Taziki’s Mediterranean Café will join Jacksonville’s food scene when it opens at the Palmetto Point shopping center on Beach Boulevard.
The Birmingham, Ala.-based chain that serves Mediterranean cuisine intends to open at 14035 Beach Blvd., No. 108. The company’s website says the location is coming soon.
Palmetto Point is the new center built on the site of a former Golden Corral in front of the Regal Cinemas Beach Boulevard.
Contractor C.N. Bailey & Co. Inc. of Birmingham is the contractor for the $365,000 build-out of 2,844 square feet of interior space and a 353-square-foot patio. Plans show 98 seats inside and 32 outside.
Seating includes raised booths, high-tops, tables and banquettes inside and patio dining outside.
The franchisee is shown as Café Freska LLC of Vestavia Hills, Ala., near Birmingham.
Taziki.com shows there are 73 restaurants either open or coming soon in 16 primarily Southern states. Six are in Florida.
The company said Monday morning it will open in late October or early November and employ 40-45 people. It wants to open at least nine restaurants in Florida.
“We feel strongly that the Taziki’s brand is a real gem in the every-growing sea of restaurant choices,” said John Figert, owner of the Jacksonville Taziki’s.
Figert said there are no freezers or fryers in Taziki’s restaurants. He said all products are prepared fresh daily.
Tazikiscafe.com says the company will help franchisees hone their design. It says “clean and refreshing Mediterranean décor includes ceiling clouds, hardwood furnishings, natural stone and wood finishes, custom hand-built community tables which are perfect for large parties, and residential lighting, which sets the tone for the perfect dining escape.”
Its slogan is “Fresh, Casual and Delicious.”
The company describes itself as a quick-serve environment of Southern hospitality featuring chef-driven recipes prepared daily from fresh ingredients.
Menu items include appetizers, soups, salads, gyros, vegetarian dishes, sides and desserts, as well as beer and wine. Foods include hummus, Greek and Mediterranean salads, grilled meats and fish and more.
As an example of hours, the Clearwater restaurant is open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday and noon-7 p.m. Sunday.
It was founded in 1998 in Ensley, Ala., by Keith Richards, who began cooking chicken in a Kmart kitchen and serving sweet tea in Styrofoam cups. He later became a manager at Bottega Café in Birmingham.
After a 1997 trip to Greece, he returned to open the first Taziki’s in 1,100 square feet in Birmingham. He currently serves as chief development officer.
The website said stores average $1.46 million in net sales.
Palmetto Point is an almost 15,000-square-foot building designed for at least five spaces for restaurants and retail stores.
Developer John Cothran said in July 2015 he bought the 1.6-acre property 16 years earlier when Golden Corral was building there. He did a sale-leaseback.
The restaurant closed and he tried to sell the property, but the contracts didn’t close. The Golden Corral building was demolished and then he built the new center.
Leggett sells land for North Jacksonville apartments
Steve Leggett, who led the group that sold 155 acres for Amazon.com, has completed a land sale for development of a North Jacksonville apartment complex.
Duval Owens Signature LLP and Second Time Signature LLP, both led by Leggett as managing partner, sold 17.75 acres July 29 to Integra Riverside LLP.
Integra Riverside is part of Integra Land Co. of Lake Mary.
Integra paid $3.278 million for the property, which is at Max Leggett Parkway and Owens Road.
In April, Integra Land President David McDaniel said he anticipated ground-breaking this summer and completion toward the end of 2017 for a 300-unit apartment complex called Integra Riverside on site plans.
Those plans showed 12 apartment buildings, eight garage buildings, a clubhouse and pool and other structures. They are designed for 118 one-bedroom, 150 two-bedroom and 32 three-bedroom units.
At the time, McDaniel said he chose the Riverside name because of the project’s proximity to the River City Marketplace retail center.
Greene to speak at JAXUSA
Hugh Greene, president and CEO of Baptist Health, will be the keynote speaker at the third-quarter JAXUSA Partnership Luncheon scheduled Sept. 1 at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront. Individual tickets range from $45 to $70, depending on membership categories. For information, visit myjaxchamber.com or call (904) 366-6600, ext. 7788.
Site clearing sought at Mandarin South
PGP Jacksonville LLC and engineer Solid Rock Engineering Consultants Inc. applied for a site-clearing permit for the Mandarin South shopping center improvements.
PGP Jacksonville, part of the Preferred Growth Properties real-estate subsidiary of Books-A-Million, wants to redevelop the center at 11700 San Jose Blvd.
It will be anchored by new tenants Earth Fare and PetSmart and include a Tijuana Flats restaurant. Several current tenants, including AutoZone, will remain in the center, which has space for more restaurants and retail stores.
The site-development clearing permit is for a $30,000 project.
Permit sought for Lofts at LaVilla
A Vestcor Inc. affiliate and Summit Contracting Group Inc. applied for a building permit for the five-story, 130-unit Lofts at LaVilla Downtown.
Ground-breaking is expected in September with project completion in fall 2017 for the affordable housing community at 995 Water St.
Group 4 Design Inc. is the architect.
The permit application shows a $15 million construction project of almost 159,000 square feet. There also will be an open parking garage.
The total $23 million project will comprise 11 studios, 56 one-bedroom, 60 two-bedroom and three three-bedroom apartments.
TVC Development Inc. is the developer.
The Downtown Development Review Board approved the design for the five-story building in June.
Rents will range from $635 to $940 a month. Qualifying ncome levels would be up to $27,300 for one person and up to $38,940 for a family of four.
Rhodes named Visionary Leader
The Urban Land Institute North Florida District Council will honor attorney Bob Rhodes as its 2016 Visionary Leader at the council’s annual awards ceremony Oct. 11.
Rhodes has been a member of ULI for more than 30 years and served in many capacities, including chairing national policy forums and technical advisory panels and serving on the district council’s advisory board.
The council also is accepting nominations through Aug. 30 for its 2016 Awards for Excellence, which will be presented at the 5:30-7:30 p.m. event at Taliaferro Hall at St. John’s Cathedral Downtown.
Categories are New Development, Public Sector/Nonprofit, Downtown, Reuse/Repurpose and Open Space.
The district includes Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Gainesville, Tallahassee, Panama City and Pensacola.
Nomination fees are $500 for private companies and $200 for public and nonprofit organizations.
For information, visit northflorida.uli.org or call (904) 486-8256. Those interested in nominating a project also can email [email protected] or [email protected].
Retail notes
• Bold Bean Coffee Roasters intends to open a coffee shop along Hendricks Avenue. McCollum General Contracting and Development is the contractor for the proposed interior improvements for the almost 2,100-square-foot project. The Bold Bean website says the address is 1903 Hendricks Ave. while a permit application says 1905 Hendricks Ave.
The building formerly was the Hollingsworth Decorative Tile and Plumbing showroom for Turner Plumbing. Turner moved Hollingsworth to 1458 San Marco Blvd., the site of the former Peterbrooke factory. Peterbrooke opened a manufacturing center in the Brooklyn area.
• CenterState Bank of Florida applied with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a branch Downtown at 100 N. Laura St., suite 120. The Winter Haven-based bank intends to move its Jacksonville headquarters into the 100 North Laura building.
(904) 356-2466