New Restaurants in Jacksonville and St. Augustine: Places That Got a State License Since July (October Update)

Before a restaurant in Florida can open its doors, a state inspector has to sign off. Every new restaurant, and every restaurant that changes owners, gets a licensing inspection from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Those inspections are public. So Jax Times went through every one in Duval and St. Johns counties since July 1 to find what's new around town.

From July 1 to Oct. 15, the state did licensing inspections at 99 restaurants and other permanent food service businesses in Duval County and 25 in St. Johns County. Here are the ones worth knowing about, by neighborhood.

One important note: a new state license doesn't always mean a brand-new restaurant. The state also issues one when an existing restaurant gets a new owner. We've flagged the cases where that looks likely. Before you make a special trip, check the restaurant's own website or social media for hours.

Downtown, Springfield and the Sports District

• Desert Rider8, 217 N. Hogan St.
• First Love Subs5, 100 W. Bay St., Suite 103
• Indulgence Bistro1, 315 W. Forsyth St.
• Duval County Courthouse Cafe5, 501 W. Adams St., inside the courthouse
• Secret Pizza JAX2, 341 E. 8th St., Springfield
• Farmery Bakery and Bodega0, 1837 N. Pearl St., Springfield
• Asado Life JAX Sports District1, 5 Tower Court, in the new development near the stadium

Riverside, Avondale and Five Points

• Fat Tuesday Kitchen & Bar0 and Fat Tuesday Social Lounge1, 1043 and 1045 Park St., Five Points
• Sushi Cafe, 2025 Riverside Ave., #201
• Nacho Taco9, 751 Stockton St.
• Bagel Love & Deli6, 4208 St. Johns Ave., Avondale
• O'Mara Irish Pub0, 939 Edgewood Ave. South, Murray Hill

San Marco and the Southbank

• Tavola Trattoria, 1035 Hendricks Ave., Suite 1
• The Huguenot0, 1039 Hendricks Ave., #5
• Maple Street Biscuit Company7, 2004 San Marco Blvd.
• Mixter Nitrogen Creamery and Coffee3, 3853 Hendricks Ave.

Southside, Baymeadows and the Town Center area

• Cava3, 9303 Baymeadows Road, Suite 101
• Sweetgreen0, 4624 Town Crossing Drive, #113
• Jade Dumpling and Noodle1, 11018 Old St. Augustine Road, Suite 105
• Wokhey7, 8221 Southside Blvd., #11
• Purple Roots, 4549 Southside Blvd., Suite 202
• Que Padre Mexican Restaurant, 4311 University Blvd. ("Est. 2026" is part of its licensed name)
• House Italian Cuisine1, 5230 Baymeadows Road
• Al's Pizza Baymeadows, 8060 Philips Highway, Suite 105
• Gastro Subs2, 9475 Philips Highway
• Graze Craze at the Avenues1, 9960 Southside Blvd.
• Chick-fil-A at the Avenues Mall, 10300 Southside Blvd.

Mandarin and San Jose Boulevard

• Bell and Layton Delicatessen and Provisions2, 10140 San Jose Blvd.
• Nagoya Sushi7, 9825 San Jose Blvd., Suite 1
• Raising Cane's, 10989 San Jose Blvd.

Arlington, Beach Boulevard and the Beaches

• Rainbow Sushi JAX6, 12620 Beach Blvd., Suite 19
• Cafe 550, 13799 Beach Blvd.
• Wok 2 Go4, 12041 Beach Blvd.
• Jet's Pizza, 5617 Beach Blvd.
• Volcano Smash Burgers1, 6037 Merrill Road
• 3 Stones Flavors Restaurant & Oyster Bar0, 6237 Arlington Expressway
• Broskii Fish & Chicken3, 5940 Atlantic Blvd.
• Al's Pizza Neptune Beach, 240 Third St. North
• A&A Ice Cream, 2550 Mayport Road, Atlantic Beach

Northside, Westside and beyond

• Southern Smokehouse1, 12741 Yellow Bluff Road
• 904 Barbecue Smokehouse1, 4906 Soutel Drive
• J Ville Seafood Number 101, 5556 Soutel Drive
• 4T's Eatery1, 6050 Moncrief Road
• Duval 2 Scoops1, 5775 Moncrief Road
• Yummy Fish Chicken & Subs0, 3000 Moncrief Road
• Q'ricuras Pues1, 3732 Mente St.
• The Bistro 674, 1811 Phoenix Ave.
• Tony Chicken Seafood0, 1523 Lane Ave. South
• Golden China7, 7749 Normandy Blvd.
• Mr. V's Seafood Bar & Grill, 5672-5676 Timuquana Road
• The Habit Burger1 Grill, 15088 Max Leggett Parkway
• Freedom Taco1, 89 N. U.S. 301, Baldwin

St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra and St. Johns County

Downtown St. Augustine and Anastasia Island

• La Roseta Cafe0, 210 St. George St., 3C
• Osprey Tapas0, 9-C Anastasia Blvd.
• Chichas2, 304 Ashourian Ave., Suite 108
• Deja Brew Cafe and Bakery3, 125 Center Place Way, Suite 102
• 2 Creeks Dockside0, 69 Lewis Blvd.
• Floating Food Company1, 107 Yacht Club Drive
• Lickle Mobay Jamaican Restaurant0, 1968 U.S. 1 South

Ponte Vedra, Nocatee and northern St. Johns County

• Nara Revolving Sushi0, 10660 U.S. 1 North, Unit 112, Ponte Vedra Beach. Plates travel past diners on a conveyor belt.
• Arepa 583, 10580 U.S. 1, Unit 402, Ponte Vedra
• House of Coffee, 10580 U.S. 1 North, Ponte Vedra Beach
• Sandpiper Cafe0, 240 Ponte Vedra Blvd., Ponte Vedra Beach
• Al's Pizza PVB, 635 A1A North, Ponte Vedra Beach
• SoFresh, at Nocatee (75 Irondale Road) and Silverleaf (1985 Silverleaf Parkway)
• Jon Smith Subs4, 333 Village Main St., Ponte Vedra Beach (another opened at 4765 Hodges Blvd. in Jacksonville)
• Ned's New England Deck1, 170 Fountains Way, St. Johns
• Al's Yum Yum7, 124 San Jose Blvd., St. Johns

Hastings
- Marshtackie Cafe0, 420 N. Main St.

The chains are coming, too

National and regional chains added locations, or got new licenses for existing ones, across Jacksonville:

• Keke's Breakfast Cafe: three licenses, at 9570 Crosshill Blvd., 12959 Atlantic Blvd. and 840 Nautica Drive
• Charleys Philly Steaks: Hutchinson Park Drive and Normandy Boulevard
• Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen: 13 locations re-licensed in about six weeks. That's typical of a franchise changing hands, not 13 new restaurants.
• Arby's: six locations re-licensed, likely the same kind of ownership change
• Dunkin': Normandy Boulevard and Baymeadows Road
• Domino's: Atlantic Boulevard

Shared kitchens: where small food businesses start

Several new licenses went to businesses at 1850 Emerson St. in Jacksonville and 233 W. King St. in St. Augustine. Both addresses host multiple small food businesses: caterers, bakers, juice makers and charcuterie-board businesses that share commercial kitchen space.

1850 Emerson St., Jacksonville

• The Rusted Lemon0
• Jazzies Juice & Catering0
• Flavorly Kitchen0
• Sarap Express1
• Sunshine Nutrition0
• Tia Nene Treats and More0
• Empanada King JAX0
• Afro-Sazon

233 W. King St., St. Augustine

• Puerto Rican Twist0
• Blu Plate0
• Margie's Cajun Stop0
• Top Hibachi Catering0

Many of these sell at farmers markets, festivals or by catering order rather than from a storefront.

Some "new" licenses are familiar names

A new license can also mean new owners at a long-running spot. Sandollar Restaurant9 on Heckscher Drive, a Northside waterfront restaurant, got a licensing inspection on Aug. 3. If a favorite spot looks different lately, a change in ownership could be why.

How we found these

Every place on this list had a licensing inspection from the state between July 1 and Oct. 15, 2026. That's the inspection required before a food service business can open or reopen under a new license.

We left out:

• hotel restaurants and corporate cafeterias
• senior living dining rooms
• businesses that aren't open to the public

Most new places passed their licensing inspection with no further action required. A few got warnings to fix minor problems before a follow-up.

Look up any restaurant

Every place here is in the Jax Times restaurant lookup at jaxtimes.com/restaurants. You'll find its latest state inspection, violations and full history. You can also follow a restaurant to get an email when it's inspected again.

Know of a new restaurant we missed? Tell us at [email protected].