On its way to an estimated seven area locations, a second Potbelly Sandwich Works is identified in Jacksonville, this one at Hodges Station at northwest Hodges and Beach boulevards near the Beach Haven area.
Chicago-based Potbelly sells toasted sandwiches, soups, macaroni and cheese, salads, fresh-baked cookies and hand-scooped milkshakes.
The city is reviewing a permit application for Potbelly to build-out a 1,755-square-foot space at 13529 Beach Blvd., Unit 101, at an estimated project cost of $600,000. It replaces Rita’s Italian Ice next to Stanton Optical in a two-tenant building.
DXU Architects of Chicago is the architect.
Plans show 16 indoor seats.
The Franklin Street real estate company represents the landlord.
“I think it’s great that this brand is expanding into Jacksonville and that they are opening in core markets like Beach/Hodges. Potbelly is a well-established brand and I think that the community will enjoy having them at Hodges Station along with our other retail, restaurant, and service tenants,” said Ricky Ostrofsky, Franklin Street managing director and market leader.
The first Potbelly Sandwich Works in Jacksonville is being built-out in corner space in the Deerwood Village shopping center.
For that project, the city issued a permit Aug. 5, 2025, for Brothers Group Construction Co. of Jacksonville to renovate a 1,536-square-foot space at a project cost of $457,923.
That location is at 9908 Old Baymeadows Road, at southwest Baymeadows Road and Southside Boulevard. The Potbelly space was previously leased by Subway.
As with the second proposed location, DXU Architects of Chicago is the architect for the project. Plans show 26 seats inside and four outdoors.
Deerwood Village anchor tenant Publix Super Markets Inc. recently opened its rebuilt supermarket there.
A sign in the plans for both projects show them as Potbelly Sandwich Shop, another name for the restaurant.
Franchisee Patrick Prendergast of Gold & Green Management LLC of Ponte Vedra is the franchise owner for both locations. The LLC lists him and Leah Prendergast as the owners.
A year ago, Potbelly Sandwich Works posted on LinkedIn that Prendergast was set to open seven shops across Duval and St. Johns counties.
Prendergast posted that Gold & Green Management would open “not one, not two, but a staggering seven Potbelly locations” in the two counties.
He posted on LinkedIn eight months ago that Gold & Green Management had its first of seven locations locked in.
Stephanie McCullough, senior vice president and principal of SRS Real Estate Partners, is listed as the contact for the landlord. She said SRS also represents Potbelly in its site search.
The at least 20 varieties of Potbelly sandwiches include prime rib steak; “A Wreck” of turkey breast, smoked ham, roast beef, salami and Swiss cheese; a veggie melt; chicken salad; and grilled cheese.
Potbelly was founded in a Chicago antique shop in 1977. It now operates in 30 states and Washington, D.C. There are 16 in Florida.
It became a public company in 2013.
Industry news site QSRMagazine.com reported in March 2025 that Potbelly ended 2024 with 442 shops, with 346 company-operated and 96 franchised.
It said Potbelly’s long-term goal was to reach 2,000 units systemwide, with 85% being franchised. Over the previous three years, the brand moved from about 10% franchised to about 22%.
Atlanta-based RaceTrac Inc. bought Potbelly in October 2025 for $566 million.
RestaurantDive.com reported Dec. 22, 2025, that Senior Vice President of Franchising and Development Jennifer Durham expected significant opportunities for growth, scalability, returns on investment and franchising.
She said Potbelly had more than 450 locations and about 400 commitments for new units.
The industry news site reported that Potbelly remained focused on reaching 2,000 units over time.
Durham expects Potbelly to surpass 500 locations in 2026 and to be a $650 million business. She expects to open 50 shops this year and 100 more in 2027.
“We’ll continue to grow at the 100-plus clips so that we can achieve that 2,000 number sooner rather than later,” Durham said.
The site said RaceTrac doesn’t plan to put a Potbelly shop in all of its convenience stores, but if there is an overlap between Potbelly and RaceTrac customers, then the sandwich concept could be considered for a codevelopment location.
“It would be really advantageous from the return on investment for us to consider that where it makes sense,” Durham said.