Mellow Mushroom to Open Up in 'town Space??

[thelakelander]

Valentino plans to keep the 48-year-old, 1,944-square-foot service station and convert it into the restaurant’s bar, where he plans to have 60 beers â€" nearly all craft brews â€" on tap. (That’s a dozen more than his recently expanded Tinseltown location offers.)

Outside the service station building, he plans to have an outdoor beer garden, covered dining area, bike racks and, potentially, a water feature, he said. Those details are yet to be finalized, though.

“I want to preserve the gas station and create a green space,” Valentino said. “When I’m done with it, it will be a focal point of the neighborhood.”

The bar will be connected to the renovated Emly Benham/’Town building, the restaurant’s main dining room and kitchen.

Valentino expects to seat 200-225 inside the restaurant.

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/423471/gary-mills/2012-04-06/mellow-mushroom-plans-avondale-restaurant

[ben says]

Valentino plans to keep the 48-year-old, 1,944-square-foot service station and convert it into the restaurant’s bar, where he plans to have 60 beers â€" nearly all craft brews â€" on tap. (That’s a dozen more than his recently expanded Tinseltown location offers.)

Outside the service station building, he plans to have an outdoor beer garden, covered dining area, bike racks and, potentially, a water feature, he said. Those details are yet to be finalized, though.

“I want to preserve the gas station and create a green space,” Valentino said. “When I’m done with it, it will be a focal point of the neighborhood.”

The bar will be connected to the renovated Emly Benham/’Town building, the restaurant’s main dining room and kitchen.

Valentino expects to seat 200-225 inside the restaurant.

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/423471/gary-mills/2012-04-06/mellow-mushroom-plans-avondale-restaurant

Well this is good news.

[Know Growth]

Pending RAP review,I like the concept.


MM Landscape/Building preservation,green space,huge beer selection,bike racks......tempting enough to induce compliant behavior,perhaps even sense of futility,acceptance.After all,like many Avondale residents I am joyfully far enough removed from neighborhood retail parking pressures,so why should I care?


We should consider renaming the strip.Way too quaint and clearly outdated.
SofA conjures images of dismissive leisure. We need something more descriptive of the embrace of alcohol," growth".

[ben says]

Pending RAP review,I like the concept.


MM Landscape/Building preservation,green space,huge beer selection,bike racks......tempting enough to induce compliant behavior,perhaps even sense of futility,acceptance.After all,like many Avondale residents I am joyfully far enough removed from neighborhood retail parking pressures,so why should I care?

+1.

[Tacachale]

Alcohol? What's next, pool halls? That's trouble, friends, trouble with a capital "T".

[ChriswUfGator]

Alcohol? What's next, pool halls? That's trouble, friends, trouble with a capital "T".

Hahaha...Stephen and I quote that musical constantly about Jacksonville, glad to see it's not just us...

[thelakelander]

It looks like this one will be bigger or equal to the size of the Kickkback's project, once the bar/outside seats are included.  It's cool that a parking debate won't pop up since they are utilizing existing structures.

[JaxJerry]

well, if the intent is to connect the former Shell station to the former 'town space via a corridor or such, would that not constitute new construction?

[JeffreyS]

Well perhaps they are not putting any seating in the connector.

[thelakelander]

Considering the buildings are next two each other, its not going to be a significant amount of square footage added to connect them.  Thus, complying with the overlay's off-street parking requirements won't be a problem.

[MusicMan]

QUOTE:

"Outside the service station building, he plans to have an outdoor beer garden, covered dining area, bike racks and, potentially, a water feature, he said. Those details are yet to be finalized, though.

“I want to preserve the gas station and create a green space,” Valentino said. “When I’m done with it, it will be a focal point of the neighborhood.” "


This is very similar to what I was hoping for and advovcating in earlier posts regarding this location, preserving the space, incorporating a water feature, and making it the focal point of the neighborhood.  A beautiful fountain surrounded by seating ............ I

If he has a great design team this could really be a huge improvement to that corner, although I was a big fan of 'town and hate to see it close. The bartender was always fun and sold my wife and I cocktails and martini's that we would not normally try.

[ben says]

QUOTE:

"Outside the service station building, he plans to have an outdoor beer garden, covered dining area, bike racks and, potentially, a water feature, he said. Those details are yet to be finalized, though.

“I want to preserve the gas station and create a green space,” Valentino said. “When I’m done with it, it will be a focal point of the neighborhood.” "


This is very similar to what I was hoping for and advovcating in earlier posts regarding this location, preserving the space, incorporating a water feature, and making it the focal point of the neighborhood.  A beautiful fountain surrounded by seating ............ I

If he has a great design team this could really be a huge improvement to that corner, although I was a big fan of 'town and hate to see it close. Any word regarding 'town moving into another space? What will happen to the high end shoe store, will it stay?

The shoe store is moving too

[mtraininjax]

I love their idea of using the Gas Station as their bar focused on craft beer, outdoor seating, beer garden water feature and the town space as the main dining room and kitchen. Yes MTrain it will be smaller than the other locations.

It will all come under review from RAP and many of the merchants are already lining up against it. Stay tuned for more.

Talk on the street is that Benham would move, across the street, to the right of the Sushi restaurant and they can move the front of the shops to the sidewalk, yes, another RAP issue, but Benham has been there and done that and it would make the stores all look the same instead of the oddity there is there now.

By the way, Ginjo Sushi is amazing, and they did not alter one iota outside.

[ben says]

I love their idea of using the Gas Station as their bar focused on craft beer, outdoor seating, beer garden water feature and the town space as the main dining room and kitchen. Yes MTrain it will be smaller than the other locations.

It will all come under review from RAP and many of the merchants are already lining up against it. Stay tuned for more.

Talk on the street is that Benham would move, across the street, to the right of the Sushi restaurant and they can move the front of the shops to the sidewalk, yes, another RAP issue, but Benham has been there and done that and it would make the stores all look the same instead of the oddity there is there now.

By the way, Ginjo Sushi is amazing, and they did not alter one iota outside.

Please keep us posted on RAP, MM, and Benham. You seem to have your ear to the ground. What did you mean by "they can move the front of the shops to the sidewalk, yes, another RAP issue, but Benham has been there and done that and it would make the stores all look the same instead of the oddity there is there now."??

On another note, tried Ginjo Sushi the other day, just a few observations: best sushi I've had in Riverside, hands down, although why these places continue to serve "k"rab boggles my f'ing mind. Also the most expensive sushi I've had in Riverside ($45~ for 2 people, not including tip). Clear soup was weak, rice was clumpy and cold, and the dumplings and ginger dressing were identical to the kind Sake House serves (makes me wonder...same ownership, or both buy from the same mass distributor??). Other than those few quirks (read, downsides), I still think it's the best around, and will continue to go there. The ambiance is top tier.

Didn't mean to hijack the thread, sorry! But felt it was a good place to throw it, since Mtrain mentioned it, and this is a thread about anything to do with SoA and the accompanying businesses.

[Know Growth]

Considering the buildings are next two each other, its not going to be a significant amount of square footage added to connect them.  Thus, complying with the overlay's off-street parking requirements won't be a problem.

However,even if Overlay compliant, any significant expanded SofA seating could increase parking pressure,adverse impacts on another key Overlay component- Residential.

At the conclusion of Overlay proceedings,RAP stated that there were elements RAP would have liked but did not get.This a gesture of acknowledgement of consensus,short on publicaly profiling specific loss or disappointment.
Perhaps unfolding events will reveal latent defects,needs.
We hear talk of Overlay "tweak" if not absolute uprising from various opposing outlooks.

There have been hints to SofA MM since at least March.There must have been either some collaborative engagement between RAP and MM and/or assumptions to proceed,announce.

Interesting that such current growth pressures,interest is converging on Avondale and RAP.
There is of course a long history of such pressures on the RAP neighborhood and organization with various outcome,in fact much expansion ,each episode contributing towards a certain stance if you will.Had Downtown not been in such a state of decline and malaise during the past decades Riverside Avondale may have faced transformation rendering a much diferent neighborhood than what we enjoy and use today.

Avondale,where even a "Best Place" certification can prove cause for alarm, is where "it" is at;now tied to Downtown aspirations, such growth energy seemingly can not be funneled to Downtown or even a few hundred feet west of Roosevelt Blvd.

No doubt there are worse problems facing communities and neighborhoods both Idyllic and Not So Idyllic.
And there are too many examples of Idyllic morphing to Not So.

My thoughts,submitted for Gladiatorial response,shred,insight.

Onward!