by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
By mid-December there will be three nationally-recognized steakhouses in downtown Jacksonville: Ruth’s Chris and Morton’s on the Southbank and Plaza III The Steakhouse in the Hyatt on the Northbank. However, there will be one big difference.
“We will have lunch,” said Rob Mosco, general manager for Plaza III, which will get its certificate of occupancy Dec. 9, train its employees for a week and open in earnest Dec. 16.
Plaza III is a subsidiary of Haddad Restaurant Corp., which is based in Kansas City, Mo. and is owned locally by Bard McLean.
The restaurant will occupy the space formerly held by Bravo Ristorante when the Hyatt was the Adam’s Mark. In addition to a total renovation that will run between $500,000 and $1 million, the restaurant is being expanded to include two private rooms. McLean said the conversion of the hotel in April to a Hyatt certainly played a role in his decision to open a Plaza III in Jacksonville.
“If it was still an Adam’s Mark, I would be hesitant,” said McLean. “The Hyatt name will bring a lot to Jacksonville. It brings a lot of respect, like the Marriott does, and an established name to the marketplace.”
The new restaurant promises a warmer feel complete with piano bar, patio seating with a view of the St. Johns River and the Southbank, charcoal-fired steaks and a friendly, upscale yet casual atmosphere. McLean and Mosco both envision a place where after-dinner drinks can co-exist with fine dining and an 800-strong wine menu.
McLean said the addition of a third prominent steakhouse downtown is more of a sign of Jacksonville’s growth and evolution than an attempt to steal business from Morton’s or Ruth’s Chris. Still, in the few months he’s been working on the restaurant at the Hyatt, McLean admits he’s tired of hearing doormen and valets send Hyatt patrons across the river for a good steak.
“There’s room for all of us,” said McLean, whose wife, Linda, is doing all of the interior design work for the Plaza III. “This is not head-to-head. We are more of a compliment to Ruth’s Chris and Morton’s. We will have an elegant atmosphere that’s casual and comfortable with the same great service. We feel we really fit the demographic of Jacksonville.”
The dinner menu is filled with steaks — company owned and cured, by the way — lobster and other entrees as well as the requisite steakhouse side dishes. The lunch menu will feature a daily carving station as well as burgers and sandwiches. Mosco said he will hire about 80-100 people initially.
“We will start hiring after Thanksgiving,” he said. “We have our feelers out there. There’s a buzz going around the industry about what is coming downtown. We are not necessarily after experienced servers. We want those that fit with the concept. You can train someone to be a great server, but you can’t train them to have a personality.”
Although McLean is bringing the flavor of Kansas City to Jacksonville, there will be a distinctive River City look and feel about the restaurant and it will be all over the walls. The McLeans have opted to recognize the history of Jacksonville by adorning three walls with black-and-white photos that depict significant milestones and events in Jacksonville history.
“One wall will feature entertainment, one will feature the railroads and CSX and one will feature the blue-collar workers, your firemen and police,” explained McLean. “The photos will be all over the walls in the form of these massive prints.”