{"id":331276,"date":"2026-07-06T23:19:56","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T23:19:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/331276\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T23:19:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T23:19:56","slug":"european-street-cafe-chosen-for-city-owned-dining-space-at-riverfront-plaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/331276\/","title":{"rendered":"European Street Cafe chosen for city-owned dining space at Riverfront Plaza"},"content":{"rendered":"

The city of Jacksonville has selected European Street Cafe to operate a city-owned dining space at Riverfront Plaza, the park on the site of the demolished Jacksonville Landing.<\/p>\n

In a July 6 news release, Mayor Donna Deegan\u2019s office announced that the longtime Jacksonville restaurant operator was chosen through a competitive request-for-proposal process and was expected to open in the riverfront park by late fall 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cRiverfront Plaza is being created as a place where Jacksonville comes together, and great public spaces deserve great local partners,\u201d Deegan said in the release.<\/p>\n

The release said European Street Cafe began in 1990 after its founders, the Zarka family of Jacksonville, transformed it from another restaurant they had taken over 10 years earlier at the Regency Square Mall. That was the Mr. Dunderbak\u2019s German deli and restaurant.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The city of Jacksonville says it expects European Street Cafe to open in the fall of 2026 in the city-owned dining space in the pavilion at Riverfront Plaza. The city announced July 6 it had selected the cafe for the site.<\/p>\n

Courtesy of the city of Jacksonville\/Prattify<\/p>\n

In Riverfront Plaza, the restaurant will offer its menu of sandwiches, soups and salads, desserts, coffee, beer and wine, frozen treats and children\u2019s items.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDesigned around both quality and efficiency, the caf\u00e9 will provide quick grab-and-go service for Downtown employees during the workday while also creating an inviting destination for families, park visitors and eventgoers throughout the day and evening,\u201d the release said.<\/p>\n

European Street Cafe owner Andy Zarka said in the release that he was pleased to operate in the site of the Jacksonville Landing, which was demolished in 2019-20.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Jacksonville Landing was a place where so many of us made memories with family and friends,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI was one of them. I loved spending time there, enjoying a meal while looking out over the St. Johns River. To 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

\"Riverfront<\/p>\n

Riverfront Plaza is the park built on site of the demolished Jacksonville Landing in Downtown Jacksonville.<\/p>\n

City of Jacksonville<\/p>\n

According to europeanstreet.com, the restaurant operates at 2753 Park St. in Riverside, 1704 San Marco Blvd. in San Marco, and 992 Beach Blvd. in Jacksonville Beach.<\/p>\n

In April 2024, the city issued a permit for The Haskell Co. to build the Jacksonville Riverfront Plaza Cafe shell Downtown at a project cost of $3.5 million at the site of the former Jacksonville Landing.<\/p>\n

Plans called for interior work in the 5,171-square-foot building to be permitted when a tenant was chosen.<\/p>\n

The city opened the $38 million first phase of Riverfront Plaza, which includes the cafe building, in December 2025.<\/p>\n

The building includes a rooftop playground. Other features in the first phase included riverwalk improvements, an event lawn and a walkway connecting the plaza to the Jacksonville Performing Arts Center.<\/p>\n

The city lists the cost of the second phase at $40 million. That phase will include a rain garden, water feature, civic stairs, a beer garden and a pedestrian ramp to the Main Street Bridge.<\/p>\n

In May 2026, the DIA board voted 7-0 to negotiate with the Baltimore-based Atlas Restaurant Group to build and operate a restaurant on a city-owned pad in another portion of Riverfront Plaza. The vote came after a scoring committee recommended that the board approve Atlas’ proposal over one from St. Augustine-based PK Hospitality Group for the property on the southwest corner of the park.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A Downtown Investment Authority committee voted 3-0 on April 30 to recommend that the DIA move forward on a proposal from Baltimore-based Atlas Restaurant Group to design, build and lease a restaurant building at Riverfront Plaza on the Downtown Northbank. In its proposal, Atlas cited its Choptank restaurants, such as the one shown here in Annapolis, Maryland, as a brand that would influence the Jacksonville location.<\/p>\n

The Choptank<\/p>\n

Atlas, which operates more than 50 restaurants, proposed to build a shell building that the city would own, then build-out the shell and lease it. The group\u2019s terms include being reimbursed $8 million from the city to design and construct the building.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Atlas would spend $4 million on the build-out, then pay a base rent of $560,000 annually with a 3% escalation per year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If revenue reaches $11.2 million annually, the rent would switch to 5% of that revenue.<\/p>\n

Atlas would provide maintenance and pay for insurance.<\/p>\n

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