Downtown retail surge brings more investors

[ronchamblin]

Okay coffee persons.  After talking briefly with Jay at Bold Bean today, we've decided at Chamblin's to offer the Bold Bean coffee, starting with one or two blends initially and expanding with time.  I remember when we sold their coffees before their location move.  I loved their coffee at the time, and I suspect that it is even better now.

According to the informal voting, it seems that the Green Mountain French Roast just doesn't cut it as compared to the Bold Bean.  We probably will not be set up with Bold Bean until the end of next week.  I am now looking at their blend offerings to determine which to order.  Any recommendations?  We will probably experiment with their espresso too.

This move to Bold Bean, if it works out, will allow me to cancel my tentative plans to set up our own coffee roast room in the adjacent building which I recently purchased.       

[tufsu1]

This week, I've started my mission to invest 40 hour work weeks into Metro Jacksonville to take it to the next level. 

the Mayor would be proud!

[Ocklawaha]

HEY RON! COLOMBIAN dark roast is a great standard. I don't know their offerings but coffee from Kenya tends to be naturally sweeter and perhaps less acrid. I highly recommend both!

Believe it or not Florida is home to a native coffee, Just the name sounds exciting and tropical. Actually, wild coffee (Psychotria nervosa) is a Florida native shrub that gets its common name from the small, red fruit it produces. The plant produces the chemical compound dimethyltryptamine, which is hallucinogenic. The scientific name Psychotria reflects this. The second part of the scientific name, nervosa, refers to the deep veins in each leaf.

Native Americans brewed wild coffee beans for ceremonies and medicinal purposes, but wild coffee isn't considered palatable today.

[thelakelander]

This week, I've started my mission to invest 40 hour work weeks into Metro Jacksonville to take it to the next level. 

the Mayor would be proud!

Of course, we'll be looking at and taking advantages of the best practices from around the country.  This will help us deliver that long awaited grocery store in downtown....I hope it's a Winn-Dixie.  Combined, these will deliver us our NBA franchise which will defeat Lebron James, Dwade, Boshasaurus and Jesus Shuttlesworth.  At that point we'll be a destination and not a pass through!

[Ocklawaha]

Nevado Del Ruiz, Colombia, seen from rift ridge.

COFFEE DRINKERS, Just a suggestion to BUY Colombian Coffee. Reason (besides the normal ones) is the Volcano known as 'Nevado Del Ruiz,' Ruiz killed 45,000 people in a mud flow back in the 1980's and once again it's exploded our of it's glacier. The Cities of Manazales and Pereria are THE coffee growing region of the nation, rich volcanic soil. Therein lays the problem, what blesses the Andes also kills people! I understand from family in Manazales that the city is basically shut down... (even the BRT shut down) all roads, airports and my railway are shut down. Ash is likely to fall over Bogota and the coffee region.
People purchasing coffee are providing jobs to an area that I suspect could be hard hit if this damn thing continues to act up.

I have a personal dislike for that volcano because it kicked me slap out of bed one morning about 4 am when it sent a weird earthquake shock wave through our area. The entire room felt like someone kicked the furniture a couple of meters to the side. I ended up on the floor! I had to drink coffee just to calm down! LOL

[Debbie Thompson]

Ock, only you could conjure up a glacier, a volcano, a mountain view and an earthquake story to get us to choose your favorite coffee!

[tufsu1]

This week, I've started my mission to invest 40 hour work weeks into Metro Jacksonville to take it to the next level. 

the Mayor would be proud!

Of course, we'll be looking at and taking advantages of the best practices from around the country.  This will help us deliver that long awaited grocery store in downtown....I hope it's a Winn-Dixie.  Combined, these will deliver us our NBA franchise which will defeat Lebron James, Dwade, Boshasaurus and Jesus Shuttlesworth.  At that point we'll be a destination and not a pass through!

well played sir!

[Miss Fixit]

Okay coffee persons.  After talking briefly with Jay at Bold Bean today, we've decided at Chamblin's to offer the Bold Bean coffee, starting with one or two blends initially and expanding with time.  I remember when we sold their coffees before their location move.  I loved their coffee at the time, and I suspect that it is even better now.

According to the informal voting, it seems that the Green Mountain French Roast just doesn't cut it as compared to the Bold Bean.  We probably will not be set up with Bold Bean until the end of next week.  I am now looking at their blend offerings to determine which to order.  Any recommendations?  We will probably experiment with their espresso too.

This move to Bold Bean, if it works out, will allow me to cancel my tentative plans to set up our own coffee roast room in the adjacent building which I recently purchased.       

Yippee!  Thanks, Ron - I'll be coming in for my coffee card tomorrow!

[John P]

Simms, there is no activity Downtown. the 3,000 workers leave at 5pm. then it's a ghost town. I dont know how any business survives, there obviously is no demand.

Well, they don't survive.

As has been noted, downtown is indeed a ghost town. Even Starbucks closed, despite free rent.

Last month I went to a concert then had food and went to a gallery. I could have sworn I saw people running for exercise and riding bicycles. It is disturbing to find out all those beings I thought were people were all ghosts instead. Does this mean I see dead people? Downtown Jacksonville needs help no doubt but lets not pretend there are not lots of things people enjoy there and does not have thousands of residents. The path to success is holding up the assets it does have AND work to make it better. That is my opinion

[cline]

^I think those people you saw are actually holograms. 

[ChriswUfGator]

Simms, there is no activity Downtown. the 3,000 workers leave at 5pm. then it's a ghost town. I dont know how any business survives, there obviously is no demand.

Well, they don't survive.

As has been noted, downtown is indeed a ghost town. Even Starbucks closed, despite free rent.

Last month I went to a concert then had food and went to a gallery. I could have sworn I saw people running for exercise and riding bicycles. It is disturbing to find out all those beings I thought were people were all ghosts instead. Does this mean I see dead people? Downtown Jacksonville needs help no doubt but lets not pretend there are not lots of things people enjoy there and does not have thousands of residents. The path to success is holding up the assets it does have AND work to make it better. That is my opinion

Then why have the businesses closed? Including Starbucks despite free rent?

A couple joggers does not a downtown make.

A fact all the closed businesses obviously figured out.

[tufsu1]

maybe you should take a visit or two downtown and see for yourself if it is in fact dead

update...here's what I saw at 10pm tonight (with nothing special going on) on my way home from the Landing

about 100 people on the Riverwalk near the Landing
100+ people in the Landing courtyard
Fionn MacCool's outside area was full
Hooters was full with 20+ people waiting in a line to get in
A decent crowd at Underbelly and at Northstar
A line waiting to get into Dos Gatos

[ChriswUfGator]

Wow, that's a whole 220 people by your own count, Tufsu. On a Saturday night. Thank you for agreeing with me that there is a problem if what you listed is the extent of the activity you witnessed on a Saturday night downtown.

[JaxJag]

2.2/1000=.0022 

[tufsu1]

Wow, that's a whole 220 people by your own count, Tufsu. On a Saturday night. Thank you for agreeing with me that there is a problem if what you listed is the extent of the activity you witnessed on a Saturday night downtown.

come on, now you guys are just being ridic....I mean really, Hooters alone seats over 200 so considering they had a line out the door, me thinks your # is a bit off.

nevertheless, I was riding my bike home and unfortunately did not stop at every downtown establishment to count the number of people (nor did I count the cars)....what I do know is that some of the places I passed were quite crowded...and here I'd been told that nobody went downtown.

why not just come on down and see for yourself?