Restaurants: What's new or coming soon to Jacksonville's Town Center, Southside
In 2023, Jacksonville's restaurant scene continues to grow, with new restaurants opening or planning to open in the coming months. Here's a look at what's opening or coming soon to the St. Johns Town Center area and the city's Southside.
More new restaurants: Five new restaurants are planned for the Town Center. Here's what we know.
Coming soon: 25 new restaurants are in the works for Jacksonville in 2023. Here's a list.
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718 Bagel Time
718 Bagel Time brings a real taste of New York City to Jacksonville following its April opening at 2777 University Blvd. W. No 24 near Publix in the Lakewood neighborhood. Named for the area code of the Bronx, the restaurant offers about 15 different varieties of bagels that are made and boiled in the Bronx and then delivered to 718 Bagel Time where they are baked daily. It also offers about 15 cream cheese schmears, all made in-house. In addition, the menu features authentic-style Chopped Cheese — a sandwich mainstay found in New York City bodegas. | Read more
Bubbakoo's Burritos
A Mexican-Fusion burrito-centric restaurant focused on customized, fresh-made-to-order fare opened the first of several planned Northeast Florida restaurants on March 8 at 9810 Baymeadows Road, Unit 10 in Baymeadows Village shopping center. Among its signature menu items is the “Burritodilla,” tortillas filled with premium ingredients (like a burrito), then grilled to golden and cut into pieces (like a quesadilla); and the “Chiwawa,” a lightly fried, panko-crusted cheesy rice ball covered in nacho cheese and choice of meat and toppings. | Read more
Capriotti's Sandwich Shop
Jacksonville husband and wife Skyla and Shawn Seagroves debuted the first of three Capriotti's Sandwich Shops they plan to open in Northeast Florida. The restaurant, which opened Jan. 30 at 10025 San Jose Blvd. at Crown Point Plaza shopping center in Mandarin, is an "upscale fast-casual dining restaurant” known for its signature sub The Bobbie — made with fresh turkey roasted daily — as well as other sandwiches, including its American Waygu cheesesteak, Capastrami and Classic Italian sub. | Read more
Chick-fil-A
In documents submitted for review to the St. Johns Water Management District, Chick-fil-A is planning its next-generation restaurant featuring a new design in Mandarin at San Jose Boulevard and Old Acosta Road. The new restaurant design is notably smaller than Chick-fil-A's existing restaurants in Jacksonville, allowing seating for just 38 diners. What is loses in seats, though, it gains in drive-thru capacity. | Read more
Chipotle Mexican Grill
California-based Chipotle opened its newest Jacksonville-area restaurant at 5801 Beach Blvd. at Boulevard Crossing, the site of the former Kmart parking lot near University Boulevard. It is the chain's 15th restaurant in Northeast Florida. There, the restaurant known for its made-to-order bowls, tacos and burritos featuring local and organic produce, joins a rebuilt McDonald’s (2020), Starbucks (2021) and Wingstop (2022). | Read more
Cielo Azul Cocina Mexicana
New at The Avenues, is Cielo Azul Mexican Kitchen & Seafood, a family-owned Mexican restaurant specializing in fresh seafood and fish prepared from scratch with authentic recipes. The restaurant from the same family that operates a number of other Mexican concepts in Northeast Florida opened May 24 at the mall, 10300 Southside Blvd. No. 242, in the former Ruby Tuesday spot on the upper level. Offering signature dishes such as Chapuson Del Mar featuring octopus, shrimp and oysters, and Huachinango Zarandeado, which is grilled whole snapper prepared with special seasonings, the restaurant also offers tacos, burritos, enchiladas and other classic Mexican dishes. | Read more
Corner Farm Kitchen
A drive-thru-only bakery and sandwich shop, Corner Farm Kitchen opened in early October at 6661 Bowden Road — a successor to cherished neighborhood mainstay Liberty Bakery near Parental Home Road. Authentic Indian specialties such as vegetable samosas and naan with butter chicken from Corner Farm Kitchen founder, owner and cook Subhashini Golla share the menu with banana bread, cinnamon rolls, muffins and other breakfast favorites plus sandwiches. | Read more
Cowtown Tavern
Serving up freshly made local and regional fare ranging from innovative sandwiches to flatbreads, salads and soup, Cowtown Tavern Food & Sports opened Jan. 30 in the former Dick's Wings & Grill spot at 1610 University Blvd. W. Among the restaurant's signature sandwiches are Ribeye Steak, Fried Bologna, Florida Grouper, Classic Reuben and more. And bourbon drinkers will want to check out Cowtown's large selection, including Old Forester Birthday Bourbon, which sells for $50 a shot. In addition to sports programming, the restaurant features live music and bingo.| Read more
DOS Coffee & Wine
A St. Augustine-based specialty coffee and wine shop recently opened its third Northeast Florida restaurant in the St. Johns Town Center area. DOS Coffee & Wine at 4853 Big Island Drive, No. 3, in Town Center Plaza, offers fresh specialty coffee, a diverse selection of wine and beer and a menu featuring made-to-order sandwiches and salads as well as in-house baked pastries and other desserts. The cafe shares the 1,578-square-foot storefront with Mayday Handcrafted Ice Cream. | Read more
Doughfee Donuts & Coffee
Ube Dream, Creme Brulee, Sandy Beach Day and other gourmet doughnuts made from scratch daily along with handcrafted Cambodian-style eggrolls and freshly brewed coffee top the menu of Doughfee Donuts & Coffee. The cafe opened at 3928 Baymeadows Road No. 4 in The Shops of Goodby's Creek near San Jose Boulevard. The doughnut shop was opened by a Jacksonville couple inspired by their son who has autism. | Read more
Grounds of Grace
A new Jacksonville cafe is focused on helping the community by serving up more than just freshly brewed coffee and pastries baked daily. After launching in 2020 as a mobile coffee shop in a renovated school bus providing jobs to at-risk youth, Grounds of Grace opened its first brick-and-mortar coffee shop on April 1 at 1633 University Blvd. N. in Arlington. Grounds of GRACE — a ministry supporting the nonprofit Sponsored by GRACE — has expanded its outreach as well as its menu with the addition of the cafe. | Read more
Hopdoddy Burger Bar
Hopdoddy Burger Bar, an Austin, Texas-based restaurant known for its premium bison and beef burgers, fried chicken, handspun milkshakes and shareable, loaded Brussels sprouts, debuted March 28 in Jacksonville. Located at 4906 Town Center Parkway in The Strand at Town Center, Hopdoddy replaces Grub Kitchen & Bar. The two brands merged last year and Hopdoddy has been converting Grub locations to its concept.
Jon Smith Subs
A West Palm Beach-based sandwich shop featuring made-to-order subs and french fries opened its first Northeast Florida restaurant July 17. Jon Smith Subs — known for "The Steak Bomb" — debuted at 4765 Hodges Blvd. in the Publix-anchored Windsor Commons shopping center near Butler Boulevard. The sandwich shop is the first of at least three that franchise owner Solomon Jones plans in the Jacksonville area. The Steak Bomb and Chicken Bomb sandwiches are customer favorites. Respectively, they feature grilled marinated sirloin steak or grilled marinated chicken breast trimmed, sliced, seasoned and marinated at the restaurant. | Read more
Main Squeeze Juice Co.
Main Squeeze Juice Co., a fast-casual natural juice and smoothie bar with a motto and mission of "Making Healthy Easier" opened its second Jacksonville-area location May 20 at 13546 Beach Blvd., Unit 1A, in Jacksonville. It joins the area's first at 544 Marsh Landing Parkway in Jacksonville Beach. Both are owned by Spencer Turner and are the New Orleans-based chain's first locations in Florida. Main Squeeze offers cold-pressed fresh and raw juices made daily with two-to-four pounds of whole fruits and vegetables in each bottle. In addition, Main Squeeze offers acai bowls made with organic and wild-harvested acai berries from the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. | Read more
Mandola's Italian Kitchen
The first of as many as six Mandola's Italian Kitchen restaurants planned for the Jacksonville area opened July 12 at 11112 San Jose Blvd. at Mandarin's Claire Lane Center in Mandarin. Mandola's is known for its antipasti, chicken, salmon and beef entrees, pizza, panini and especially its homemade desserts: Italian cookies, cakes and gelato, all made on-site in the restaurant's bakery and gelateria. Based in Austin, Texas, the restaurant is from Carrabba's Italian Grill co-founder Damian Mandola. | Read more
Pink Salt Restaurant + Vevetas Tapas
A popular chef-driven Caribbean fusion restaurant is welcoming guests to the table of its new tapas and rum bar — believed to be the first of its kind in Jacksonville. Pink Salt Restaurant + Vevetas Tapas is at 1567 University Blvd. W. offers a Caribbean menu with an international flair. It joins the original Pink Salt + Wine Bar in San Marco. The rum and tapas bar is in the former storefront of Gene's Seafood Restaurant and Blue Marlin Bar, which closed after 22 years in September 2017. | Read more
Players Grille
Nearly eight months after buying the original Players Grille in the Miramar neighborhood, Jacksonville husband-and-wife owners Phil and Megan Visali opened the family-friendly sports bar's second location at 10140 San Jose Blvd. in Mandarin. The couple plans to open at least two more Jacksonville-area locations and ultimately franchise it to NFL cities nationwide. Players Grille is known for its chicken wings and burgers. | Read more
Pokemoto
A pair of Hawaiian-style poke-centric restaurants recently debuted in Northeast Florida offering bowls, wraps, salads and milk teas with boba. Pokemoto opened fast-casual restaurants at 8080 Philips Highway in Jacksonville's Baymeadows neighborhood and at 700 Blanding Blvd. in Orange Park. Pokémoto is known for offering modern interpretations of the classic Hawaiian poke bowl with customers having an opportunity to customize their bowls, salads and wraps with proteins Ahi tuna, salmon, shrimp, chicken, tofu or lobster seafood salad. | Read more
Scooter's Coffee
Scooter’s Coffee, headquartered in Omaha, Neb., celebrated the grand opening of its first Jacksonville specialty coffee drive-thru shop at 13753 Beach Blvd. on Aug. 10. The coffee shop also offers baked-from-scratch pastries. Scooter’s Coffee is a drive-thru franchise founded 25 years ago. It has more than 640 locations in 29 states nationwide, the company said in a news release.
Scramblers
Known for its hearty, classic as well as eclectic breakfast and lunch menu, Scramblers has opened the first of five restaurants in Jacksonville — its inaugural expansion outside of the Midwest. The family-owned, Ohio-based chain is now open at 9940 Old Baymeadows Road at Southside Boulevard in Deerwood Village Mall. It is searching for sites to locate three other restaurants. | Read more
Smallcakes Cupcakery & Creamery
A bakery popular for its gourmet cupcakes, wedding and other specialty cakes as well as ice cream, cookies and brownies welcomed guests to its third Jacksonville-area dessert shop in September. Smallcakes Cupcakery & Creamery opened its newest shop at 10111 San Jose Blvd. Suite 1 at Crown Point Plaza in Mandarin. The shop typically has about 24 flavors of which the most popular are strawberry cheesecake, Red Velvet and Wedding Cake. | Read more
Spliff's Gastropub
A downtown Jacksonville gastropub known for its craft brews and innovative interpretations of comfort food such as mac 'n cheese, Hot Pockets and burgers branched out to suburbs. Spliff's Gastropub opened its second location Oct. 14 at 14985 Old St. Augustine Road, Unit 108 in Durbin Crossing Shoppes near Bayard. The restaurant offers 24 craft beers as well as a full liquor bar. Spliff's also emphasizes that it offers a "unique twist on traditional gourmet comfort food." | Read more
Sugar Factory American Brasserie
Probably one of the most anticipated restaurant openings, Sugar Factory American Brasserie finally welcomed guests to its table on March 28 after multiple delays. The Las Vegas-based upscale, celebrity-centric restaurant is at 4910 Big Island Drive in The Markets at Town Center on the city's Southside. Sugar Factory is best known for its $150 24K gold burger meal, $99 King Kong Sundae that serves 12, and its celebrity-centric couture lollipops. Innovative "Insane Milkshakes" and candy-flavored craft cocktails round out the menu. | Read more
Twin Peaks
Billing itself as the “ultimate sports lodge” and featuring servers known as the "Twin Peaks Girls," Twin Peaks opened its first Jacksonville restaurant on Sept. 7 at 11892 Atlantic Blvd. in Kernan Village shopping center in East Arlington. The Dallas-based chain also is known for serving 29-degree draft beer The Jacksonville location is the first in Northeast Florida and joins nine others statewide. | Read more
Vagabond Korean Steakhouse
Billed as an all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue, Vagabond Korean Steakhouse opened Feb. 3 at 9726 Touchton Road, Unit 108 in the Tinseltown area. The restaurant's menu features a variety of marinated meats and seafood cooked on grills typically built into the table and served with a variety of side dishes. | Read more
Whataburger
A Texas-based quick service restaurant known for its freshly made-to-order burgers as well as shakes, fries and breakfast fare opened its 12th Northeast Florida restaurant in Jacksonville. Whataburger at 10600 San Jose Blvd. near Interstate 295 in Mandarin offers a drive-thru open 24/7 for late-night cravings. Whataburger is known for its quarter-pound burgers grilled to order and topped with lettuce, three slices of tomato, four pickles, chopped onions, mustard, and ketchup. | Read more
More restaurant news: What's new or coming soon to Jacksonville's Downtown, San Marco and Riverside
More restaurant news: What's new or coming soon to St. Johns County neighborhoods
More restaurant news: What's new or coming soon to Jacksonville's Beaches, Intracoastal area
More restaurant news: What's new or coming soon to Jacksonville's Westside, Northside
This listing will be updated monthly.
Teresa Stepzinski is the dining reporter for the Times-Union. Follow her on Twitter @TeresaStepz or reach her via email at tstepzinski@jacksonville.com.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville restaurants: What's new in Town Center, Southside in 2023
