How it all came full circle

I’m Abby: a lifelong storyteller, dreamer, creative strategist, and community builder with a deep love for St. Petersburg and its people.

I’ve built a business from scratch, right here in St. Pete — and I left the best corporate job I ever had to do so (I was the very first in-house marketing executive at First Watch Restaurants). What started as a dream turned into my full-time livelihood for more than 15 years, and it took me to some incredible places - like the big stage of America’s Got Talent and the small stage of Canterbury, where I taught kids summer camps for over a decade.

After returning to my restaurant marketing roots and leading communications efforts for brands like Kahwa Coffee Roasters and Greenlane, I’ve come to this realization:

The magic happens when strategic marketing merges with authentic storytelling.

This isn’t a marketing agency. It’s a mission to support local restaurants and food & beverage brands by telling the stories that matter most. The ones with heart that make owning a small business so special.

Maybe your best-selling recipe came from your great-grandmother. Maybe you’ve quietly fed first responders or opened your doors to neighbors during a hurricane. Maybe your restaurant is celebrating 30 years in business or perhaps your bar stools have hosted more first dates than you can count. Let’s talk about that. Because everyone has a story to tell, and that’s the secret sauce your customers care about — and the very thing that drives loyalty and retention. Yep, I track those KPIs too. 😉

Whether it’s through public relations, UGC, social media collaborations, community engagement, or mutually beneficial brand partnerships — my focus is simple: help good people doing great work get the attention and results they deserve.

I now get to champion the small businesses that make this city so incredible. Let’s lead with love, tell better stories, and get things cookin’ — together and authentically.

A collage of five photos. The top left shows two women smiling and posing for a photo indoors. The top right displays a paper with a colorful image of purple, pink, and aqua M&M candies, along with a cup of strawberry-flavored Light 'n Fit smoothie. The middle contains a newspaper article and a close-up of the smoothie cup. The bottom left features a black and white photo of two women sitting at a bar with cocktails, and the bottom right depicts three women smiling and sitting at an outdoor table with food on a sunny day.

Florida Born. NYC Trained. ‘Burg Rooted.

If you really want to throw it back, I’ve got some career origin stories — like moving to New York City the same week I graduated from UF (Go Gators!) and diving headfirst into agency life as a baby PR intern. There were 7 of us, and only one open position at the end of the internship, which I graciously accepted.

Then came the real fun - like standing outside the Today Show at 4 a.m., client signage in-hand, just hoping to get a shot on national TV. Or riding in the backseat of a taxi while the driver blew through red lights so I could hand-deliver Pizza Hut’s Super Bowl ad exclusive to Entertainment Tonight — with literal minutes to spare.

One time, I even helped rally the entire world to vote on the next M&M’s color. (Spoiler alert: purple won.) Then we landed the Nike account, with Uncle Ben’s and Dannon to follow. I learned from the best, spent a few years climbing the corporate ladder — and I was there on 9/11, a moment in time that still brings tears to my eyes when I think about it.

Those early days as a small-town girl in the big city — fresh out of college and wide-eyed in New York — shaped everything about how I work today. Then, after moving back to Florida, I spent a year at Bloomin’ Brands and nearly five more at First Watch, where I sharpened my skills alongside some of the kindest, smartest people I know — before launching my first business here in the ‘Burg.