Smalls Sliders broke ground March 17 on its first Northeast Florida location.
St. Johns County issued a permit Feb. 18 at a project cost of $500,000 for the Saint Johns site off County Road 210. Stansell Properties & Development LLC of Odessa is the contractor.
The 800-square-foot drive-thru is planned east of Interstate 95, across from the mixed-use development The Fountains at St. Johns.
Site plans show 14 parking spaces, a dual drive-thru and an outdoor dining area with artificial turf. Indoor dining is not included.
Smalls Sliders, a Louisiana-based chain founded in 2019, counts former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees among its investors.
According to the company website, it has 40 locations across 11 states, primarily in the Southeast, including Florida, Louisiana and Texas.
In Florida, it operates restaurants in Clearwater, Fort Walton Beach, Ocala, Pensacola and Tallahassee, according to the Smalls Sliders website.
Smalls Sliders is strategizing for another Northeast Florida location, this one at 14444 Beach Blvd. in Intracoastal Plaza at southeast Beach Boulevard and San Pablo Road in Jacksonville.
The city issued a Mobility Fee Calculation Certificate on Feb. 19 for an 800-square-foot fast-food drive-thru restaurant with no indoor seating on a 0.7-acre outparcel near the Le Petit Paris restaurant.
Smalls is known for operating its restaurants in “cans,” the company’s name for prefabricated modular buildings that house its restaurants. Smalls says “dropping cans” enables it to establish smaller restaurant footprints than its competitors, providing lower opening costs, safer construction and simplified operations.
The menu features burger sliders with one or two patties and bacon, along with grilled cheese sandwiches, waffle fries and milkshakes.
Smalls Sliders was founded by Brandon Landry, a former walk-on basketball guard at Louisiana State University. Landry also founded Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux in 2003. The sports bar chain opened at The Pavilion at Durbin Park in October 2025 after a several-year delay.