Since John Valentino bought the Edgewood Bakery property in Murray Hill in early 2016, people have been asking:
When will it re-open as The French Pantry, another of Valentino’s restaurant concepts?
On Monday, Valentino ventured a timeframe — about 18 months from now, in fall 2018.
“It’s not something I need to do right now,” Valentino told the Meninak Club of Jacksonville.
Last year, Valentino opened three restaurants — Mellow Mushroom at River City Marketplace and Burrito Gallery locations in Brooklyn and in Jacksonville Beach - in eight months and decided to relax this year from that pace.
Valentino owns the five area Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers restaurants and The French Pantry, which he bought in summer 2015. The French Pantry is off Powers Avenue in Southside.
He also is a partner in Gallery Restaurant Group, which owns Uptown Kitchen & Bar as well as the Downtown Burrito Gallery.
The group also owns the Burrito Gallery intellectual property.
He and business partner Shawn Lednick own the Burrito Gallery locations in Brooklyn and Jacksonville Beach.
Valentino continues to review additional sites for those brands, although the former Edgewood Bakery at 1012 Edgewood Ave. S. in Murray Hill, west of Riverside, seems to draw the most questions.
In operation since 1947, it was a neighborhood favorite.
But it became the subject of a legal battle between Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan’s Stache Investments company and the operators of the business.
When Valentino bought the Edgewood Bakery property in February 2016, he said it would be converted into a second location for The French Pantry.
Edgewood Bakery closed the next month.
Since then, Valentino completed a process to update zoning and other code compliance on the building.
He wanted to be prepared for eventual conversion.
Property records show the 5,714-square-foot structure was built in 1962. “It’s an old site and there are new codes,” he said.
Valentino said Monday he was concentrating on the original French Pantry for now.
“Until I can get things to where we feel comfortable on Powers Avenue, there’s no rush or hurry to go open in another location,” he said.
He might start spending money on architectural and design plans this summer.
For now, there is activity at the Edgewood Bakery building as other chefs use it as a test kitchen and to create foods for home delivery.
Valentino wants to renovate some space behind the bakery for the dessert creation.
When he opens the “new” French Pantry, he intends to have liquor service. He declined to estimate how much he will invest in the site.
There’s another reason to wait, he said, and that is the rise in property values in Murray Hill.
At least 10 businesses and restaurants are investing in Murray Hill with new ventures or expansions.
“Property values are going up daily,” Valentino said. “I predict that is the next hot street for what’s left of our historic properties.”
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