by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
It has not been a good week for downtown eateries.
The St. John’s Tavern & Grill and Jocks & Jills at the Landing closed their doors Wednesday. Thursday afternoon, the Hollywood Grille on Forsyth Street served its last meal.
The breakfast and lunch spot opened almost six years ago. Owners Jae and Amy Lee cited several reasons for closing, saying the main reason business has slowed is because their area of downtown is no longer the political hub. Having City Hall, the courthouse and the jail all within a few blocks provided all the east end eateries with plenty of customers.
“In the beginning, business was good,” said Jae Lee. “When City Hall moved from the Annex to Hemming Plaza, everyone’s business around here started to slow down. Now, the library is moving and the courthouse is moving. There is no vision for this part of town.”
The Lees originally hail from Korea, but spent many years in Argentina and New York before coming to Jacksonville. Jae Lee said there were two other big reasons why their business has been slow to the point they have decided to close.
“The main reason is, after the Sept. 11 attacks, business went down,” said Lee. “Second, the Adam’s Mark Hotel has their breakfast buffet and they are serving lunch. The Breakroom [which closed several months ago] took some of our business for a while and the Landing has many places to eat.”
Lee said he, his wife and 12-year-old son probably won’t stay in Jacksonville.
“We will either go back to New York or move out to Los Angeles,” he said. “We hadn’t really thought about it because we had no plans to close. I could work here, but I can’t make enough money. After taxes and insurance, it’s not enough for my family. My son will miss this place. We really like it here because of all the nice people.”
Heth Real Estate, Inc. manages the property for a group of owners who bought it several years ago as an investment. Don Heth said the closing caught him and the owners off guard.
“There’s not anything in the works because the closing came as a surprise,” said Heth. “There was still time on the lease. Mr. Lee is a very nice gentleman, it just didn’t work out for him.”
Heth said the owners would like to get something else in the location soon, and it doesn’t have to be a restaurant.
“We are open to anything,” said Heth. “The property values are just going to go up because of the location, and that’s the bottom line. The owners bought it originally to hold it, but we would like to get something in there to keep the cash flowing.”