JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – The owners of Beachside Seafood Restaurant & Market in Jacksonville Beach plan to close the restaurant portion of their property and redirect their focus toward the market, according to the Jacksonville Daily Record.
Pearl Hospitality Group, which acquired Beachside in May 2025, announced Aug. 28 that it would cease restaurant operations “indefinitely” in October, the Daily Record reported.
The group cited the age and condition of the building as a primary driver of the decision. In a news release, the company said it had become “increasingly clear that the age and condition of the building called for a much more substantial level of renovation than could reasonably be completed around daily restaurant service.”
The restaurant and market at 120 Third St. S. was built in 1954.
Pearl Hospitality Group partner Raymond De Padua told the Daily Record in a text message that the fish market would remain open and would become the group’s main focus at the property. The partners plan to improve the market, expand its offerings and explore selling prepared food, grab-and-go and retail options.
“We are not walking away from Beachside,” De Padua said in the release. “We are giving ourselves the ability to figure out what this property and this brand need to become for the next generation, while protecting the part of the business that has always been at the heart of Beachside: the market.”
Why the restaurant is closing
According to the Daily Record, Pearl Hospitality Group purchased Beachside with the intent of preserving the longtime local business while improving operations, consistency and the guest experience. After making capital improvements incrementally while maintaining restaurant operations, the partners concluded that more comprehensive upgrades to the building and its concept were needed.
Amid rising operating costs, increased competition at the Beaches and “slower-than-anticipated growth in new customer traffic,” the group determined that continuing incremental changes “would not be a responsible long-term strategy,” the Daily Record reported.
“There comes a point where continuing to make small changes is no longer enough,” De Padua said. “Beachside has history, an incredibly loyal customer base and a team that has given many years of their lives to this business.
“That makes this decision much harder. At the same time, we have to be realistic about what the restaurant needs in order to compete for the next five or 10 years.”
As of the Daily Record’s report, a date had not been set for final restaurant service, and no final decision had been made on how the restaurant space will ultimately be used.
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