Corner Bakery Café, whose Riverside shop is under construction, intends to open its second Jacksonville restaurant in Southside at 7111 Bonneval Road, next to Edwin Watts Golf, at Butler Boulevard and Philips Highway.
Edwin Watts Holding Co. is the landlord. The 167-seat café is at the northern end of the building.
The first café for the Dallas-based company is being developed at the Shoppes on Riverside in Downtown’s Riverside area and is expected to open late this year.
The city is reviewing plans for tenant improvements for Corner Bakery Café – Southpoint in more than 4,300 square feet of space, along with an outdoor patio, at the Bonneval location. The project cost is $550,000. No contractor was identified.
Corner Bakery Café is a fast-casual restaurant that offers made-to-order breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as catering.
Downtown, the Corner Bakery will occupy a 4,000-square-foot building under construction at 192 Riverside Ave. in front of The Fresh Market.
In September, the company said it plans to open as many as 10 restaurants in the area as part of a multi-unit restaurant franchise agreement with Lee Wesley Group LLC, whose manager is Arthur Lee, president and CEO of Lee, Wesley & Associates LLC, Lee Wesley Group LLC and Lee Wesley Restaurants LLC.
Lee Wesley Group LLC also owns and operates several Panda Express, Burger King, Nathan’s Famous, Auntie Anne’s and Taco Bell restaurants.
Corner Bakery Café says its made-to-order menu features hot breakfast scramblers, paninis and sandwiches, homemade soups, salads, pastas and sweets.
More than 165 company-owned and franchised locations operate in 17 states and Washington, D.C. For information, visit cornerbakerycafe.com.
New owner says Blue Fish will continue ‘what we’re doing’
Jacksonville restaurateur Jim Thomas said Monday said he had no plans to make changes at The Blue Fish Restaurant & Oyster Bar, which he bought from its founders, Frank Gallo and Richard Grenamyer.
The restaurant opened in December 2009 and formerly was Sterling’s.
The sale of the Avondale restaurant at 3551 St. Johns Ave. was announced Monday in a news release.
“The plan is to continue what we’re doing. It’s a wonderful place,” Thomas said Monday.
The release said Gallo will continue to own the restaurant property and that Grenamyer plans to retire. Gallo also will remain active as an entrepreneur and real estate developer.
Grenamyer plans to retire after a career that began when he was 8 years old and washed dishes for his father in upstate New York, the release said. He oversaw his first kitchen at the age of 15 and was the culinary influence behind Blue Fish.
Both will remain as consultants.
“This was not an easy decision for Richard or me, but after meeting Jim, we both felt very comfortable in his ability to continue and build on what we had set out to do when we first opened,” Gallo said in the release. “I look forward to this next chapter and am pleased to continue to be a part of it.”
Thomas has operated restaurants since 1988 and has overseen operations at Ragtime Tavern, Seven Bridges Grille & Brewery and A1A Ale Works, according to the release.
Jersey Mike’s, Starbucks plan San Jose shops
Jersey Mike’s Subs is making plans to open in Mandarin at 12795 San Jose Blvd., No. 15. The city is reviewing a permit for Blankenship Construction and Development LLC to build-out 1,440 square feet of space for Jersey Mike’s Subs at a project cost of $98,000.
Starbucks Coffee Co. intends to build a shop at 11411 San Jose Blvd. The 1,946-square-foot shop and drive-thru carry a construction cost of $600,000.
McDonald’s, Waffle House to build along Normandy
McDonald’s filed a permit application to build a restaurant at 6546 Normandy Blvd. The 4,525-square-foot building carries a construction cost of $578,000.
Waffle House Inc. filed plans to build at 7180 Normandy Blvd. The 1,635-square-foot building is a $210,000 construction project.
GFS marketplace site demolition approved
The city OK’d a permit for Arwood Waste Inc. to remove a building at 13427 Beach Blvd., at a project cost of $22,300, to make way for construction of the area’s first GFS Marketplace, a Gordon Food Service store, at Beach and Hodges boulevards.
The proposed 16,000-square-foot store is part of Gordon Food Service, a Michigan-based restaurant supplier that operates more than 165 marketplace stores in 10 states, including at least 14 in Florida.
The stores sell food and products in large quantities but do not charge a membership fee like warehouse clubs.
Licensed to serve
Duval County Tax Collector Michael Corrigan issued business licenses for:
• Mother Truckin Pizza, to Kellie L. Rice, 2105 Spanish Bluff Drive, mobile vendor.
• Edible Arrangements No. 1462, to Tricia L. Kapustka, 731 Duval Station road, No. 105.
• The Old Time Sweet Shoppe Inc., to Alvin Ray Price, 9825 San Jose Blvd., No. 21.
• A Little Bit of Saigon, to A Little Bit of Saigon LLC, 3503 Kernan Blvd. S., No. 6.
• Sweet D’s Chocolate Fountains, to James D. Gonder, 1201 Dorwinion Drive.
• B&B of Jacksonville, to Myung J. Kim, 1661 Riverside Ave., No. 128.
• Boots N Bottle, to Waddy Café Inc., 12405 N. Main St.,
No. 7.
• Pulp Avondale LLC, to Jason Bajalia, 3645 St. Johns Ave.
• Yobe Blanding LLC, to Jian Chen and Yan Fen Hong, 8635 Blanding Blvd., No. 3.
• Yobe Saint Johns LLC, to Yan Lan Hong, 3578 St. Johns Ave.
• Yobe Atlantic LLC, to Yan Lan Hong, 309 Atlantic Blvd., Neptune Beach.
• Seagull Bakery LLC, to Carol B. Lombardo, 4039 Duval Drive, Jacksonville Beach.
Food bites
Food-related businesses filed names recently with the state Division of Corporations under the Fictitious Name Law to operate:
• Albstar Bar/Caffe LLC, by Belba Ferion and Nertiljos Kamberaj, 3301 Hartley Road, No. 4.
• The Kozy Café, by Christian Leader’s Fellowship Inc., 6859 Lenox Ave., No. 13.
@MathisKb
(904) 356-2466