Building a Business
in a Challenging Year
Terra Dunham, owner of Book
+ Bottle in Downtown St.
Petersburg, was living in Denver
and joking around with friends back
home in St. Pete about making a
business out of their favorite things -
wine, coffee and books – when a light
switched on in her mind.
“All of a sudden, I thought, ‘This
could actually be a great business
model,’” Dunham said. “And I knew St.
Pete would be the perfect place for it.”
Within a month, Dunham quit her
job and moved back home to St.
Petersburg, where she got in touch
with the University of South Florida’s
Small Business Development Center.
With their mentorship, she drew up a
business plan. The SBDC connected
her with The Greenhouse, which offers
assistance to business owners and
entrepreneurs.
After almost a year of preparations, it
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wasn’t lucky - it was March 2020, and
cities were beginning to close public
places in attempts to control the spread
of COVID-19.
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Dunham said. “But there was already a
lot of fear about being shut down, so we
opened a few days early. There wasn’t
“Our whole business is based
on community building.
COVID or not, people need
community and socialization,
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— Terra Dunham, owner of Book + Bottle
as much fanfare as we’d planned, but it
was still exciting.”
Soon, the fear of having to lock her
newly-opened doors became a reality,
and Dunham had to close the inside of
the store for a few weeks. But a $5,000
grant from the City of St. Petersburg’s
Fighting Chance fund, along with
“Survival Kits”, which were mix-andmatch
book and wine package deliveries
she offered to the locked-down
public, kept her up and running. She
says her efforts were supported not only
by the local community, but also her
fellow business owners.
“Our community really cares about
small businesses,” Dunham said. “I
already had a strong social media
presence, and in addition to the community’s
support, I Love the Burg, The
Chamber of Commerce and Keep St.
Pete Local all did social media promotions
to help me.”
Book + Bottle made it through a
couple of months of being shut down,
but Dunham was able to reopen the
doors in May 2020. She now wants to
show her support to the community that
embraced her during a tough time. She
now offers monthly donations from her
sales to causes that raise awareness and
support other local businesses.
“It really does take a village. It would
be silly for me not to give back. We
want to keep St. Pete a really great
place to be.”
Dunham also is happy to provide
a venue where people can meet with
friends and make new ones. She hosts
a monthly book club as well as a wine
club and hopes to expand into even
more ways of getting people together.
“Our whole business is based on
community building,” Dunham said.
“COVID or not, people need community
and socialization, and we offer a
place for that.”
Book + Bottle
in Downtown
St. Petersburg
BOOK + BOTTLE SEEKS TO BRING
ST. PETERSBURG TOGETHER OVER
SHARED INTERESTS.
STPETE.COM/BURGLIFE 15
/BURGLIFE
