Creole-themed Dorothy’s Downtown opened in August 2025 in the former Burrito Gallery space at 21 E. Adams St.
The interconnected Pour Taproom and Pizza Dynamo launched in early June 2025 on the ground floor of the VyStar Credit Union parking garage at 61 N. Laura St.
July 2025 brought the opening of Panda Express Chinese Kitchen at 50 Riverside Ave., Unit 701, in Brooklyn. It is in a three-tenant building also leased by Chop Barbershop and Chipotle.
After closing in Five Points during the summer of 2024, Mixed Fillings Pie Shop resurfaced in the spring of 2025 at 440 West Adams St. Downtown.
A three-for-one of restaurant closings was reported in late August. Bread & Board, Estrella Cocina and Bread & Burger all ceased operations in the VyStar Credit Union building at 100 W. Bay St.
The same month, The Happy Grilled Cheese announced it was ceasing operations at 219 N. Hogan St. and was planning a new concept.
The Burrito Gallery location at Brooklyn Station became the final restaurant in the local chain to close. The closure occurred in June 2025. The chain once had four locations in the Jacksonville area. Georgia chain Zunzibar is planned to take the vacated space.
Downtown Development in brief
Starbucks Coffee Co. is in permitting review for a shop in Bank of America Tower, 50 N. Laura St. The permit is for a $175,000 renovation of 2,225 square feet of ground-floor space.
• In May 2025, Jacksonvlle City Council approved $2.56 million in incentives to transform the vacant three-story building at 225 N. Laura St. into a ground-floor restaurant with eight short-term rental units on the top two floors. The 6,492-square-foot building is identified in city documents as Juliette Balcony, a reference to the decorative railings on the windows of its upper floors.
• The city issued a permit Aug. 1 for a steel sculpture called The Pearl to be erected at the RiversEdge development on the Southbank. The $2.827 million project site is at 1915 RiversEdge Blvd. and is part of the 34-acre residential, retail, office, hotel, park and marina development.
• Improvements to VyStar Ballpark were completed during the 2025 season, including a larger video board, enhanced club space behind home plate, a new multilevel building in right field with indoor food service and a new entrance in center field. The city provided $31.8 million for the project.
• In August, the Downtown Development Review Board approved a special exemption to allow Haskell to install two illuminated signs at the top of its new Southbank headquarters at 701 San Marco Blvd. Haskell, a global architecture, engineering, construction and consulting company, is moving from 111 and 245 Riverside Ave. on the Northbank to its Southbank location with a target completion in early 2026.
• In August 2025, Jacksonville-based Avant Construction Group announced it was partnering with an out-of-state buyer interested in acquiring the long vacant Laura Street Trio of historic buildings plus the restored Barnett National Bank Building. The buyer has not been publicly identified. Live Oak Contracting, which had previously been in negotiations to buy the building, said it was no longer in those discussions. A lawsuit by the city against the current owner, SouthEast Development, is ongoing. The city alleges SouthEast owes more than $800,000 in fines for code violations. SouthEast says the city unfairly used incidents of vandalism and graffiti that were beyond its control as the basis for the suit.
• The city issued a permit in late August for Avant Construction to prepare the ground floor of the historic Greenleaf & Crosby Building at northwest Adams and Laura streets Downtown for three tenants that will file separate permits to build-out their businesses. The project cost was listed at $181,114. Two of the three tenants have been identified as Oak Steakhouse, which is planned in the former Jacobs Jewelers corner space, and the HiReformance Institute studio for Pilates.
• Work progresses on The June Club in the historic Federal Reserve Building at 424 N. Hogan St. In February 2025, the city issued permits for the proposed members-only club at a project cost of $6.4 million. The project comprises an 18,430-square-foot renovation in the four-story building, which includes the basement.
• In August, Dapper D’s Cigars Restaurant Lounge Bar received permits for build-out and signage at a combined project cost of $150,500 at 11 Ocean St. The permits came a week after the DIA board approved a $187,620 grant for the establishment. In his application to the DIA, owner Darian “Jack” Jackson and landlord 11 Ocean LLC listed total build-out costs of $516,571.
• The DIA board approved an $85,250 grant Aug. 20 for Salon on the Southbank to move from San Marco to 1038 Kings Ave.
• Also on Aug. 20, the DIA board approved a $135,000 grant for Tavola Trattoria, an Italian restaurant planned for 1037 Hendricks Ave. Applicant Tavola San Marco LLC, owned by Carl and Lindie Garrett, listed estimated build-out costs of $600,000 for the 4,500-square-foot space.
• Koto Izakaya & Listening Room is planned at 927 W. Forsyth St. after receiving a $156,000 grant from the DIA. Applicants Raymond De Padua, managing partner of Koto Jax LLC, and Justin Raulerson, general manager, plan to renovate a 10,400-square-foot space in the building at a cost of $692,115, according to an application to the DIA.