Parker’s Kitchen appears to be planning a store on two combined parcels in Baymeadows where Tux Car Wash and KFC have closed.
The 2.07-acre site along Baymeadows Road west of Interstate 95 is identified for a 5,204-square-foot Parker’s Kitchen gas station and convenience store, which is the 10th area location identified for the Savannah, Georgia-based chain.
City utility JEA issued a service availability determination letter Sept. 23 for the project at 8771 Baymeadows Road. The letter means a deal is being explored, not that there is an agreement.
A draft of a preliminary site plan shows Parker’s Kitchen and its 10 fueling pumps with 20 fueling stations on the site.
Foresite Group Inc. of Jacksonville is the civil engineer.
The project is called Parker’s Kitchen Baymeadows KFC. The description is a “new Parker’s Kitchen convenience store with KFC restaurant and gasoline station with accessory structures.”
The site plan does not show KFC, which was at 8761 Baymeadows Road.
Parker’s Kitchen is a gas station and convenience store chain that features Southern comfort food. It has at least 102 stores in Georgia and South Carolina and is expanding into Jacksonville and into new markets in South Carolina.
The closest location to Jacksonville that is open is 32 miles north in Kingsland, Georgia.
The KFC and Tux parcels total 2.07 acres.
The closed 3,016-square-foot KFC on 0.56 acres is listed for sale at $1.7 million. The St. Johns River Water Management District received a pre-application Sept. 2 for Parker’s Kitchen there. Foresite Group LLC was the applicant.
The closed 4,455-square-foot Tux Car Wash is on 1.51 acres at 8771 Baymeadows Road. Orlando-based ABC Liquors Inc. built the car wash in 2022 at the site of one of its liquor stores. The limited liability ownership group is based at ABC Fine Wine & Spirits.
Northeast Florida expansion
Parker’s Kitchen said in December 2024 that it expected to open at least four gas station and convenience stores in Northeast Florida by the third quarter of 2026. It said it was actively working on several more locations but that it was too early to publicize them.
“Jacksonville’s fast-growing population, robust economy and growing retail market make it an attractive region for expansion,” said Amanda Thompson, Parker’s Kitchen senior director of real estate and development, by email.
The company said by email in December 2024 the first four are:
• 7481 Wilson Blvd. at Old Middleburg Road North in West Jacksonville in Duval County.
• 11205 Alta Drive north of Interstate 295 in North Jacksonville in Duval County.
• Blanding and Tanglewood boulevards in Orange Park in Clay County.
• 76010 William Burgess Blvd. in Wildlight in Yulee in Nassau County.
In total, there appear to be five in consideration in Duval County; three in Clay; and one each in Nassau and St. Johns.
Features Southern food
The ParkersKitchen.com menu includes biscuits baked daily on-site, catfish, grits, hash browns, sausage patties and gravy, chicken tenders, pork chops, pulled pork sandwiches, fried okra, breakfast burritos, lemonade and “Signature Chewy Ice.”
Parker’s Kitchen says it serves “world-famous hand-breaded Southern Fried Chicken Tenders as well as made-from-scratch mac ‘n’ cheese, a breakfast bar and daily specials.”
It employs nearly 1,800 people throughout Georgia and South Carolina.
Founder and CEO Greg Parker opened the first store in Midway, Georgia, in 1976.
An April 25, 2025, news release from Parker’s Kitchen says the company “is currently in the middle of an ambitious expansion and plans to expand into new markets including Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Jacksonville, Fla.; and Columbia, S.C.”