Kamel Farah has been feeding breakfast and lunch to hungry people Downtown since 1973 when he opened his first sandwich shop along Forsyth Street near the Greyhound bus station.
A few years later, the restaurant relocated to Hogan Street near the Omni Hotel and then to Laura Street near Hemming Plaza.
Farah moved the business in 2002 to a location along East Bay Street near the Police Memorial Building and the old County Courthouse. Over the following eight years, the restaurant became a destination for members of the legal and law enforcement communities who were Downtown every day, as well as visitors such as jurors.
In February 2011, Farah moved the operation to 502 N. Hogan St. to be close to the new county courthouse and then waited more than a year for the building to open.
While the address has changed several times, the menu has remained very much the same: traditional breakfast fare with sandwiches, salads and hot meals for lunch.
The country cooking specials change every day and might include pork chops, baked chicken, country fried steak, meat loaf or spaghetti with meat sauce. Grilled or fried fish and beans and rice with sausage are always on the menu.
Side dishes include homemade mashed potatoes, rice and gravy, fresh string beans and steamed cabbage.
Hummus, falafel and kibbeh and lamb gyro also are on the menu.
Farah said it was worth the wait for the new courthouse to open. The Hogan Street restaurant was soon discovered by people who worked nearby at City Hall, EverBank Center and JEA headquarters.
"We're only two blocks away, so lots of people who work at the new courthouse come here for breakfast and lunch," he said.
Farah's Uptown Deli is open 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday.
(904) 356-2466