New restaurants are primed for development in Downtown Jacksonville after action Feb. 18 by the Downtown Investment Authority board.
On 9-0 votes, the DIA board approved a $403,590 grant for Asado Life Jax Sports District, an Argentinian-inspired restaurant at the marina near the Four Seasons Hotel & Private Residences, and a $75,140 grant for The Huguenot, a wine bar near San Marco on the Southbank.
Asado Life
Asado Life, which started in St. Augustine and will remain open there, plans its second location in the Four Seasons. In a September 2025 announcement, the restaurant said it would focus on communal fire-grilling, or asado, featuring scratch-made ingredients and “traditional Argentinian-inspired cooking methods of chef’s cuts, sausages, fresh catches and grilled vegetables.”
DIA documents list total build-out costs at $1.1 million for the restaurant, which would comprise 90 interior seats and 50 covered patio seats. A DIA staff report said prices would average $40 per person for lunch and $80 per person for dinner.
The proposed DIA incentive will come through the Waterfront Restaurant Program and be structured as a forgivable 0% interest loan amortizing at 20% per year over five years as long as the business remains open and operating as projected.
The Huguenot
The Huguenot is a wine, cheese and charcuterie bar concept planned in the former Reddi-Arts building at 1039 Hendricks Ave. That building is being redeveloped into four retail spaces, and the bar would occupy the southernmost.
Plans attached to DIA documents show seating for 18 patrons at the bar, plus tables with booths along the east wall and an event space on the western portion of the building. There is also a 600-square-foot patio with seating.
The DIA incentive will come in the form of a forgivable 0% interest grant under the Core Retail Enhancement Program. It is structured to amortize at 33.33% annually over three years.
The DIA board votes constituted final action on the grants, for which no Jacksonville City Council action is needed.
