Comeback stalls: What we know about Beaches restaurant's abrupt closing
Less than a year after reopening, a Jacksonville Beach seafood restaurant has closed abruptly for the second time in just over a decade.
It's unclear whether the Crabcake Factory Seafood Grille & Bar at 1396 Beach Blvd., Suite 1396, will reopen or relocate to a new site.
Fully set tables with white tablecloths can be seen in the main dining room through gaps in the blinds covering the front windows of the Beach Plaza restaurant.
Employees at neighboring businesses said the Crabcake Factory had shut its doors about two or three months ago. They said they couldn't remember the last time they saw anyone at the restaurant.
Crabcake Factory's most recent social media posts were dated Sept. 24 on its Facebook and Instagram pages.
What we know about the Crabcake Factory's closure
Restaurant owner Brandon Groover couldn't be reached for comment.
A local entrepreneur, Groover is listed as president and registered agent of Jax Seafood Factory Grille & Bar LLC, which operates the restaurant, according to Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation online records.
The Florida Division of Corporations, commonly known as Sunbiz, identifies Jax Seafood Factory Grille & Bar as "inactive." The last event noted for the company by the agency was an "administrative dissolution for annual report" filed on Sept. 22, the agency website shows.
In Florida an "administrative dissolution for annual report" is defined as a temporary action taking away a company's authority to conduct business in the state. The business can be reinstated and regain its authority to do business in the state at a future time.
Sunbiz online records don't explain the reason for the action involving Jax Seafood Factory Grille & Bar.
Times-Union telephone calls to the Crabcake Factory's published telephone number were answered with a recording stating: "Your call cannot be completed as dialed."
Rent dispute and bankruptcy filing
Duval County court records show Groover, individually and along with Jax Seafood Factory Grille & Bar LLC, were involved in a rent dispute with the restaurant's landlord — Tavus Investments LLC, an affiliate of Ash Properties — beginning on June 19.
The case, stating overdue rent, was closed Nov. 21 when Tavus filed a "notice of voluntary dismissal without prejudice," according to the court records.
Company officials couldn't be reached for comment about the matter.
Groover applied for Chapter 13 voluntary bankruptcy protection on Aug. 31 in U.S. District Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida in Jacksonville, federal court records show.
A Jan. 10 preliminary hearing has been scheduled about whether to reinstate the bankruptcy case which had been dismissed Nov. 16 because it initially lacked some required documentation.
Groover's attorney provided the documentation on Nov. 17, noting it had been left out accidentally of the bankruptcy application, according to the federal court records.
Jumbo crabcakes signature dish
The history of Crabcake Factory has ebbed and flowed like the tide, according to past Times-Union articles and state records.
The restaurant was known for its signature Chesapeake Bay jumbo lump crab cakes
In 2007 executive chef and then-owner Kahn Vongdara opened Crabcake Factory Seafood Grille & Bar and led its kitchen until the restaurant closed in 2012.
On March 8 Groover announced in a news release that he was the restaurant's new owner. Groover also said he and Vongdara were collaborating to reopen the restaurant. The Crabcake Factory Seafood Grille & Bar "is back, and it's better than ever," he said.
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Vongdara, who subsequently left the restaurant, is not involved in the court cases. In 2010 he left to operate Christopher Seafood and Co. at Kernan Road and Atlantic Boulevard in East Arlington.
Crabcake Factory subsequently closed temporarily amid an ownership change but had reopened by March 2011 with Vongdara at the helm. But by October 2012, the restaurant closed again, according to Times-Union articles at the time.
The Crabcake Factory remained closed until this year when Groover reopened it.
Teresa Stepzinski is the dining reporter for the Times-Union. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @TeresaStepz or reach her via email at tstepzinski@jacksonville.com.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Crabcake Factory restaurant in Jacksonville Beach closes again
