by Caroline Gabsewics
Staff Writer
Area restaurants are looking forward to new people and more business once the new Main Library opens in November.
Carolyn Brass, a server at Cafe Nola inside the Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art, said they are excited to see the library is close to being completed.
The new Main Library at Hemming Plaza is set to open on Nov. 12, with a week’s worth of events to follow.
“It should be wonderful for our lunch business,” she said. “The construction will be over and it will be less hectic.”
Brass said while the library was being built construction was an issue, but it didn’t affect them too much.
“The streets were closed and parking was an issue,” she said. “But the visible construction is over and the new parking garage helps because people will come and stay longer instead of worrying about their meter.”
Brass said Nola Cafe is looking forward to Shelby’s Coffee Shop opening inside the library.
“We are very friendly with them and it is great to see someone new coming in,” she said.
The restaurant is also looking to do more business through the library and their programs.
“It’s going to be a beautiful building with a great staff,” said Brass. “It is going to bring people here that don’t normally come to this part of town.”
Right now the cafe is open for lunch from 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Monday-Friday. She said they may add more hours after the library opens.
Kim Peavler is known for her hot dog stand in Hemming Plaza on the corner of Laura and Duval streets. She has been there for almost three years, before the construction of the library even began.
“I can’t wait for the library to open,” said Peavler. “Everyone loves hot dogs.”
Peavler said she doesn’t think the restaurant in the library will hurt her business.
“I am hoping I get an increase in business, but I couldn’t tell you,” she said. “But it is great because everything is improving around Jacksonville, I can see it.”
Magnificat Cafe on the corner of Laura and Monroe streets has been open for two years. Owner Benoit Desclefs has been waiting for the library to open since he opened his restaurant.
“I am very excited for the library to open,” he said. “There is an expression, ‘they will be able to put the butter on the spinach.’ ”
Desclefs said right now he has two other employees besides him and he may be looking for some extra help depending on how much busier he gets once the library opens.
“I might hire one part-time person for the dining room and if I need to, another part-time person for the kitchen,” he said. “We are hoping it will bring more business; whatever business it brings is better than nothing.”
The $195 million Main Library is part of the $2.2 billion Better Jacksonville Plan that also includes a new arena, baseball park, county courthouse, equestrian center, new and renovated branch libraries and thousands of miles of new and resurfaced streets and sidewalks