Whisky River closes

[For_F-L-O-R-I-D-A]

Shocked and disappointed. I loved Whisky River. Obviously it was sudden as they were just taking Super Bowl reservations last week. Always a shame to see a place close down, and it usually had good crowds for football and theme nights. Thankfully Suite is still around, that's the closest thing Jax has to the nightclub scene offered in MIA and NYC

Chalk up the end of a night scene in Southside if WR and Suite go under. The Beaches and Riverside are the gold standard for going out in Jax which is why most young people are seeking living arrangements in both locales. Maybe Riverside and downtown can capitalize on this to make the core more desirable?

[coredumped]

Chalk up the end of a night scene in Southside if WR and Suite go under. The Beaches and Riverside are the gold standard for going out in Jax which is why most young people are seeking living arrangements in both locales. Maybe Riverside and downtown can capitalize on this to make the core more desirable?

The beaches? Don't they shut down at like 1am now??? And don't even mention the cops...

I agree though, Southside doesn't have a great nightlife, unless you want to count chilis 

I'd say downtown and riverside more than the beaches and riverside are the gold standard, IMO.

[icarus]

Honestly, Whiskey River seemed to attract a bad element .. crowds, frequent fights, etc.  I truly wonder if forcing WR out wasn't a prudent move from a landlord/developer viewpoint as they try to bring in more fine dining, i.e. Seasons 52 and Moxie.

[mtraininjax]

Maybe Riverside and downtown can capitalize on this to make the core more desirable?

220 Riverside is trying to catch this wave of interest. Hopefully more infill continues in the area to where it can become a model for other areas of town. Communities shall thrive again!

[billy]

Viable alternate? Wild Bill's Saloon on Tallyrand!

[Overstreet]

Why is it that restaurants often close  with no notice?

[TheCat]

This is from facebook:

[blizz01]

A little more light:

Lawsuit: Whisky River evicted

By Mark Basch, Contributing Writer

The Whisky River restaurant at The Markets of Town Center, which closed abruptly last month, was shut down because the operators had not paid the rent for six months and were evicted, according to a lawsuit filed in Duval County Circuit Court.Representatives of the owners issued statements to several local news outlets last month saying they had decided to close the restaurant.
However, according to an amended version of the original complaint, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office "executed a Writ of Possession removing Tenant from, and delivering to Landlord, possession of the premises" on Jan. 17.
The landlord is Hines Global REIT Inc., a Houston-based real estate investment firm. Hines acquired The Markets of Town Center, the shopping area adjacent to the St. Johns Town Center, from Pinehill Markets Operating LLC in July 2013.
According to the lawsuit which was originally filed by Hines in December, the operators of Whisky River never made any of their required monthly rental payments after Hines took over the property. The restaurant owed a total of $226,312 in rent as of January.
Duval County Circuit Judge Lawrence Haddock entered a judgment Jan. 3 in favor of Hines, giving it possession of the premises because the restaurant owners were in default.
Hines' amended complaint against the Whisky River owners said the landlord has been taking care of the premises since taking possession Jan. 17 and "has made and continues to make a good faith effort to re-let the premises on Tenant's behalf in order to mitigate damages accruing to Landlord under the lease."
Whisky River opened in 2010 to great fanfare, in part because of its association with NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., who has often been described as the owner or majority owner of Whisky River.
Earnhardt is not mentioned in the lawsuit filed by Hines. The lawsuit lists SJTC III LLC as the tenant holding the lease on the restaurant and Hammer Flo LLC as subtenant.
Florida corporate records show that SJTC and Hammer Flo both have the same address in Plantation under a registered owner called CT Corp. A representative of CT at the office in Plantation said the company just handles registration for corporations and is not otherwise affiliated with the businesses.
Whisky River still has a restaurant in operation in Charlotte, N.C. The website for the Charlotte restaurant has an email address for a corporate office, but there was no response to an email sent to that office Thursday.
Telephone calls to Bar Management Group, a Charlotte company listed in some news reports as the operator of Whisky River, were not answered Thursday.
Court records show no responses made by Whisky River's owners to the lawsuit filed by Hines.

mbasch@baileypub.com

(904) 356-2466

http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=542193

[spuwho]

Talking about walking away. This bar was so layered in LLC's and contract management they probably think they can just dump it.

Bar Management LLC ran the bar/food operations (who got locked out)
SJTC III LLC was the property rental vehicle (who didn't pay the rent)
Hammer Flo LLC was the franchise management entity (who isn't returning the calls)
Hammerhead LLC provided the dough to Hammer Flo LLC (oh yeah, you can find the owner in Daytona in a few weeks, maybe he will get served!)

[copperfiend]

Club Paris 2.0?

[southsider1015]

Talking about walking away. This bar was so layered in LLC's and contract management they probably think they can just dump it.

Bar Management LLC ran the bar/food operations (who got locked out)
SJTC III LLC was the property rental vehicle (who didn't pay the rent)
Hammer Flo LLC was the franchise management entity (who isn't returning the calls)
Hammerhead LLC provided the dough to Hammer Flo LLC (oh yeah, you can find the owner in Daytona in a few weeks, maybe he will get served!)

Didn't DJ win the 500?  Whoops?

[blizz01]

Looks like the space is to become Cooper's Hawk

Earlier this year, right around the time that Whisky River closed abruptly, Dee casually asked his broker if he knew of any availabilities in the area. The broker — Marc Offit, CEO of Sierra U.S. Realty in Chicago — had represented REI in its lease in the Markets.

"He leaned back and reached out on his desk and pulled out the site plan [for the Whiskey River site]" said Dee, "and said, 'This is available right now. Do you want it?'"

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/blog/morning-edition/2014/05/exclusive-behind-the-scenes-of-the-coopers-hawk.html

https://coopershawkwinery.com/

[Doctor_K]

Cooper's Hawk will bring an alternative to Ovinte, which is right across the street.

That could go either way, admittedly.

[tufsu1]

We have a Coopers Hawk across the parking lot from our office in Tampa.  I am not impressed.

[spuwho]

Looks like the space is to become Cooper's Hawk

Earlier this year, right around the time that Whisky River closed abruptly, Dee casually asked his broker if he knew of any availabilities in the area. The broker — Marc Offit, CEO of Sierra U.S. Realty in Chicago — had represented REI in its lease in the Markets.

"He leaned back and reached out on his desk and pulled out the site plan [for the Whiskey River site]" said Dee, "and said, 'This is available right now. Do you want it?'"

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/blog/morning-edition/2014/05/exclusive-behind-the-scenes-of-the-coopers-hawk.html

https://coopershawkwinery.com/

Simms,

Take a look at that story about how they closed the deal so fast and let me know what you think.