Store closings

[copperfiend]

Bad Ass Coffee closed. That one seriously bummed me out- their frozen drinks were the best I've ever had. We used to have Pho King Bad Ass nights where we'd go eat at PK Noodles and then head over to Bad Ass for dessert.

That was a tough location to begin with. I noticed last night they closed.

[duvaldude08]

And I saw the Wendys on Beach across from Mayfair Village was all shut down. I use to work over near there and that place was always busy.

Yess that wendy's has been closed for sometime. It closed last year. My friends sister was a manager there.

[danno]

The Abes Pizza just down from Bad Ass has closed as well.  Went to Tommys down the street instead.

[TheProfessor]

Is everything closing on Beach?

[Timkin]

Yes...even the Beach 

[copperfiend]

Is everything closing on Beach?

The old Wal-Mart plaza on Beach/San Pablo is a ghost town and the Publix plaza across is down to some doctors offices aside from Publix. The Loop, St Johns Seafood, Blockbuster and Taco Bell are all empty now.

[fieldafm]

The Abes Pizza just down from Bad Ass has closed as well.  Went to Tommys down the street instead.

Abe passed away a few months ago.  
Most of the Abe's that were in operation last year were franchised out... I believe the only own he still was the sole owner/operator was the one on the corner of Old St Augustine/Philips Hwy in the same shopping center as the Woodys.

[Timkin]

O wow .. Im sorry to hear that.. Not bad Pizza at all.

[Timkin]

Is everything closing on Beach?

I meant for my reply to be a funny, Professor..  No offend intended.. but you are so correct..so many businesses are going under on Beach.. its Scary.   On a lighter note, Alhambra , which closed then reopened, seems to be doing well...and they have done a really beautiful landscaping job on the front of the place.  A plus in spite of alot of negatives .

[gridsketch]

Economic conditions aside, architects/designers need to start including building life cycle in their plans. Part of the civic responsibility includes how will we reuse an empty McDonald's when it moves to a new subdivision further out. Those old main street type buildings from the early to mid 20th century seem to have the best possibilities for reuse. All these newer plastic chain store buildings can't be converted to drive up mega churches.

[TheProfessor]

No offense taken Timkin.  I thought it was witty.  I guess people are going to the new shopping centers or the stores are consolidating??  I am glad the Alhambra is doing well.  It used to be the only thing out there. 

[9a is my backyard]

I noticed on a recent trip to the SJTC that there is now a Dollar Store located in one of the corner locations.If I am not mistaken, this was an interior design store before. Does anyone remeber what store was there before the Dollar Store?

I used to be a generic 'Floral Mart' - don't remember the exact name.  It closed about a year ago, then a place called ApartmentFinder.com (or something similar) was there for a few months, now the Dollar Tree.

[9a is my backyard]

Sadly, Renna's on Baymeadows closed today.

Can't say I'm surprised.  The way the McDonalds is situated in that plaza, it blocks the shops behind it so you can't even see them.  Is the Al's in the old Wal-Mart plaza at Beach & San Pablo still open?  I went there a few times and I'm pretty sure it's the only place open in the entire plaza, save for the Hobby Lobby that moved into the old Wal-Mart space.

[fieldafm]

I am glad the Alhambra is doing well.

Matthew Medure is doing their buffet... its much better than it used to be.  I was up there last month(?) for a college night they had on a Thursday night with really cheap beer.  

[Timkin]

An innovative idea.. Sometimes a business just needs new blood running it.  This man who bought the Alhambra , took the ball and ran with it ...in so many ways.

I would love to see some older buildings house new businesses , if we could get the mindset to change about not saving them , and stop building new stripmalls which are flimsy, on every street.  At best ,buildings never intended to last a century as many older ones will.  The rent for some of these places sure do not reflect the quality and durability of an older structure.   Alhambra as most know has been a long time Icon of Jacksonville, that thankfully was resurrected.  I actually wrote the owner at one time about possibly making a second location (assuming it was a success ) in the Auditorium of PS # 4 .. He responded that it was a great idea... With the theory of a mixed-use commercial development, something like this example is a good possibility at PS#4 .