by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
Uptown Market ready for Downtown business
There is a new place to calm a growling stomach in Springfield, and it plans to fill stomachs during breakfast and lunch in its restaurant while also helping relieve the stress of cooking a meal at night with it’s grab-and-go deli.
Uptown Market at The Lofts at Third & Main Street is another idea of the Gallery Restaurant Group, which operates Burrito Gallery on Adams Street and El Gato Grande Mexican Grille at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. Partners Tony Allegretti, Eddie Escriba, Marco Munroy and Paul Shockey opened the doors of their latest creation Monday.
“We drew up the plans about a year ago and I’m glad to see the plans come together,” said Escriba, who will oversee the kitchen and deli. “Now, we need to start making money.”
The partners planned to do a rolling opening without much advertisement to get doors open and people in the restaurant. The official grand opening is scheduled for the weekend of Oct. 17, but the restaurant hosted about 30 people for breakfast Monday, said Escriba.
Uptown Market also benefits from a nearby cache of customers. A couple feet from the kitchen’s back door is a building that contains about 35 apartments rented by patients undergoing treatment at University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute. Treatment for most forms of cancer requires patients to be in Jacksonville for just over a month, so rather than ringing up a hefty hotel bill patients rent apartments.
“They enjoy having a place next door where they can get a good, fresh meal,” said Escriba.
The restaurant group will blend some of the principles that have made the Burrito Gallery a popular Downtown dining destination along with new opportunities Springfield will allow.
“It’s tough when we get calls for catering or big orders at the Burrito Gallery because we have such a small kitchen,” said Escriba. “With Uptown Market, we have a kitchen for the restaurant and the deli is equipped to handle all of our catering requests.”
The idea for the Uptown Market was to replicate a French market, where people can stop in, grab three or four items and be able to serve a meal.
The shelves will be without necessity items like toilet paper, toothpaste or motor oil and instead contain bottles of olive oil, boxes of cous cous, cans of vegetables and the like.
“We want to make it easy for people to cook a meal,” said Escriba. “We can even sear the grill marks on fish and steaks to help someone impress people at the dinner table.”
The furniture and fixtures give the restaurant side a warm
1950s kitchen feel with lots of stainless steel and white, marble-like table tops. Allegretti revealed the secret behind the restaurant furniture.
“It’s how we keep our pancakes so cheap,” said Allegretti. “We purchased the furniture from an old Cheeburger Cheeburger. We like to say it’s the oldest furniture in one of Downtown’s newest buildings.”
Escriba pointed out the chairs they bought and refurbished cost about $35. When bought new, they are closer to $85.
“We are always on the lookout to do things cheaper and keep costs down,” said Escriba. “It helps us provide the best service at a good price.”
For more information about Uptown Market, go to uptownmarket.tumblr.com.
356-2466