by Tammy Taylor
Staff Writer
A popular local sports bar is planning to open a location downtown after signing a lease Tuesday afternoon.
The Mudville Grille is moving into the space most recently occupied by Gordo’s in the Schultz Building on West Adams Street. The 10-year-old Jacksonville sports bar franchise plans to open May 1.
“We signed the lease (Tuesday) about 1 p.m., and we’ve already started renovating. We’re anxious to get started,” said Louis Joseph, co-owner of The Mudville Grille.
Highlights of the new restaurant include four big-screen TV’s, 12 medium-sized televisions and all-access premium sports packages. There will also be happy hour specials, specialty and frozen drinks.
“It will be run just like a Mudville,” said Joseph.
The Mudville owner said previous restaurant efforts in the Schultz Building location weighs little on his mind.
“We’re going to have a better happy hour than anyone else in town. It just needs to be introduced here. People just need to advertise and have consistent business hours. We’re going to open and run with that,” said Joseph.
The downtown Mudville Grille will offer daily lunch hours, and for dinner it will “stay open until the last customer leaves.”
Joseph said the relationships the restaurant has established with current customers will guarantee success for the new venture.
“It’s amazing the people we see and how well we know everyone. We know about 40 percent of the people that walk by,” he said.
The Mudville Grille has two other locations in Jacksonville, one near Bishop Kenny High School where Beach and Atlantic boulevards split, and on Monument Road near Regency Square. The franchise is owned by Joseph and his two brother-in-laws.