Arlington lands Southern Coast Seafood

By Feb. 10, owners intend to open Southern Coast Seafood, a family-run restaurant at the former Mudville Grille in the Regency area to bring the neighborhood another dining option.

“We’re going to treat you like family,” said Matt Joseph, who owns the business with his brother, Louis J. Joseph, and their cousin, Louis M. Joseph.

Mudville Grille closed in June. “The neighborhood was great to me the last 20 years,” Mudville owner Louis M. Joseph said in October.

“We just wanted to change the concept and give Arlington a game-changing restaurant,” he said.

Louis M. Joseph owns the St. Nicholas Mudville Grille, which is not affected by the Regency concept change.

On Feb. 3, the brothers were working on the final details of the 3,600-square-foot restaurant, with a full bar, at 1301 Monument Road.

It seats 150 inside, including a dozen at the bar, and about 30 outdoors on the 300-square-foot deck.

Southern Coast Seafood will open at 11 a.m. daily and close at 9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday. It employs about 30 people.

Menu starters include shrimp and sausage nachos, oysters, Florida gator fritters, smoked wings and Mayport shrimp; soups and salads; fried platters with chicken tenders, fish, oysters, gator, shrimp and deviled crab; and handhelds such as po’boys, burgers, chicken sandwiches and fish tacos.

After 5 p.m., main entrees are available such as steak, rib chops, fresh catch, scallops and Cajun shrimp pasta.

There’s also a children’s menu.

The overall menu features locally caught fish, including from Matt and Louis J. Joseph, who run Outta Line Fisheries LLC. 

When they talked about the plans in October, they considered making barbecue a regular feature but decided to make it a special menu item.

Prices begin at $6 for starters, $4 for soups and salads, $9 for handhelds, and $18 for mains.

Southern Coast Seafood partners put in new flooring, wall coverings, kitchen and bar equipment and bathroom fixtures. Mudville’s booths were replaced by banquette seating lining the side wall. There are a few TVs, but the setup focuses on dining and not sports like at Mudville.

Furnishings in the dining area are new or renewed, such as the bar stools that were refinished with metal plates on the back with the Southern Coast Seafood name.

The partners declined to provide an estimate of their investment.

The Josephs initially thought they could have opened in November.  Louis J. Joseph said that as the project progressed, they decided to add to the list of renovations, which delayed completion.

In addition to local contractors, the Josephs say they did much of the work themselves.

The Josephs trace their Duval County heritage to 1897, when their great-great-grandfather arrived from Syria.

The cousins grew up in Arlington and said they want to take part in efforts to reinvigorate the neighborhood.(904) 356-2466