Michael and Cindy Parsons closed their Regency Square Mall food court Parsons Seafood Express in mid-December after two months in operation.
They opened Oct. 20 and closed Dec. 15.
Meanwhile, their Neptune Beach Parsons Seafood Restaurant remains open — and, as Michael Parsons said Monday, is “overperforming.”
Parsons said the Regency Square restaurant was holding its own and broke even, but the Neptune Beach location was exceeding expectations and needed their attention.
Rather than continuing to split the 12-member crew between the two sites, Parsons said he and his brother, who operates the Neptune Beach restaurant, decided to focus on the successful location.
“We decided it was most feasible to operate the one making the most money,” he said.
Parsons also said he didn’t have the working capital left over at Regency to fully promote the mall site.
“If I had had the money, I would have kept it open longer,” he said.
If so, he said he might have been able to be operating when Impact Church opens in the former Belk department store space at the mall, creating more pedestrian traffic.
“Once that comes in, I do believe that would have made a big difference,” he said.
Another factor, he said, is the restaurant occupied an end site in the food court with three empty spaces next to it.
The opposite side of the court has four tenants operating out of seven spaces. Parsons said he should have opened on that side.
Plus, he said the Christmas shopping traffic at the mall wasn’t as busy as he thought it would be and he would have had to pull money from the Neptune Beach store to help.
Regency Square, at 9501 Arlington Expressway, will be 50 years old in 2017. In more recent years, tenants and customers moved on to newer residential and shopping areas. The mall was sold in 2013.
New owners moved the retail stores into the East Mall at Regency and leased the West Mall to International Décor Outlet, which hasn’t opened.
Michael and Cindy Parsons opened the Regency Square and Neptune Beach locations in October after closing their Jacksonville Beach restaurant Aug. 24.
They closed that spot after prohibitive maintenance costs and Cindy’s breast cancer diagnosis. She continues with treatment.
The couple wasn’t sure when the Jacksonville Beach restaurant closed that the business would open again, but those circumstances changed.
The 100-seat Neptune Beach location in the Shoppes of Summer Sands, at 1451 Atlantic Blvd., became available. Parsons’ son Sean, who had recently moved to the Arlington area, learned of the Regency Square food court possibility.
His son worked at the restaurant while attending the University of North Florida to study bioengineering.
Parsons had about two months of free rent at Regency Square, but the first month was taken up with setting up and securing regulatory approvals. He said he paid a month’s rent before closing.
The sign that had hung outside the Jacksonville Beach restaurant that was moved to Regency now will be relocated to Neptune Beach, he said.
He said if the mall picks up as management hopes, he might consider returning.
“I won’t say I won’t open there again,” he said.
The Parsons name is a familiar one in the seafood restaurant industry.
Parsons’ father, Gene, bought and opened Parsons Seafood Restaurant in 1966 in Mayport, selling it 17 years later. It closed in 1992.
Parsons said Monday the Neptune Beach restaurant is doing much better than anticipated — enough so that he could give his employees Monday off to enjoy an extended holiday with their families.
“We believe the Beach one will be the best ever,” he said.
Juicy Crab taking Sweet Tomatoes site
The Juicy Crab is taking over the former Sweet Tomatoes restaurant in the Regency area.
It will be the second location for the restaurant, after the first opened in October at 8106 Blanding Blvd., according to a company representative.
The parent company of Sweet Tomatoes closed its only two area restaurants in October after filing for bankruptcy reorganization.
The locations were at 1115 Mary Susan Drive in Jacksonville, near Regency Square Mall, and 1625 Wells Road in Orange Park.
The city issued permits Thursday for four signs for The Juicy Crab in Regency totaling $8,180.
The 7,600-square-foot Jacksonville location was built in 1999 as a Sweet Tomatoes. The property is owned by an investor.
The Juicy Crab’s menu includes seafood and other dishes. An employee at the Blanding restaurant said the Regency location would open in a few months.
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