An outdoor food hall and live music venue, the first of its kind in Jacksonville, is preparing for a Nov. 14 soft opening in Springfield.
Entrepreneur Evan Metz is developing the project he is calling Alberi at 1819 N. Main St. It is on an acre that his business partner, Up-Side Management Company President Victor Letourneaut, owns.
It is across Main Street from Strings Sports Brewery.
At its Nov. 14 soft opening, Metz said several food vendors will be onsite and several musicians and comedians will perform from 4-10 p.m.
Metz said the facility may hold another event in the coming months and will open full time in early 2021.
“The concept itself is a combination of a food hall, beer garden and live music venue,” Metz said.
For the opening event, Alberi will host several Jacksonville restaurants and breweries, including Jax Beach Brunch Haus, Buchner’s Bierhalle, Khloe’s Kitchen, La Nota Venezuelan, Twisting Roots and Engine 15 Brewing Company.
He is in discussions with a vendor for a tequila bar, too.
The event, called Nature Wins, is closely related to the venue’s name, Alberi, which means trees in Italian.
Metz said he was inspired by similar projects in the Northwest, where developers would place several stationary structures on an empty lot, similar to a food truck court. The structures could be made from old trailers, wood huts or boats.
So far, Alberi will have an old truck on-site. Metz is looking for scrap airplane parts to make a bar and a boat to convert into space for a seafood vendor. The bed of an 18-wheel truck will be used as a performance stage, he said.
He said he hasn’t settled on permanent food vendors for when the outdoor food hall opens full time in 2021.
He will purchase more structures for vendors to use once he determines the permanent vendors.
Metz is from Miami. He moved to Oregon for several years to work in the cannabis industry before returning to Florida in 2019 to look for a spot to open Alberi.
Last year, Metz took a several monthslong road trip around the Southeast to food halls, beer gardens and live music venues.
He settled on Jacksonville to launch the concept.
“There are a lot of millennials, a growing population, but there weren’t too many places that were really pushing the boundaries of food and beverage experiences,” he said. “This is a pretty great opportunity.”
After meeting with Springfield Preservation and Revitalization, spending time in the neighborhood and making other real estate investments nearby, Springfield seemed like the best place to open the concept.
Metz owns property at 1501 N. Main St., which he leases to Jax Code Academy. He also owns property at 1819 Ionia St. – a warehouse he wants to convert into a mixed-use development.
“I love this place,” he said. “I’ve been looking for a place that has that natural character, and this has all of that,” he said.
“You have all these locally owned, craft businesses that have this incredible character.”
Metz said he hopes with time, Alberi becomes a “must-see” destination in the city.
“My ultimate goal for the project is to create an experience for Jacksonville and the U.S. has never seen before,” he said. “I really want to create something here in Jacksonville that the city can be proud of.”
