St. Pete Ferments owner Sarah Arrazola talks Florida flora, ‘slow food’ and new retail storefront

As a longtime vendor at popular markets throughout The ‘Burg, St. Pete Ferments owner Sarah Arrazola never really planned to open an in-person, retail space for her variety of locally-sourced fermented products.

But after receiving news that the production space she leased in Gulfport was sold this summer, the opportunity to rent a brick and mortar in downtown St. Pete quickly presented itself.

Arrazola was given 75 days to relocate, and with the help of fundraising efforts from the St. Pete community and loyalcustomers alike, she was able to sign a lease by the end of the summer.

St. Pete Ferments’ new storefront, which it shares with local honey producers Queen and Colony, is located at 326 Dr. MLK Jr. St. N and in soft opening phase.

A grand opening shindig is slated for Thursday, Oct. 17.

For now, the part-retail part-production space is open from 2 p.m.-7 p.m. on Thursdays and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, although Arrazola tells Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that these hours may expand in the future.

With an increasing number of out-of-towners and high rises populating her hometown of St. Petersburg, Arrazola finds comfort in her small-scale business, wildly fermented products, and close relationships she’s made with local farmers and fellow small business owners.

“I want this new space to continue my efforts in breaking down gatekeeping within our small-scale food production space…the older I’ve gotten the more I’ve realized that we should all be making efforts to create alternatives to the industrialized food system and antiquated grocery model,” Arrazola explains. “I think trying to break down those walls and be more community focused is going to help us all in the long run.”

Launched in 2016, SPF has made a name for itself by being a consistent vendor at both the Indie Flea and Saturday Morning Markets in St. Pete, giving Arrazola the chance to purvey a variety of kombucha, kimchi, sauerkraut and other Florida-focused ferments directly to her customer base.

In addition to these “usual suspects” as Arrazola describes, there’s a few more hyperlocal and seasonal options like her homegrown green papaya dills, which are now available at the new brick-and-mortar.

While SPF is gearing up for another fall market season, Arrazola is also giving herself time to focus on the shared retail storefront. It provides a new space for future workshops, educational events and serves as a produce pick-up location for local farmer Will Crum on Thursdays.

The new brick and mortar space also allows SPF to sell its fresh tempeh—a fermented soy protein—as well as a variety of educational books about beekeeping, urban farming, fermentation, brewing mead, Florida horticulture and more.

Just a few workshops happening this fall cover the topics of kombucha, kimchi and the popular koji, where attendees will learn about the “myceliated mat of molded grain which is foundational to Japanese fermentation.”

Over the years, she’s also taught folks how to make their own hot sauces, tonics and natural sodas—constantly showcasing the endless possibilities of local flora and wild fermentation.

“Whether you’re a hobby fermenter or a chef that wants to maximize flavor, I hope that everyone can use different applications to their fullest potential,” Arrazola says. “I encourage folks to really use what’s in season and be sensitive to what’s growing around them.” And with 30 wholesale accounts that span the greater Tampa Bay area—alongside the annual market season and its brand new storefront—Arrazola is content with the size of her small business and isn’t interested in expanding any time soon.

“I have no interest in our products being sold somewhere like Whole Foods because that scale of production would inevitably change the products at some point,” the St. Pete native says. “I’m very comfortable making a living doing what I like doing. I get to not only support my local growers and farmers, but I get to know them as people, neighbors and friends.”

St. Pete Ferments sources all of its produce from Pinellas County purveyors like Little Pond Farm, Clearwater’s Life Farms and Greens n’ Things Urban Farm, among others throughout the greater Tampa Bay area.

By wildly fermenting these locally-grown fruits and vegetables, Arrayola is letting naturally-occurring microbes transform fresh produce into a longer-lasting, crunchy and tangy product filled with gut-friendly bacteria and tons of flavor.

“Foodie” trends and influencer-promoted products come and go, but the natural process of fermentation has been around for about as long as human civilization itself. Arrazola and her small business are not reinventing the wheel, but applying these ancient techniques to the Sunshine State’s bountiful botany that she grew up surrounded by.

“I'm not here to tell people what is healthy or how to be healthy…the point of focus for St. Pete Ferments is seasonality, technique, texture and flavor,” Arrazola explains. “And if it happens to be good for you on top of that, then you know, that's a bonus.”

Head to @stpeteferments on Instagram for the latest updates on its upcoming market schedule, operating hours, seasonal offerings and more. Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.

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