Catering to customers at Currents Riverview Bistro

News

Staff Writer

When Currents Riverview Bistro opened in the Aetna Building last year, it brought one of Jacksonville’s most well-known cuisine and service providers, Anthony’s Gourmet Catering, to the Southbank for the breakfast and lunch crowd. Because it’s on the second floor inside one of Downtown’s signature skyline buildings, Currents might be one of the lesser-known dining options to many who aren’t among the 1,800 people who work for the 30 companies in the building.

“Most of our customers come from here in the building or from Baptist Hospital next door, but we’re open to the public,” said General Manager Kaylor Collette.

With a building full of regular customers, Collette said one of the challenges is making sure the menu doesn’t become boring.

“Many people who work here eat breakfast and lunch in the restaurant because they don’t have time to go out. That means we have to keep the menu interesting,” said Collette.

Early morning choices range from pastries and cereals to traditional breakfast items cooked to order. Lunch features a hot item that changes each day plus a deli that serves Boar’s Head meats as well as soups and salads.

“Comfort food like pot roast, chicken pot pie and macaroni and cheese is very popular,” said Collette.

Responding to customers’ suggestions also allows an opportunity to make sure the bill of fare continues to change. There’s a sushi bar on Tuesday and Thursday and Currents also offers a lighter menu with smaller portions of the daily special and Weight Watchers soups. Options also include a turkey burger and a black-bean burger.

“We take requests and use the restaurant environment to develop new recipes that we transition to the catering side of the business,” said Collette.

In addition to operating the restaurant and its 207-seat dining room with a view of the Northbank skyline, Collette said Anthony’s at Currents does a lot of catering for tenants in the building. The staff regularly delivers breakfast and lunch to upstairs offices. Collette also said being operated by a full-service caterer allows the restaurant to meet any needs from a simple platter of sandwiches or pastries all the way to a full meal and bar service with linen, china and silver. The lobby is also a popular destination for retirement parties, events and even weddings.

“With Anthony’s, there are no limits. We are an amenity of the building and it’s a win-win partnership,” said Collette.

Betsy Reichert, vice president of Property Management for South Shore Group, agreed.

“Having Anthony’s manage our restaurant is delightful,” she added. “I have used them as caterers and I’ve attended many events they catered. They have a great reputation in the market. I know their commitment to producing a quality product every day and they also provide the highest level of customer service.”

Having a restaurant operation in addition to the catering side of the business allows Anthony’s to create new recipes and receive regular feedback.

“The only rule is nothing is canned or frozen. We make everything from scratch every day,” said Collette.

The kitchen at Currents is open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. The restaurant also offers self-service sandwiches and salads from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Parking is free in the Aetna Building garage with validation at the restaurant. Phone 306-9512 for takeout orders.