Candy Apple Café & Cocktails permanently closed

[jaxlongtimer]

I hear FSCJ's 20 West is also closing in June.

Doesn't seem the survival rate is very good for downtown.  Food business is always tough but maybe tougher downtown?  What are the longest running restaurants there (not counting the River Club ).  I guess some in the Landing but now they come to an end too.

[KenFSU]

^Hate to say it because I love the restoration and the concept, but 20 West was pretty awful too. Weird ambiance, not particularly comfortable to be in, and overpriced food, particularly for a restaurant advertised as student training.

I actually don't think the scene is as bad as you think. I think it's just like anywhere else - the cream rises and does well, the unoriginal/overpriced/questionable quality restaurants do not.

You had to make reservations to guarantee a lunch spot at Candy Apple it was so popular. A couple months later, you'd practically be dining alone if you went to MLG for lunch.

Places like Bellwether, Cowford, Happy Grilled Cheese, Jimmy Johns, Zodiac, Tossgreen, Indochine, Burrito Gallery, Superfood, Magnificat, Olio, Desert Rider, and even Chamblin's have lines out the door at lunch time. The food trucks in Hemming and the courtyard look like they're doing great business too.

The Landing restaurants mostly fell into the "dead because they're awful" not "dead because of their location" category.

With the exception of places like Nature's Table that no one even knows about because of the stupid sign ordinance, I think blaming the general downtown market for any restaurant's failure is just an easy crutch.

The taco restaurant and pizza place have one of the best locations in the city directly between the Federal and County courthouses, but they're permanently on the brink of closure because they're trash and one out of every three entrees comes with a dead rat on top.

Quiznos can complain about food trucks cutting into their business, but the restaurant smells like a dumpster and no one seems to care.

You'd have to order six different entrees at Adam's Street Deli before you'd find one that was actually in stock.

Big Pete's looks like a legitimate warzone on the inside, I constantly expect a random cinderblock to fall on my head at any time when I'm in there, and I'm fairly certain they serve leftover Hungry Howies, but at least they know the market, have a super nice staff, a bring a legitimate value prop to the table (unapologetically cheap food in an area where the lunch tab hovers between $12 and $25).

Ditto Desert Rider, whose store is nothing special to look at, but has built a fiercely loyal customer base on the back of great service, solid food, and a great cookie gimmick.

Candy Apple notwithstanding, I am having a hard time thinking of a single restaurant that's closed downtown in the last year that didn't deserve to close and that wouldn't have suffered the same fate at the St. Johns Town Center.

You can stick Aramark food at the top of an office tower, but it's still Aramark food.

[tufsu1]

I hear FSCJ's 20 West is also closing in June.

Doesn't seem the survival rate is very good for downtown.  Food business is always tough but maybe tougher downtown?  What are the longest running restaurants there (not counting the River Club ).  I guess some in the Landing but now they come to an end too.

Welcome to Lenny Curry's downtown strategy - where Daily's Place is the foundation for revitalization

[remc86007]

The taco restaurant and pizza place have one of the best locations in the city directly between the Federal and County courthouses, but they're permanently on the brink of closure because they're trash and one out of every three entrees comes with a dead rat on top.

I've only gotten food poisoning from one restaurant in Jacksonville: the pizza place at that location. I think it has changed hands several times since then, but I'm not going to risk it until they go a few months without a health code violation.

[jaxlongtimer]

3rd closure this week downtown:  Mocha Misk'i.

[Houseboat Mike]

The taco place closed months ago, pizza is still there. Whispers is almost ready to open, although it seems to be a strange location for an oyster and crab bar.

[Bill Hoff]

Would be ashame if 20 West Cafe closes before the Barnett apartments & offices open. You'd think they'd get a significant boost once it opens.

But....isn't that run by FSCJ? They going to kick themselves out of their own building?

[tufsu1]

3rd closure this week downtown:  Mocha Misk'i.

Mayor Curry's #winning downtown strategy continues

[Downtown Osprey]

Would be ashame if 20 West Cafe closes before the Barnett apartments & offices open. You'd think they'd get a significant boost once it opens.

But....isn't that run by FSCJ? They going to kick themselves out of their own building?

Thought the same thing. Seems odd lol.

[Captain Zissou]

I ate at MLG a couple times because of my love for chef Roderick.  Food was good, but the atmosphere was awful.  They repainted the Candy Apple chairs and hung some bland art on the walls and called it a day.  It seemed like they spent as little as possible.  I always assumed the decor was temporary, but the permanent never showed up.  It was really weird.  I'm sure he'll find a new gig because his food is awesome.  Maybe he'll go back to Jax Diner.

[Captain Zissou]

I ate at MLG a couple times because of my love for chef Roderick.    I'm sure he'll find a new gig because his food is awesome.  Maybe he'll go back to Jax Diner.

Luckily, Savannah is a quick trip. He is going to Olde Pink House.

It's a lot farther than MLG is from my office, but I'm happy for him.  I'll have to make a trip to go see him.

[remc86007]

And now the whole building is for sale:

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/historic-sweet-petes-building-in-downtown-jacksonville-is-for-sale

Maybe because Sugarfina's suit wasn't "total BS," liquidity has become a problem.

[KenFSU]

And now the whole building is for sale:

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/historic-sweet-petes-building-in-downtown-jacksonville-is-for-sale

Maybe because Sugarfina's suit wasn't "total BS," liquidity has become a problem.

You know what's a smarter public investment than tearing down the Landing? Bringing the Seminole Club under city ownership, charging Sweet Pete's a reasonable rent, and helping the former Candy Apple owners re-launch the restaurant.

Best downtown addition this decade in terms of drawing outsiders in, and one of very, very, very public establishments fronting Hemming Park.

You don't even have to knock anything down.

[bl8jaxnative]

And now the whole building is for sale:

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/historic-sweet-petes-building-in-downtown-jacksonville-is-for-sale

Maybe because Sugarfina's suit wasn't "total BS," liquidity has become a problem.

I was thinking the same.  The timing of losing the lawsuit and the sale probably isn't a coincidence.   I'd bet there are some other factors, too.    What sort of condition is the building in?  Afterall they just closed it to remediate serious problems with water getting into the wood.  What sort of work may be needed on that place in the not so distant future?

[tufsu1]

And now the whole building is for sale:

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/historic-sweet-petes-building-in-downtown-jacksonville-is-for-sale

Maybe because Sugarfina's suit wasn't "total BS," liquidity has become a problem.

You know what's a smarter public investment than tearing down the Landing? Bringing the Seminole Club under city ownership, charging Sweet Pete's a reasonable rent, and helping the former Candy Apple owners re-launch the restaurant.

Best downtown addition this decade in terms of drawing outsiders in, and one of very, very, very public establishments fronting Hemming Park.

You don't even have to knock anything down.

THIS x 1000%