar is built directly into the shop, offering rotating pours alongside beer, sake and nonalcoholic options.
“We don’t want it to feel like you have to dress up to go in there,” Tomushev said. “Or that you have to spend a certain amount of money. You should be able to grab a $12 glass of wine and feel comfortable.”
Guests will be able to pull a bottle from the shelf at retail price and open it at the bar. The same bottle lives in the same system. There is no upsell.
Prepared food will not be a focus. Instead, the emphasis is on ingredients people actually cook with at home, alongside products from smaller producers and regional makers the founders want to support.
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“Our goal is to kind of honor the southeast Florida and the surrounding areas,” Pace said.
He pointed to examples like Florida-produced caviar, Carolina rice and local makers such as St. Pete Ferments and Queen and Colony Honey as the types of products Volta plans to carry alongside imported staples.
National and international products will also be part of the mix, chosen for quality and practicality rather than novelty.
“Japan has incredible products,” Tomushev said, describing pantry items that translate easily to American kitchens.
For the founders, the test is simple. Does the product make sense for how people actually cook on a typical weeknight?
Why this works now
Volta’s arrival reflects a broader shift underway in downtown St. Petersburg.
The area has added thousands of residents in recent years, many living in high-rise buildings with limited storage and a preference for shorter, more frequent shopping trips.
After moving to the city, Pace said he and Tomushev went to grab a pizza and a bottle of wine and realized there were far fewer specialty bottle shops downtown than in peer cities.
“There’s also just a big hole in the market for really quality bottle shops, especially in the downtown area where we’re setting up shop,” he said.
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The location at 400 Central reflects that logic. Volta sits within walking distance of thousands of residents while still accommodating customers who drive.
“It’s really cool that at 400 Central they have something like 300 public parking spots,” Tomushev said. “We’ll also have a loading zone right in front of the shop so people can order ahead online and drive up to pick up a case of wine.”
For the founders, those logistics matter as much as the concept. The goal is not to chase novelty or tourists. It is to fit into existing routines.
Built like a business, not a vibe
Behind the scenes, Pace said Volta is structured less like a lifestyle brand and more like an operations-first business.
“You’re not in retail and you’re not in hospitality,” he said. “You’re in the inventory.”
Before moving to St. Pete, Pace co-founded an online wine company that shipped nationally to 46 states.
Running that business meant managing cold chain logistics, navigating state-by-state compliance and maintaining tight pricing discipline in a market where consumers can comparison-shop instantly.
Each bottle had to make sense on its own. Inefficiency compounds quickly.
“If you can’t manage your inventory,” Tomushev said, “all the other nice stuff goes out the window.”
Volta’s hybrid model adds complexity. Bottles sold by the glass at the bar also live in retail inventory.
Grocery items, nonalcoholic beverages and wine all move through the same system, each with different margins and turnover rates.
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Rather than forcing the business into off-the-shelf retail or restaurant software, the founders built custom inventory and point-of-sale systems tailored to Volta’s operating model.
Pace said there was no existing software designed for a specialty grocery that also functions as a wine shop and bar.
Retail systems and restaurant systems are built for separate lanes. Volta sits between them.
Those systems are invisible to customers. Pace said they are foundational.
“You can have all the hospitality in the world is not going to save you,” he said.
Pace said his background in fine dining shaped his thinking about consistency rather than exclusivity.
“People hear Michelin and think expensive or fussy,” he said. “But what it really means is attention. It’s warmth. It’s doing the small things well every time.”
A quieter kind of bet
Volta is not built to chase trends or scale quickly. Pace and Tomushev are not positioning the shop as a flagship or a brand statement.
They are building something meant to be used.
Success looks like becoming part of the weekly rhythm of downtown life. A place people stop into after work. A place that solves dinner. A place that feels familiar rather than aspirational.
In many cities, gourmet grocery has come to signal status.
Volta is betting that St. Petersburg has reached a different moment, one where quality does not need to announce itself and usefulness matters more than performance.
If that bet pays off, Volta may reflect more than a new store opening. It may signal a shift in how the city shops, cooks and gathers. Less about display. More about habit.
“The city needs more of this stuff,” Pace said. “Let’s help each other out.”
