by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
Moon River Pizza, a popular Nassau County-based restaurant, signed a lease Monday afternoon with Langton Associates, thus becoming them the second commercial tenant in the W.A. Knight Building on West Adams Street.
Dan and Andy Bottorff, brothers and business partners, are expected to begin renovating the 2,500 square-foot space right away.
Knight building owner and Langton Associates controlling partner Mike Langton said he had been negotiating with Moon River for several months.
“It took some time before we had a signed contract,” said Langton, “but we were willing to be patient while they worked with their contractor and addressed some of the issues they were having.”
According to Langton, Moon River’s downtown venture has been budgeted at approximately $150,000 and additional funding from the City will likely be sought.
“We’re just extremely pleased to have a contract with them,” said Langton. “Our building is totally occupied now and that, in many ways, validates all the work we put into the W.A. Knight Building.
“It’s the realization of a dream that many people said would never come true; a downtown residential building with active first floor retail.”
Moon River has set a tentative early May opening, likely coinciding with the opening of the Knight building’s other retail tenant, Ieyasu, a Japanese restaurant.
Dan Bottorff, who will manage the Jacksonville store, said Moon River will likely be open weekdays until 6 p.m. and on Saturday.
“One of the biggest drivers for us was that we really wanted to be a part of the revitalization of downtown,” said Bottorff. “We’re excited about coming to Jacksonville and we can’t wait to open.”