If you were walking near the north side of EverBank Center on Thursday morning and thought you smelled barbecue, your nose wasn’t playing a trick on you.
The aroma you detected was a test run at The Bank BBQ & Bakery at 331 W. Forsyth St., in preparation for the opening Monday.
Tom Thornton bought the 75-year-old former Tucker Bros. Building in 2014 and began converting it into a restaurant and bakery in April with an investment of more than $300,000.
“From the roof to the floor, it’s all new,” said Thornton, who also owns Dixie Auction Co. “I think it’s turned out nice.”
The menus were still at the printer Thursday, but Thornton said The Bank will serve breakfast in the morning. And for lunch: “It’s not an elaborate menu — it’s pork and ribs and chicken.”
In April, a few days after the building permits were issued, Thornton wouldn’t reveal who would be supervising the kitchen. He would only say he was hiring the pitmaster from his favorite local barbecue joint.
At about 11 a.m. Thursday, Richard Burns, a 27-year veteran from The Pig Bar-B-Q, was pulling pork out of the smoker and slicing it, getting ready for a preview lunch for about 30 friends and associates of Thornton and his wife, Rocio.
On the ground floor, there’s a 50-seat dining room and a bakery display case that, at first, will contain only Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
Thornton said he plans to have the full-service bakery operational in about a month and hopes to fill the void for customers who miss Worman’s Bakery, which was a few blocks away but closed in 2009.
The second floor isn’t yet finished, but Thornton said it will eventually be available for private parties and catering.
“My granddaughter already booked it for her wedding next year,” he said.
The Bank will be open 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. for breakfast and lunch and then for take-out until 5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.
“Stop by on your way home and get some barbecue for dinner,” Thornton said.
(904) 356-2466