High-rise lounge raising St. Pete bar

A St. Petersburg nightclub owner plans to bring a touch of Manhattan to the city's burgeoning late-night scene.

James Guttridge, managing partner of Vintage Ultra Lounge, is partner in an upscale lounge called Atria on the 19th floor of Bank of America Tower, the tallest office building in Pinellas County. The 10,000-square-foot club, which Guttridge promises will be the best of its type on the coast, will feature three open-air terraces plus a ground-level bar leading to the elevators.

Rooftop lounges and restaurants are popular in larger cities with high-rise buildings, and Guttridge is confident Atria will attract similar success in St. Pete, where the downtown nightlife often makes sibling rival Tampa look like an early retiree. An extension of bar hours to 3 a.m. has helped.

The trendy Vintage Ultra Lounge has done well with its mix of classic ambience and dance music, and even attracts a few celebrities passing through the Tampa Bay area along with the paparazzi tracking their every move. It will be a matter of time (and, of course, money) before we see whether Atria does as well.

Atria is scheduled to open by the end of this summer, but if you want reservations you better know somebody. Coffee Talk tried finding an online listing, but the closest we got was a senior living facility with the same name. Some old stereotypes are just difficult to overcome.