JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 A new outdoor food hall and entertainment venue is set to open later this month in Jacksonville.<\/p>\n
The Block Jax<\/a> plans to hold its grand opening March 20, followed by a full opening weekend celebration March 20-22, according to founder and owner Daniel Moffatt.<\/p>\n The location just off Gate Parkway in the Deerwood area features a 10,000 sq. ft. covered pavilion space with food vendors and a stage for live entertainment.<\/p>\n Moffatt said the project has been years in the making.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been working on it for almost 3 and 1\/2 years,\u201d Moffatt said. \u201cThe idea in my head maybe an extra 6 months or a year on that… When I started I only had two kids and now we have four. So it\u2019s been a good part of my life for the last few years.\u201d<\/p>\n The Block Jax is being billed as the area\u2019s first outdoor food hall, designed as a multi-use gathering space with food, drinks, and events. Moffatt said the goal is to create a place where families can relax and stay awhile \u2014 without feeling rushed.<\/p>\n Fenced in kids area at The Block JAX (News4JAX)<\/p>\n \u201cI want a place where people can feel like they can come out at any time with kids young kids,\u201d Moffatt said. \u201cIf I go to a restaurant it\u2019s like \u2018We\u2019ve got to get in.\u2019 We\u2019ve got to order right away. We have to eat as fast as we can because I know they\u2019re not staying seated for more than 15 or 20 minutes. And I don\u2019t want to just stick an iPad in front of them.\u201d<\/p>\n The venue is expected to include:<\/p>\n A stage for\u00a0live music and entertainment<\/p>\n A\u00a030-foot-wide by 16-foot-tall LED wall\u00a0for sports, movie nights and special events<\/p>\n A covered open-air pavilion and turf gathering space<\/p>\n A\u00a0fully fenced kids park<\/p>\n An on-site\u00a0private dog park\u00a0connected to Moffatt\u2019s Kanine Social <\/a>brand<\/p>\n An upstairs 21+ space<\/p>\n Moffatt said featuring Jacksonville-area businesses was a priority, including local artists, musicians and restaurants.<\/p>\n 30-foot screen for live events at The Block JAX. (News4JAX)<\/p>\n \u201cPeople have reached out to us from all over the place trying to bring concepts in from Charleston or Atlanta or other big cities, but I wanted to support something local,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m local, I live right down the road so it\u2019s important to me to have local people influencing how this place operates and runs too\u201d<\/p>\n Moffatt said the site will include eight food vendors, plus Southern Swells operating a mini-brewery on site and multiple bars. Vendors he mentioned include:<\/p>\n Hungry Owl<\/p>\n