{"id":331201,"date":"2026-07-06T22:02:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T22:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/331201\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T22:02:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T22:02:08","slug":"european-street-cafe-to-open-4th-site-at-riverfront-plaza-in-downtown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/331201\/","title":{"rendered":"European Street Caf\u00e9 to open 4th site at Riverfront Plaza in Downtown"},"content":{"rendered":"

European Street Cafe<\/a> has been selected to operate a caf\u00e9 at Downtown Jacksonville\u2019s new Riverfront Plaza.<\/p>\n

European Street will open the cafe in the plaza\u2019s second phase, which is under construction.<\/p>\n

The restaurant already operates caf\u00e9s in San Marco, Riverside and Jacksonville Beach. The business began in 1980 after the Zarka family took over a popular German restaurant at Regency Square Mall.<\/p>\n

Owner Andy Zarka says he is looking forward to opening his newest caf\u00e9 in a park site formerly occupied by the Jacksonville Landing, where he said he spent many hours with family before it was torn down in early 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cI loved spending time there, enjoying a meal while looking out over the St. Johns River,\u201d Zarka said in an announcement from the city about the new caf\u00e9. \u201cTo now have the opportunity to help create those same kinds of memories for future generations at Riverfront Plaza is something I\u2019ll never take for granted. I\u2019m honored, humbled and grateful that the City has entrusted European Street Cafe with this opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mayor Donna Deegan said Riverfront Plaza is becoming a place where Jacksonville comes together.<\/p>\n

\u201cEuropean Street Caf\u00e9 has been part of Jacksonville\u2019s story for decades, and we\u2019re excited to welcome them to the riverfront as they help create a vibrant gathering place for residents and visitors alike,\u201d she said in the announcement. \u201cTheir commitment to hospitality and community makes them an outstanding fit for this exciting new chapter in Downtown Jacksonville.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"EuropeanEuropean Street Cafe owner Andy Zarka, left, passes out snacks at Riverfront Plaza on Saturday, July 4, 2026. | City of Jacksonville<\/p>\n

Riverfront Plaza is the first in a series of parks and other amenities<\/a> planned for Downtown\u2019s St. Johns Riverfront on land once occupied by the former courthouse, City Hall, jail and the Jacksonville Landing.<\/p>\n

The plaza\u2019s western half focuses on the Northbank Riverwalk, with curving walkways, native plant gardens in a large greenspace and a cafe space with a playground on top of it. That first phase cost $33 million, city officials said.<\/p>\n

The second phase<\/a> will have winding pathways, a water feature, and a bicycle and pedestrian connection to the Main Street Bridge. It is estimated to cost $46 million. <\/p>\n

Zarka was one of many people who dropped in on an open house May 13 at the park to look at illustrations of the second phase. At the time, he called the plaza\u2019s planned caf\u00e9 space \u201cappealing,\u201d and told Jacksonville Today that he was interested to see what happens as the riverfront gets activated again.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been way too long since we could do that,\u201d Zarka said in May. \u201cI miss those days. I was talking to some people about what used to be here with the Jacksonville Landing and how much I missed sitting with a cold beer and watching the dolphins go by.\u201d<\/p>\n

European Street Caf\u00e9 was selected in a public and competitive process and should open by late fall, city officials said.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"European Street Cafe has been selected to operate a caf\u00e9 at Downtown Jacksonville\u2019s new Riverfront Plaza. European Street…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":331202,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-331201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=331201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/331202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=331201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=331201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=331201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}