Summer 2019

which in my opinion has gone downhill
over the years, and old standby Indochine
upstairs for good sit-down Thai cuisine.
Where we can
DO BETTER:
With the Florida Theatre, Times-
Union Center for the Performing Arts
and Daily’s Place bringing more acts
Downtown, eateries have followed, but we
still seem to be pressed for variety:
The urban core continues to miss out
on barbecue, a staple in most every other
far-flung corner of Duuuval. Longtime
fixture Jenkins Quality Barbecue is on the
edge of Downtown, but not walkable or
near anything else.
Soul food is absent, as is sushi. We have
fast-casual Kazu Sushi Burrito, which is
sometimes crowded at lunch, but barren
after 5. Outside of that, there is not a
Japanese or sushi restaurant in the core
otherwise.
There’s no French restaurant that serves
dinner, and we aren’t even blessed with a
bakery of any sort.
Homemade pasta and sit-down Italian
are non-existent dinner options. Casual
spot, Chicago Pizza, at the Jacksonville
Landing recently closed after nearly 10
years in business. Casa Dora is open
most evenings but isn’t a Downtown
destination — it’s more of a simple, quick
solution to dinner before a Florida Theatre
show. Longtime full-service Downtown
Italian restaurant La Cena pulled out
awhile back from Laura Street, relocating
to a non-descript Murray Hill location.
And oddly enough, often on the busiest
of nights Downtown like One Spark and
First Wednesday Art Walk, its owner would
close the restaurant for the evening.
Forget Indian food, unless you count
award-winning mobile food truck Fusion,
which only parks Downtown once or twice
weekly for lunch.
You can think of variety in terms of
cuisine and its availability in the form of
more evening and weekend hours. Restaurateurs
will go there once round-the-clock
activity attracts their hungry target market
and makes it economically viable.
There’s virtually no outdoor dining now
that The Jacksonville Landing awaits its
demise. The only true outdoor dining in
the urban core is the rooftop at Cowford
Chophouse and a series of umbrella-shaded
picnic tables at the Court Urban Food
Truck Park on Hogan Street. Honorable
mentions go out to the hidden area at
Urban Grind Coffee Shop, a few seats
outside of Super Food and Brew, and a
handful of outside tables at Bellwether,
and Burrito Gallery’s small outdoor patio.
For guests staying Downtown on weekends,
walkable brunch options are beyond
scarce. The Omni Jacksonville and Hyatt
hotels own the Northbank market, short
of hailing an Uber or rental car to nosh at
hotspots in San Marco or Riverside. Even
First Watch and bb’s are too far by foot,
especially as the temperatures rise.
Putting it all
together
While we have not yet made Downtown
a dining destination, the ingredients may
be lining up. Consider new residential
units and national-flag hotels open and in
the works, educational institutions UNF, JU
and FSCJ growing their urban campuses,
blooming adaptive reuse (The Barnett,
Laura Street Trio) and ground-up (JEA)
projects, a flourish in LaVilla and infusions
of new workers (VyStar).
All of these residents, workers, students,
tourists and sports fans will need to eat
somewhere.
Once Downtown finds its swagger, its
culinary pot of cool may start simmering.
But a lot of people will need to take turns
stirring.
“I think residential population density
is our bigger problem,” said Insetta. “Also
getting guests to come Downtown when
it’s a non-event night. We have seen steadier
numbers at night on non-event nights,
but we have some great restaurants Downtown
and I would love to see Downtown
busy at night. I think a student population
or just more residents in general would be
huge for Downtown.
“We need vitality outside of business
hours — we have an amazing Downtown
and it just needs to be brought to life,” he
added.
Matthew Clark, a commercial real estate
broker with Prime Realty, has helped
usher businesses Downtown. “When I
started in commercial real estate, I had a
passion for Downtown Jacksonville retail.
I quickly realized it was going to take more
people Downtown to bring a retail vibe to
fruition. Although we had some success
over the past few years bringing retail to
the core — Bellwether, Jimmy Johns,
Wolf & Cub, TossGreen and Anytime
Fitness to name a few — it will take a
dense residential component to continue
to move the initiative forward. Many retailers
not only want to see a strong daytime
population, but nighttime as well.”
This is true for William Morgan, owner
of Vagabond Coffee on Hogan Street,
which initially got its start as a mobile unit
in nearby Hemming Park. It has expansion
plans Downtown for its locally roasted
beans: Laura Street inside the Barnett
Bank Building.
“There is no other specialty coffee in
the center city,” said Morgan. “We provide
an option for people who enjoy a higher
level of coffee and grab and go. We are
beyond excited to be opening soon in
the Barnett Bank Building, furthering our
commitment to be in the heart of Jacksonville.”
From mobile unit to a location in Murray
Hill to Hogan Street and this new venture,
Morgan notes, “It has been hard —
really hard at times — and we are excited
to continue to grow in Downtown, but we
need the support of everyone Downtown.”
When asked what’s missing from
Downtown’s landscape, Morgan smiles
and says, “I mean this in all love, but everything.
There are very much the embers of a
great awakening in Downtown Jax, but we
need many, many more to join us in our
pursuit of greatness for our city center.”
Nearby local boutique Wolf & Club
has been Downtown almost three years.
Its success also hasn’t come without its
struggles and hard work.
Its owner, Emily Moody-Rosete, would
love to see more retail and restaurants
“take a risk” and move Downtown, but
says, “Unfortunately there isn’t a lot to
attract and encourage small businesses to
open here, and that’s a big missed opportunity
for the city.”
She and husband Varick Rosete chose
Downtown for the brick-and-mortar
location of Wolf & Cub because they are
passionate about helping contribute to
building Downtown into “a vibrant district
full of interesting shops, eateries and
activities.”
“Although underutilized and underappreciated,
we really do have a beautiful
Downtown,” she adds. “Even though there
is still not as much to offer as other more
established Jacksonville neighborhoods,
Downtown should be proud of the quality
of businesses, cultural institutions and
public programming it does have.”
Insetta agrees. “We see the potential in
this city and also the importance of having
a vibrant productive urban core,” he said.
“It has such good bones and potential,
and we would like to be a positive force for
change for growth Downtown.”
Caron Streibich works for Regency Centers and
is a Florida Times-Union bi-weekly food writer. She lives
on the Southbank.
SUMMER 2019 | J MAGAZINE 91