Next Level Brands

Jeff Gigante brings Forbici Modern Italian to downtown St. Petersburg’s Sundial, marking a homecoming and a high-profile dining expansion.

The South Tampa Chamber has announced the finalists for its 2024 Business of the Year Awards. The Business of the Year Awards recognizes and honors our members who have demonstrated leadership, positive growth, development and integrity in operation as a business, as well as a commitment to the community. A total of 24 businesses, organizations

Next Level Brands has promoted Heather Rivas to director of operations. During her, more than 15 years, in the industry, Rivas has experience in roles such as general manager for James Beard Award-winning Chef Sean Brock, at Husk Savannah, and as opening general manager at Tiger Mama, a Boston restaurant helmed by James Beard Award

Beard by the Bay, an event created to celebrate the culinary greatness of the Tampa Bay region’s finest chefs, sommeliers and mixologists, is returning to Tampa, in October, for the first time since 2019. The official James Beard Foundation Event, organized by RSBP Events+PR, will be a multi-course tasting event on Sunday, October 29, at

Up, a rooftop lounge with dining and entertainment located at Union New American, a Next Level Brands concept, is scheduled to open today. Starting at $200 per person, guests purchase custom packages, with bottle service, curated to offer an “immersive dining experience” with live music and dancing. Lauren “Lolo” Mayhew, a Tampa-based singer, disc jockey

►RHI Magnesita, a global supplier of refractory products, systems and services, opened its North American headquarters, at 1150 Assembly Drive, Tampa. (Pictured above) ► The National Maritime Law Enforcement Academy announced that Port Tampa Bay has become the first port in the country to become accredited through the academy’s Maritime Security Accreditation and Digitization Program.  ►

With the announcement of Forbici Modern Italian coming to Sundial, in St. Petersburg, the owners of Sundial, Paradise Ventures, say it could offer a major transformational use of the property for the benefit of the surrounding neighborhood and the city of St. Petersburg. Moving into the space previously occupied by Locale Market, Forbici will provide

An attorney, a real estate investor and a serial restaurateur walk into a bar … no, this is not the opening of a joke, it’s the reality of the founders of Next Level Brands.  The founding team is made up of Joseph Guggino, an attorney and investor, Andrew Wright, founder, chief executive officer and managing