About seven months after opening in Jacksonville Beach, the Greek pastry shop Lukumades is working on building-out its second location, Lukumades II, in the Five Points Theatre building.
The city is reviewing a permit application for Petra Contracting LLC of Atlantic Beach to renovate 1,020 square feet of space at 1020 Park St. at an estimated cost of $300,000.
The Colliers Urban Division announced Aug. 18 that Lukumades would lease the space, which is three doors down in the building from the FIVE live music venue, separated by Brew and the building lobby. Another space is available for lease next to Lukumades.
The four-story, 42,000-square-foot building is owned by the Union South Partners private real estate investment firm with offices in Atlanta and in Charleston, South Carolina.
The top three floors are office space.
Marathon Live, a venue management company based in Nashville, Tennessee, converted the former Sun-Ray Cinema in the building into the FIVE.
Andrew Seng and Jay Weaver, founders of Union South Partners of Decatur, Georgia, bought the building in May 2024 for $7 million through 1028 Park LLC. The seller was the Shad family through 5 Points Theatre Building LLC.
Designed by architect Roy Benjamin was built in 1927 and opened as the Riverside Theatre, the building was the first theater in Jacksonville to screen films with sound while also accommodating live theater performances.
The Colliers Urban Division is led by Senior Vice President Matthew Clark and Senior Associates Sam Middlekauff and Olivia Steinemann.
Colliers said that “born in Melbourne, Lukumades brings a modern twist to an ancient Greek favorite — golden, bite-sized donuts made fresh to order and topped with everything from Nutella to crushed Oreos.”
The first Lukumades in the U.S. opened in April at 502 N. First St. in Jacksonville Beach.
Owner Leo Georgallis said at the time that the shop was selling the perfect hand-held food item.
“There is a Greek word, ‘stoheri’ that means in your hand,” he said.
“In Greece, all of the street food is grab-and-go.”
His shop is across the street from the Jacksonville Beach Pier.
“This is definitely foot-traffic friendly,” he said.
Georgallis is a Jacksonville native raised in the Arlington area and spent much of his childhood at the beach. His father, Elias, owned Elias Jewelers.
The Jacksonville Beach space cost more than $300,000 to construct and equip, Georgallis said.
Georgallis said in April that he spent his summers in Greece with his aunt and uncle. There, he worked restaurant jobs and in 2005 he met entrepreneur Exarhos, or as he is known in Greece, “Mr. X.”
Exarhos came up with the Lukumades concept in 2014 and opened the first store in 2015.
At the time, there were locations opened or planned in Australia, Dubai, Indonesia and London.
Lukumades are a traditional Greek treat dating back more than 2,000 years, he said. They are made with a vegan dough that contains no eggs or dairy products. In Greece, they are usually topped with honey and cinnamon.
Here, there are about 20 types. A 2024 menu online shows the trays of 10 range from plain rolled in cinnamon sugar to maple bacon with maple glaze, bacon bits and caramel lines. Prices range from $8.75 to $9.50.
The drink menu includes hot and iced coffee drinks along with shakes and refreshers. There also gelatos.
The store is open daily from 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 8 a.m.-midnight Friday and Saturday.
Georgallis is partnering with his younger brother, Gio.
The two own the franchise rights for all of Florida and Georgallis said in April they planned to sell them in the future.