TV chef Geoffrey Zakarian to run St. Petersburg hotel’s flagship restaurant

Celebrity chef Geoffrey Zakarian will manage, operate and serve as chef for a new restaurant coming to downtown St. Petersburg’s soon-to-be built Autograph Collection branded hotel.

Zakarian, a culinary and television star, has been chosen by the developers of The Central, a downtown mixed-used development, to oversee the full-service restaurant and other food and beverage offerings at the hotel. His company, Zakarian Hospitality, will also manage all food, beverage and hospitality services at Halcyon, an office tower in the development.

The Central is the redevelopment of St. Pete’s former police headquarters on Central Avenue in the city’s Edge District.