Mr Snappers Chicken and Fish is planning to open a third location in Jacksonville, this one built from the ground up.
That allows owner Al Abu Fouz to build a double drive-thru, fashioned after the Chick-fil-A model.
“Actually, we are doing everything close to what Chick-fil-A does,” he said Feb. 15.
Abu Fouz intends to open the restaurant at 9144 103rd St. in West Jacksonville in January 2025.
He said he expects to spend about $2 million on the project.
Mr Snappers originally opened in 2010 at 958 Cassat Ave. in West Jacksonville, but then closed and moved in 2018 to 808 Edgewood Ave. N.
A second location, at 1338 Dunn Ave. in North Jacksonville, opened in 2020.
Abu Fouz had Mr. Snappers restaurants in Brunswick, Georgia, and Orlando but closed those.
He said he has a large extended family in Jacksonville that he relies on for much of the heavy lifting. At any one time he could have 10 to 15 family members on the payroll.
He has 85 employees and expects to add 10 when the 103rd Street location opens.
“The family members take on the heavy load and then we hire good people looking for a job. Some of our employees have been with us for 10 years or more,” Abu Fouz said.
The city issued a permit Feb. 13 for the 3,575-square-foot Mr Snappers at a project cost of $1.6 million.
Doherty Sommers Architects Engineers Inc. of Jacksonville Beach designed the building. ShayCore LLC of Jacksonville is the contractor.
Abu Fouz owns the other two restaurants and repurposed those existing buildings.
Since the pandemic, drive-thru and delivery have become the fast-food model, Abu Fouz said. He works closely with Uber Eats and Grubhub.
“We cook our food to order. We don’t cook it and let it sit.”
Mr Snappers specializes in fried fish and seafood, chicken wings and chicken fingers.
Combos include wings with scallops, chicken gizzards or tilapia.