Pollo Tropical @ SJTC

[spuwho]

Their first store in Jacksonville opened last week in the Markets @ SJTC in front of Costco.

Not only has it been an overwhelming success as there have been lines out the door and the drive up has had as many as 12-15 cars in line at most times.

The service is brisk if not rushed due to the large crowds. If you take the onsite post meal survey they will give you $5 off your next meal.

They appear to be still working out the kinks in the service, but the food was pretty good for the setting. Granted they are not high order presentation, but represent good value, especially with their family style meals.

The Tropical Salmon had the same serving size as Applebees but was $5 dollars less.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Not only has it been an overwhelming success as there have been lines out the door and the drive up has had as many as 12-15 cars in line at most times.

Some people don't like lines at the drive thru.....

http://jacksonville.com/community/jacksonville-community-news/2010-11-24/story/jacksonville-woman-arrested-after-pollo

Jacksonville woman arrested after Pollo Tropical manager hit in drive-through
Posted: November 24, 2010 - 9:56am
By Dan Scanlan

An apparent hankering for fast-food chicken led to the arrest of a 32-year-old Jacksonville woman Tuesday night on after the manager of the Town Center's Pollo Tropical restaurant was hit by a car cutting into its drive-through line.

Jatasha N. Jefferson of the 1400 block of East 27th Street is charged with aggravated assault, according to jail records.

Blog: Jacksonville's first Pollo Tropical opens at Town Center

Witnesses said the driver of a brown Jeep Compass tried to cut in line about 7 p.m. at the new restaurant at 4863 Town Center Parkway. So manager Charles Phillips, 53, told her she had to "go to the back of the line like everybody else," according to the arrest report. But she continued to pull in between other cars, almost hitting one as the managaer tried to control the traffic.

Phillips got into the line of cars to stop the Jeep, but the driver continued and hit his left knee. The manager told her that if she hit him again, he was calling police. But she bumped him again as she cut into line, the arrest report said. She was still trying to place an order until she was arrested.

Jefferson told officers she never hit anyone and witnesses "were lying," the report said. Officers observed swelling on the manager's left knee.

[brainstormer]

After class tonight, around 7:35pm, I decided to give it a try.  It took me 25 minutes after parking my car to get a "to go" order.  The place is definitely popular.  Our food tasted great, but they made a number of mistakes with my order.  It looked like it was right when I peeked in the bag, but after taking everything out at home, it wasn't. 

Does anyone else feel like the Markets at SJTC is just one big clusterf**k?  I swear every time I'm in the area, I almost get hit.  There is no common sense to the traffic design.  The entrances/exits on the corner with CVS, Panda, Pollo and Zaxby's are insane.  Nothing's marked and no one stops at any of the hard to see stop signs.  The entrance to CVS/Pollo off of Gate leads right into a lane in the opposite direction.  I drive a compact car, and I felt very "squished" trying to park.

Anyway, food was good, but the logistics of getting it sucked!  I'm not sure it is worth it. 

[spuwho]

Does anyone else feel like the Markets at SJTC is just one big clusterf**k?  I swear every time I'm in the area, I almost get hit.  There is no common sense to the traffic design.  The entrances/exits on the corner with CVS, Panda, Pollo and Zaxby's are insane.  Nothing's marked and no one stops at any of the hard to see stop signs.  The entrance to CVS/Pollo off of Gate leads right into a lane in the opposite direction.  I drive a compact car, and I felt very "squished" trying to park.

Anyway, food was good, but the logistics of getting it sucked!  I'm not sure it is worth it. 

Agreed, Traffic planning on Gate between JTB and Town Center Parkway is horrific. I can actually cut through the light at Costco, go behind Best Buy and come out at Chipotle on most days faster than navigating the logjam in front of CVS and Panda Express.

You think it is bad now, you should have seen it on Black Friday....and what it will be like in the run up to Christmas.

Hopefully the poor traffic planning won't choke off the business long term and it will stay viable.

[David]

author=Non-RedNeck Westsider link=topic=10533.msg190374#msg190374 date=1291342011]
Some people don't like lines at the drive thru.....

http://jacksonville.com/community/jacksonville-community-news/2010-11-24/story/jacksonville-woman-arrested-after-pollo

That manager's a trooper. he was working the door today with his left leg in a cast while handing out menus.

This was my 2nd visit this week to Pollo tropical with co-workers, they can't get enough of it! First round I had the chiptole chicken sandwich and wings. Today we had the ribs, quarter chicken and pulled pork.

The chicken is their speciality, but I was surprised by flavor and quality of the ribs. (i've had worse at bonos and paid twice as much)

For what you pay it really isn't a bad deal. It just takes some getting used to because of the lines. You wait to get in, then you wait to order..then you wait for your food.  Other than that no complaints.

[brainstormer]

Agreed, Traffic planning on Gate between JTB and Town Center Parkway is horrific...

Hopefully the poor traffic planning won't choke off the business long term and it will stay viable.

Am I the only one who thinks the town center has lost the original charm?  I remember when it first opened, you could park, walk around safely and generally have a good time.  It was more relaxed and enjoyable when it was smaller.  Now it is just a massive mess, with way too many stressed out drivers on cell phones speeding through poorly designed intersections.  I personally think going there is just more of a hassle than it used to be.  I swear walk-ability has been reduced because of the insane increase in traffic.  Maybe this is all just because I'm now 30. 

[Ocklawaha]

Was there yesterday for an early dinner, my only surprise? That the line out the door wasn't 4 x longer! This place is as close as it gets to REAL Caribbean Cuisine. If it wasn't for the road and parking planning from hell, I would have sworn that I was back in Cartagena...  Poulet boucanée (buccaneer-style chicken) remains popular in Colombia and the Indies... If you never discovered why the people of the BBQ - aka: The Boucanée(r's) became so famous for their grilling that they established a Pirate Culture that spanned the globe - based on their unique food. It was historically so good that it came into the American South through places like Smyrna, Fernandina, Pensacola, New Orleans and even our own Ortega areas. Most Southerners think we invented it, but nope, maybe we improved upon it with sweet sauces but then you should sample the guava sauce!

EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT AND EXCELLENT...

OCKLAWAHA

[spuwho]

Am I the only one who thinks the town center has lost the original charm?  I remember when it first opened, you could park, walk around safely and generally have a good time.  It was more relaxed and enjoyable when it was smaller. 

I agree...it's gotten worse, especially in the last 6 months. My wife attributes it to Old Navy moving in from Regency as she says getting parking around Target is terrible since ON arrived.

I think it started when they opened the Markets with such a small setback which forced them to shrink the parking areas and have pedestrians compete with moving vehicles. This created such bad backups on TCP unto Gate Parkway, that during evenings, Gate would backup unto the JTB exit ramp. Bringing ToysRUs down from Regency and duplicating the BestBuy's at Regency and Avenues here make it worse.

I don't want to get on a transportation planning rant here, but this exemplifies the idea that any well funded proposal trumps good planning in this town.

SJTC is becoming a retail vacuum on the Southside as it absorbs retail share from distressed Regency and making the Avenues mediocre.

In the mean time, try out Pollo Tropical (if the line is reasonable) for lunch and see if it does anything for you.

[thekillingwax]

We love it. We went on the 3rd day it was open and we only had to wait about 5 minute to get our food. We went back Weds. around 3pm (usually a very dead time for most places) and the cars were lined around the building and about 15 people were waiting under the tent outside to get in the door. The food is delicious and cheap (a 1/4 chicken meal with 2 sides is under $6- it's a lot of food) but I'm not waiting 20 minutes for it. Word of mouth is blowing that place up, combine that with the crazy holiday crowds out there and I decided I'm not going to head out there until after the first of the year. I hate the traffic, people drive like asses and it's not worth the stress.

[Ocklawaha]

I especially love the arrows that point both ways in front of the drive through lane. When the drive through wraps around the front of the building it only takes one car in the middle of that restricted space to stop traffic all the way around to Toys-R-Us exit, perhaps putting a line in the center of the parking lot lane would keep people off to the side a bit. The reverse flow with the CVS drive through running counter to American practice, southpaw style, is also a mind bender. The moral of the story is to park in another lot and walk to the restaurant.

OCKLAWAHA

[cline]

Am I the only one who thinks the town center has lost the original charm? 

It never had charm to begin with.

[Jaxson]

Reminds me of something that President Kennedy once said about Washington, D.C. being a city of Northern charm and Southern efficiency...  LOL

[Coolyfett]

Never heard of this place? Is it a chain?

[jandar]

Haven't eaten at the one at SJTC yet, refuse to until I can drive safely in that area. Use to eat at a few in Orlando whenever I was down there.

Can't tell you how many times I've almost been hit due to the bad traffic pattern at the Markets. As it is, when I worked off of Gate Parkway, it was faster and safer to drive around to the UNF exit and come in that side.

[tufsu1]

Never heard of this place? Is it a chain?

yes...really big in south Florida