New place in the old Munch’s restaurant spot is close to opening in St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG — The former location of Munch’s, the iconic St. Petersburg restaurant once featured on Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” appears to be poised to open a new chapter as Tchotchke, an eatery serving breakfast and lunch.

The restaurant at 3920 Sixth St. S. has been a staple in St. Petersburg for 70 years. Owner Larry Munch put the place up for sale in 2022, saying he was ready to retire but hoped the new buyer would keep the popular restaurant alive. In a phone interview Monday, Munch said he had high hopes for the new iteration, though he will keep his distance for now.

“I don’t want to run into people there and have them say something negative, like, ‘This isn’t Munch’s,’” he said. “I just want to give them positive vibes.”

On social media, such as the Old Southeast neighborhood group on Facebook, pictures of the menu from soft openings have been posted. A peek inside on Monday showed the restaurant and counter appear ready for an opening with silverware set on cloth napkins and white ceramic coffee cups placed upside down at each spot.

But there was no sign on the marquee of the restaurant’s name on Monday or in the windows. Records from Pinellas County restaurant inspections show that it will be called Tchotchke and is poised to open soon.

Munch’s was best known for breakfast and lunch “like mama used to make” and its Munchburger, fried chicken, fried green tomatoes and its own brand of sausages from scratch.

The new owners, who have kept a low profile on social media, have a menu that is similar but also includes Southwestern influences in its breakfast burrito, vegetarian options and Flamingo Potatoes, made of fried potatoes with roasted cauliflower tossed in Spanish roasted pepper sauce.

“They had told me they didn’t want to compete with what was there before,” Munch said, though he said they did find there are residual effects from the location.

“They didn’t advertise the soft opening last week and he said he was amazed all he did was unlock the door and the counterside was filled,” Munch said. “That’s what I warned them. We’ve been here 70 years, so you will have a good following, but that can be good and bad.”