- March 10, 2022
Guests will be greeted as they enter Sugar Factory.
The bar area at the Sugar Factory.
The dining area.
A rendering of Sugar Factory American Brasserie in The Markets at Town Center.
Sugar Factory said it will have 179 seats in the main dining area.
The candy heart wall inside Sugar Factory.
The interior plans for the Sugar Factory.
Sugar Factory is renovating and leasing the closed Brio Tuscan Grille at 4910 Big Island Drive.
Rainbow pancakes are on the menu at Sugar Factory.
Sugar Factory American Brasserie expects to open in The Markets at Town Center in late spring 2022, the company said Oct. 29.
“Sugar Factory has brought its high-energy dining experience to guests at locations throughout Florida – including Miami, Tampa, Orlando and Aventura – so Jacksonville was a natural choice for our next destination,” the company said in an emailed statement Oct. 29.
It said it looks forward to bringing “a sweet escape for guests of all ages to the Jacksonville community.”
Sugar Factory is renovating and leasing the closed Brio Tuscan Grille at 4910 Big Island Drive. The restaurant was built in 2012 for lease to Brio, which closed in January 2020.
“We’ve already begun transforming the space into our next Sugar Factory location,” the restaurant company said.
Renderings show an open, light-filled restaurant with a video wall in the main dining area; a retail candy store to the left of the entrance and a Candy Heart Wall to the right; the bar; outdoor patio dining; and two Instagram flower walls.
Sugar Factory did not disclose the investment in the renovation. A pending building permit shows at least a $2.5 million cost.
It will lease the 8,535-foot-square building, which also has outdoor areas.
Sugar Factory said it will have 179 seats in the main dining area, 20 bar stool seats and 107 outdoor patio seats. That totals 306 seats.
Hours will be 11 a.m.-midnight Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-1 a.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-midnight Sunday.
It did not disclose the lease terms.
Sugar Factory did not say how people it will hire and directs candidates to watch sugarfactory.com for information.
It said it looked forward to becoming a part of the Jacksonville community and hiring “fun-loving and hard-working employees.”
The company said that from the moment guests step into Sugar Factory, “they’ll be immersed in Instagrammable moments.”
“The expansive space will feature brightly colored flower walls, a candy heart wall with rope swings that are perfect for posing, as well as elaborate and three-dimensional floral ceilings in the restaurant’s bar area.”
It said the menu includes “our signature over-the-top entrees and legendary desserts like the Big Cheesy Burger, which is topped with melted white cheddar, creamy mac & cheese, and famous King Kong Sundae, which includes 24 scoops of ice cream and serves up to 12 people.”
Sugar Factory said customers also can try its “celebrity approved, alcohol-infused smoking candy goblets (all of which can be made without alcohol) like the Cali Love goblet made with Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila, The Rock’s Soul Man goblet with his Teremana Tequila, and the Candy Shop goblet made with 50 Cent’s Branson Cognac.”
The restaurant will feature its retail store with floor-to-ceiling candy displays offering what Sugar Factory said are hundreds of candy options.
Sugar Factory also offers coffees, hot chocolate, frozen hot chocolate, specialty rainbow doughnuts and pastries in addition to homemade gelato and ice cream.
The online menu for the Tampa location show prices such as a $14 grilled cheese, $18 signature burger, $28 chicken and waffles, $36 pan-roasted salmon and a $48 filet.
The “World Famous Sugar Factory King Kong Sundae” is $99.
An extensive specialty cocktail menu online includes $36 drinks, such as a Virginia strawberry lemonade; $17 cocktails like a coconut chocolate bar; and a $15 Grape Crush.
Sugar Factory initially projected a January 2022 opening in Jacksonville.
The Shopping Center Group partner and Senior Vice President Stephanie McCullough and Vice President Kelly Pulignano represented the landlord, Hines, in the lease deal.
The owner is shown on the permit as Sugar Factory Jacksonville 88 LLC of Las Vegas. It is part of Black Star Hospitality Group, whose concepts include Sugar Factory.
GTM Architects of Bethesda, Maryland, is the architect.
The sugarfactory.com website lists 24 U.S. locations and several internationally.
The blackstarhg.com site says it has a more than 15-city exclusive deal with Sugar Factory that will be announced.
