Pizza Dynamo and Pour Taproom are tapped to open Downtown as soon as the first week of June.
Both passed health inspections May 15, according to the owners of the businesses in the VyStar Credit Union garage Downtown at 61 N. Laura St.
The two concepts feature indoor-outdoor bars and seating, as well as interior bars and tables.
They have separate entrances but a shared kitchen and other common space.
The city issued a permit Aug. 27 for Danis Construction LLC to build-out the projects at a cost of $3 million.
Pour Taproom
The Jacksonville Pour Taproom is the pub’s sixth location and a franchise. It is headquartered in Atlanta.
The 7,000-square-foot, two-story Pour Taproom focuses on self-service for its beer, wine and select specialty cocktails at 80 taps.
When customers arrive, they are given radio-frequency identification wristbands and open a tab. When they find a tap they want to try, they touch the wristband to it and make a pour. Their wristband maintains their tab.
Customers pay by the ounce.
Tony Draper is the owner of Pour Taproom. It is his first experience in the restaurant business.
He said the decision to open the bar is “two stories that run together.”
“Probably seven or eight years ago I went to a Pour Taproom and experienced the self-pour technology,” he said.
“I met some friends and I just really liked the idea that I didn’t have to wait to order a beer. I loved the on-demand aspect of the self-pour. It made an impression on me.”
At the time, Draper was in corporate sales with Jacksonville-based RF Smart. He said he liked the company and its culture and leadership, but said but he felt out of place “in the corporate world.”
“I just reached a point in my career. Call it a midlife crisis or a crisis of fulfillment,” he said.
“I didn’t really feel like I wanted to be in an office or traveling long term, but every time I did travel, I’d find a brewery. I’d just be sitting there thinking I would love to walk out of an office and do this,” he said.
“I threw that around enough at home, and my wife knew I was unhappy. She was like, ‘Why don’t you just do it?’”
Draper said Pour Taproom also will serve “elevated pub food,” including smashburgers, fish and chips, jumbo shrimp and wings. It will also allow customers to order from Pizza Dynamo next door.
He said the menu should be finalized next week.
Diners will scan QR codes at their seats to bring up a menu and place orders. Runners will serve the food.
Draper said he also hopes to use the space for corporate events.
Draper said it will open daily at 11 a.m. and close about 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday depending on demand. It may be open as late as midnight on Friday and Saturday. It may close earlier, possibly 8 p.m., on Sunday.
Pizza Dynamo
Restaurateur Jeremy Gatto is opening Pizza Dynamo.
He is the owner of Pizza Jeans — which stands for Just Eat A New York Slice — as well as Pielands Sub & Slice and Luca’s Brooklyn Pizzeria in the Atlanta area.
The 3,000-square-foot restaurant will serve whole pizzas, slices, calzones, sandwiches, salads and gelato.
“I’m a born-and-raised New Yorker, and I believe in my heart it’s the best pizza in the world,” he said.
“I make pizza exactly the way I want to make it based on what I think are the best New York pizzerias.”
In preparation for his pizza recipe, Gatto said he flew his business partners to New York, where they visited eight pizzerias in two days.
“They left the trip saying they knew exactly where I’m coming from,” he said.
Gatto said he imports his flour for pizza dough and tomatoes for sauce from Italy.
“I spared no expense on ingredients,” he said.
“This is the most money I’ve spent on my pizzerias.”
Originally, Pizza Dynamo was planned as another Pizza Jeans, but Gatto said he and his partners changed their minds “at the 25th hour.”
The primary differences between the two pizzerias are the flour used to make dough and the tomatoes, which he said have a completely different “flavor palate.”
“After we started kicking the tires and talking, we just thought ‘let’s do a completely different concept and make it exactly what we want,’” he said.
“There isn’t anybody else doing anything like this Downtown. I think we’ll be busy off the bat.”
Pizza Dynamo’s hours will be 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10 or 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday.