Chick-fil-A is exploring an expansion into Downtown Jacksonville, offering lunch service temporarily at a former lobby coffee counter in Jax Tower at 50 North.
Tenants in the building at 50 N. Laura St., formerly the Bank of America Tower, were notified in an email that the fast-food chain would be on-site from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday from July 6 through August.
“While this is a temporary arrangement, Chick-fil-A is using this opportunity to test both the downtown market and our building as a potential location for a future full-time, full-service restaurant,” the email read, noting the temporary site is selling items from a limited menu.
Sarah Teagle, a senior associate of office brokerage at Cushman & Wakefield, confirmed July 6 that the counter was open. She said sandwiches sold out the first day and that the chain was considering adding breakfast service based on requests from customers.
Cushman & Wakefield’s property management division manages the tower and took over leasing and management around January.
Chick-fil-A says it operates more than 3,000 restaurants in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom and Singapore.
At least 24 of those locations are in Northeast Florida.
Also planned for the building is a Starbucks Coffee Co. location. In December 2025, the city issued a permit for Starbucks to build out 2,225 square feet of space at a project cost of $469,050 on the ground floor of the building’s southeast corner, with sign permits submitted since then. The tenant is Starbucks Jax LLC, a licensed operation led by Jeremy Roberts of Orlando.
Roberts, who would operate the Starbucks-licensed store, applied for city incentives that were approved in October 2025 by the Downtown Investment Authority board.
The board approved $133,200 in two grants.
The bulk of the incentive package is a $118,200 loan through the DIA’s Food and Beverage Retail Enhancement Program. The incentive will be structured as a forgivable, no-interest loan that will amortize at the rate of 20% on each anniversary date of the closing for five years, as long as the business remains open.
The remaining $15,000 was awarded as a Sidewalk Enhancement Grant.
The 42-story tower changed names in mid-June.
Teagle said June 16 that Bank of America has reduced its footprint and no longer has the naming rights.
Ownership is seeking a new anchor tenant for the 36-year-old tower, which was built as the Barnett Center.