A new 24-hour diner is set to open next month in St. Petersburg, assuming they can hire enough people to run the place.

  • "2nd & Second 24-hour diner set to open Dec. 11
  • Menu offering classic American diner fare
  • Email resumes to: job@2ndandsecond.com

The owners of 2nd & Second 24-hour Diner, named after its location on 2nd Avenue North and Second Street North, are preparing to open Dec. 11 and hopefully never close again.

“[It’s] A 100 percent American diner," co-owner Raphael Perrier said. "The eggs, bacon, the meatloaf, all the traditional diner food. It's funny because it's three French owners doing an American diner.”

Although Perrier and co-owners Reno Cowez and Jeremy Declut are no strangers to the downtown restaurant culture, running a 24-hour restaurant is. One of the biggest challenges they’ve discovered is finding enough people to fill the jobs.

“We're hiring a total of 60 in the front and about 30 in the kitchen, so close to 100 people," Perrier said. "So far [we’ve had only] 120 applicants.”

This isn't the first time that a 24-hour diner has tried to open up in downtown St. Pete. 'Diner 24 Downtown St. Pete' opened its doors earlier this year on 1st. Avenue North across from Williams Park, but it shut down a few months later.

That diner's owner claimed he couldn't find enough people to work all of the shifts. 2nd and Second co-owner Reno Cowez believes they won't have that problem.

“We have the right location and we have the right concept," Cowez said. "Now we need to find the right people.”

Anyone interested in applying for a position at 2nd & Second should email their resume to job@2ndandsecond.com.