The Looking Glass Initiative

09/04/2026

We will be closed Monday, September 7th in oberservstion of Labor Day. We will resume regular operating hours Tuesday, September 8th.

08/29/2026

We were proud to host this important vigil today.

08/21/2026

What a difference a day makes!

08/18/2026

St. Pete is celebrating National Black Business Month! 💼

In partnership with the St. Petersburg Greenhouse, the City connected residents with Black entrepreneurs across St. Pete all month long.

Join business experts and community leaders for a panel on growth, sustainability, and resiliency on Monday, August 24.

🚨 Space is limited. Registration required.

Register here: https://gh.stpetegreenhouse.org/workshop.aspx?ekey=10460224

08/15/2026

The Looking Glass Initiative is starting to take form! Exciting neighborhood retail curation taking place organically.

08/06/2026

What a difference a day can make!

Don’t skip what could be the best decision you ever made for yourself.

Calling all Black and/or local entrepreneurs to be a part of this once in a lifetime opportunity.

Newly retrofitted adaptive reuse neighborhood support retail project.

Keeping rents low to give new businesses a better chance!

You at least owe it to yourself to come talk to us about it!

John Barkett [email protected]
Julie Barkett [email protected]

Every one of our tenants would be happy to give us a raving review 😊

Sober RootsCode Wiz St. PeteGypsy Souls CoffeehouseOneEleven Salon And SpaOra CafeCYBEL

Barkett Realty Healthy Roots Garden & Community Center MLK Business District

07/11/2026

Great things on the horizon for our community! Photo credit to one of our amazing neighbors.

06/17/2026

Friends,

I’m grateful to be sharing the inaugural issue of The Root Report, the new newsletter from Healthy Roots and The Looking Glass Initiative. 🌱

This work means a lot to me because it starts from a belief I hold deeply: communities already carry strength, wisdom, care, and possibility. But too often, people are asked to keep showing up without the conditions, resources, and support needed for that effort to truly take root.

Healthy Roots is working alongside community partners in South St. Petersburg to help strengthen those conditions, through food access, trusted community spaces, local leadership, neighborhood stability, and opportunities that can grow over time.

This first issue shares more about the vision behind Healthy Roots and The Looking Glass Initiative, and the long-term investments beginning to take shape in support of community health and lasting neighborhood change.

Thank you for believing in this work and for being here with us at the beginning.

Read Issue 01 of The Root Report here:

04/24/2026

Meet the Seymours ❤️

Residents in South St. Petersburg can look forward to a new cafe opening later this year, thanks to St. Petersburg’s community leader and advocate, Meiko Seymour, co-founder of Café Ora.

Seymour is no stranger to working in his community and carries a “boots on the ground” mindset. He serves in roles such as lead pioneer and co-founder of Uncommon City, a contemplative church plant rooted in downtown St. Petersburg that launched in February 2025; City of St. Petersburg Housing Authority’s commissioner and Rise Development director; president of the Historic Roser Park Neighborhood Association, and an ordained minister with the International Ministry Network.

Read more → https://powerbrokermagazine.com/pastor-and-community-leader-will-open-new-cafe-in-southside-st-pete/