Ramen, Sake, and Vibes You Can’t Shazam
Some places hit you before you even sit down. In Between Days does that. Maybe it is the name. Maybe it is the glow from the street. Maybe it is the quiet confidence that only comes from someone pouring twenty years of friendship and vision into a room. Zach did that. He built a space in St. Pete that feels both deliberate and effortless at the same time.
Jazz Night
The first thing you notice is the crowd. Young energy packed into every corner, the kind that tells you a place is alive without anyone needing to say it. If you ever want to test whether a restaurant has gravity look for the age of the room. When the next generation claims it, the verdict is in.
In Between Days is a ramen bar, a sake bar, a Japanese influenced listening room, and somehow still something entirely its own. The first night I arrived there was live jazz drifting across the patio. Jazz weaving through the salt air, people carrying plates of soul food like it was the most natural pairing in the world. Inside, a massive wall of vinyl stretched across the space with two turntables always spinning. The music was the perfect level of obscure. The kind of tracks that make you reach for your phone only to have Shazam shrug in defeat.
The final night I was in town the place hit its full stride. I sat at the bar and ordered a bowl of ramen that ended up being the best bowl I have ever had. No exaggeration. Deep flavor, clean heat, careful balance. The bartender talked me through a flight of sake with the calm precision of someone who has built their life around the craft. A full sake sommelier who can tell you stories behind every bottle. The knowledge alone was worth the trip.
Zach has created something rare. A space that pulls people together and makes them feel part of something happening in real time. A place with soul and rhythm and a heartbeat that does not need hype because the experience speaks for itself.
I walked out into the St. Pete night with a camera full of photos and that quiet feeling you get when you witness a friend hit a perfect stride. If you are looking for the creative core of the city In Between Days is the spot. It is the place people talk about before they know its name. It is the place you go once and immediately understand why everyone else is already there.