PangeaKeto’s franchise owners expect to open the ketogenic bistro Jan. 17 at southeast Beach Boulevard and San Pablo Road.
Hours will start at 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. It will be closed Monday and Tuesday, and owners eventually hope to open Tuesday.
The location, at 14474 Beach Blvd., will seat 36 customers and has about six employees.
PangeaKeto.com says it is the first 100% ketogenic grocery and bistro with a selection of sugar- and gluten-free meals, snacks, desserts, salad dressings and more.
It will be Ohio-based PangeaKeto’s first Florida franchise.
Franchisees Jacqueline Spring Miller and Rosanna Smith, managers of Spring Rose LLC, have been best friends for 20 years.
“I believe this is the pharmacy of the future,” Miller said Jan. 14.
“They say let food be thy medicine. There is such a need for food like this that tastes good and is actually good for you.”
Miller is from Jacksonville. “I wanted to bring this to my hometown and there is nothing like this and I think that what you eat dictates the quality of your life,” she said.
“Mentally, physically and emotionally. I want to give people an outlet to live their best life.”
The pangeaketo.com site says PangeaKeto has more than 250 proprietary products and sells sugar- and gluten-free meals, snacks, desserts, salad dressings and more.
Miller said the restaurant is focused on those who follow a keto diet and lifestyle as well as those with celiac disease, eat gluten-free, are diabetic or need to watch their blood sugar levels.
“This will be such a safe haven for them to enjoy that food without the cost of what it does metabolically,” she said.
PangeaKeto will carry frozen meals-to-go, other bistro items and the restaurant menu made-to-order.
The menu is based on low carbohydrates. The Jacksonville menu will be similar to the other two in Ohio and Texas with burgers, melts, quesadillas, pizza, bowls, wings, sides and more.
While Miller and Smith each own and operate separate businesses, they joined to buy the franchise.
Miller said it is “for my own selfish purposes to be able to have healthy food that is not going to cause inflammation and to sustain me, to have proper nutrition.”
The location
Adkins Construction LLC renovated the 1,969-square-foot restaurant that began as a Taco Bell and more recently was the House of Leaf & Bean and Hakka Kitchen.
Chef Wen Raiti opened the organic food-focused House of Leaf & Bean in 2017 and then Hakka Kitchen in 2021 until she closed it in December 2022.
Miller and Smith are leasing the property from the owner of the shopping center, which is anchored by Publix Super Markets Inc.
Miller said the location is central to Atlantic Beach and Ponte Vedra as well as in South Jacksonville, and south to Butler Boulevard.
As the first PangeaKeto with a drive-thru, the location will start as a pickup window for orders placed via the app, Miller said.
Miller and Smith will consider later if there is a need for a traditional drive-thru service.
“Our food is made fresh to order and we want to make sure we get it right and people aren’t waiting,” Miller said.
Miller said they invested about $350,000 so far, but when the drive-thru is in full use and outside seating are added, it will be closer to $450,000.
Miller hopes to improve on the outdoor seating presence. The previous exterior colors were similar to PangeaKeto’s green and black.
“It’s a clean shopping center with easy-in and out access,” she said.
“The only downfall is when you’re heading east if you pass it you have to make a U-turn.”
Inside, the franchise owners renovated the space, including the restrooms.
“It has a really cute outside area but we want to do something nice with it,” Miller said.
They expected to open in 2023, but faced delays. Because of that, they diverted the money from those plans into keeping the business and rent on track until opening.
The menu
The menu includes:
• The T-Rex Smashburger ($13.99) is a beef patty topped with melted American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and mayo on a toasted bun, with a side.
• The chicken salad wrap ($13.99) features chicken salad, lettuce and tomato, with a side.
• The cauliflower rice taco bowl ($13.99 has cilantro-based cauliflower rice, American cheese, ground beef, lettuce, pico de gallo, cilantro, sour cream, salsa and tortilla strips.
Other menu items include a meatball sub, BBQ brisket sandwich, gluten-free pizzas, “zasta” bowls, melts, specialty sandwiches, quesadillas, macaroni and cheese bowls, wings and sides.
There are add-ons like vegetables, cheeses, proteins and sauces. Gluten-free bread and buns are available at an additional cost.
Sides include keto fries, soup, salad, coleslaw, broccoli salad, macaroni and cheese, vegetables and cauliflower rice.
PangeaKeto also sells its own line of prepared foods for grab-and-go.
PangeaKeto co-founder Jeff Zucal said in April he expects the Jacksonville site will have a strong pickup/takeout business.
PangeaKeto.com says the bistro and takeout business is “bringing the best foods from around Earth together to make healthy ketogenic meals, snacks, and more for humans.”
It explains that Pangea is a “supercontinent that incorporated almost all the landmasses on Earth.”