{"id":349648,"date":"2026-07-23T09:22:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T09:22:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/349648\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T09:22:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T09:22:51","slug":"economics-are-taking-a-bite-out-of-restaurant-profits-but-not-all-owners-are-retreating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/349648\/","title":{"rendered":"Economics are taking a bite out of restaurant profits, but not all owners are retreating"},"content":{"rendered":"

The restaurant business model is challenging even in the best of economic times.<\/p>\n

These are not those times.<\/p>\n

Food and labor costs are up. Margins are thinner. Menu prices are higher, and customers are cutting back as a result.<\/p>\n

In March, Nation\u2019s Restaurant News, a restaurant and hospitality trade publication, reported that 9% of full-service restaurants across the nation could expect to close this year. The report further said 42% of operators said their businesses weren\u2019t profitable in 2025, while 60% of operators said their business conditions had deteriorated.<\/p>\n

In Florida, the higher costs will be felt again in October when the minimum wage for nontipped employees increases $1 to $15 per hour and $11.98 for tipped employees, according to the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association.<\/p>\n

Owners report that the minimum wage is hardly the standard compensation, with restaurants having to pay $17 and up to hire and retain kitchen workers.<\/p>\n

The extent to which some have gone to remain open has included cutting hours, removing pricier items from the menu, delaying kitchen upgrades and even putting their plight out on social media.<\/p>\n

Some have run out of road entirely. Others are finding unconventional ways to hang on. And some, defying the odds, are betting on growth.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The interior of the closed Tequila’s Town at 13475 Atlantic Blvd. The restaurant served Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes and featured tequila and mescal.<\/p>\n

Photo by Karen Brune Mathis<\/p>\n

Economics force closures<\/p>\n

Across Northeast Florida, the economic challenges have hit some established names.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Amici Italian Restaurant in St. Augustine, open since long before new owners Freddy and Jennifer Underhill took over in 2020, shut its doors in June.<\/p>\n

In a Facebook post announcing the closure, one of the operators wrote that the restaurant had weathered the pandemic, equipment breakdowns, labor shortages, rising costs and hurricanes before finally running out of options. \u201cThis is the hardest thing I\u2019ve ever had to write,\u201d the post read.<\/p>\n

World Golf Village\u2019s Murray Bros. Caddyshack closed June 27 after 25 years, just two years after cofounder Andy Murray optioned a 10-year lease extension and pledged to grow with St. Johns County.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Downtown, Bellwether closed its doors in March, ending a nine-year run as one of the few table-service restaurants in the historic core and a regular meeting spot for the city\u2019s business and political figures.<\/p>\n

In Nocatee, Catullo\u2019s Italian restaurant announced in June that it would close its Marketside Avenue location after brothers Carl and Dave Catullo sold the space to a restaurant group.<\/p>\n

And in Five Points, Prospect Five Points Bar and Restaurant closed June 28, citing a rough year and a slow season it couldn\u2019t outlast, just blocks from the former Mossfire Grill, which closed in October 25 after 27 years.<\/p>\n

The closures share a common thread: Owners fought to stay open before finally running out of options.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pepe Ortiz, owner of Tequila\u2019s Town, was one of them.<\/p>\n

Ortiz closed his restaurant at 13475 Atlantic Blvd. in Harbour Village on May 31 after seven years, a decision he had pondered for more than six months.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, we were actually hardly breaking even, and we were losing money,\u201d Ortiz said. \u201cIt\u2019s just way too much overhead.\u201d<\/p>\n

For example, he cited that a pound of hamburger has doubled in price since he opened the Jacksonville location.<\/p>\n

A year ago, an average check for a couple at the restaurant was between $50 and $60. But by May, Ortiz said that average check had fallen to $35 to $40.<\/p>\n

Regulars who may have stopped in a couple of times a week are cutting family dining budgets and eating out once every two weeks, he said.<\/p>\n

Tequila\u2019s Town is a family-run business with three restaurants in the Savannah, Georgia, area.<\/p>\n

Ortiz is taking time off to regroup. When it is economically feasible, he said he\u2019d like to reopen in that same area, but with a smaller restaurant.<\/p>\n

\"Based<\/p>\n

Based in Jacksonville, Aloha Waffle Bar has two locations. One is at 725 Skymarks Drive and another is at 1500 Beach Blvd. in Jacksonville Beach.<\/p>\n

Aloha Waffle Bar<\/p>\n

Plea for customers<\/p>\n

Not every owner facing the \u00a0pressures has chosen to close. Some are finding inventive ways to keep the doors open, even if it means asking customers directly for help.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Melissa Endrina owns two Aloha Waffle Bar locations: one near the airport at 725 Skymarks Drive, which opened in 2022, and another at 1500 Beach Blvd. in Jacksonville Beach, which she opened in January.<\/p>\n

While the North Jacksonville restaurant is doing well, the Jacksonville Beach location is trying to develop a regular clientele, she said. Some days brought in as little as $200 in sales. She was in a financial bind. The build-out at the Beach location involved more than $100,000 in unforeseen plumbing issues that drained her reserve fund.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had expended every bit of income that I had. We were getting so close to closing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She had tried other methods to bring in customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had tried influencers. I tried paper marketing. We passed out cards. We even walked and gave samples,\u201d Endrina said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI tried putting a sign on my truck, because Jacksonville Beach doesn\u2019t allow signs. I put a sign on my truck and backed it up against Beach Boulevard, but then the sign started scratching my truck.\u201d<\/p>\n

Endrina was behind on a $1,500 JEA bill. Other bills were due.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was to the point where I was like, I\u2019m gonna have to close my doors, I\u2019m gonna lose my home. I invested my home equity into this place, basically everything I had. I was literally about to be homeless, so I just came clean with Jacksonville.\u201d<\/p>\n

She summoned the courage and made a video.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very hard to do. We had to swallow a lot of pride and ask for help. This is not an easy thing to do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She spelled out her problem in the video.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey Jacksonville, it\u2019s time for a heart-to-heart with you guys,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are looking to the community for some support and some help here at Aloha Waffle Bar. We still struggle to get people through the door.\u201d<\/p>\n

She posted the video June 9. By June 13, the community had responded.<\/p>\n

Even though she bought extra supplies thinking the video might attract some attention, she didn\u2019t expect the outpouring. Wait times were longer than expected, but spirits remained high, she said.<\/p>\n

She thanked customers and told them in a video posted June 13 that they were closing June 14 to give the staff a break and to deal with a small problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not have any food left for tomorrow,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so nice seeing people in here, hearing people laugh, hearing people eat, having my staff joke around because you know they\u2019re busy and having a good time. It just brings life to the whole place, and I just cannot thank you guys enough because we are completely out of food.\u201d<\/p>\n

She reopened June 15.<\/p>\n

However, a month later she said business has slowed again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t expect it to stay gangbusters forever,\u201d she said in a July 17 interview.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some customers have returned, but sales are slowly dwindling, she said.<\/p>\n

As a result, she is planning another video. She isn\u2019t expecting the same customer increase, but she said it can\u2019t hurt.<\/p>\n

\u201cI plan to go back and talk to the community and hopefully that will help a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Alder<\/p>\n

Alder & Oak, next to its sister restaurant Oaxaca Club at 131 First Ave. N. in Jacksonville Beach, opened July 15 in the former home of Jekyll Brewing. A friends and family event the night before drew more than 700 people.<\/p>\n

Photo by Dan Macdonald<\/p>\n

Irons in the fire<\/p>\n

There are new players entering the market every month, and some established names are opening additional locations.<\/p>\n

Alder & Oak opened its second location July 15 in Jacksonville Beach, at 131 First Ave. N., replacing the former Jekyll Brewing next to sister restaurant Oaxaca Club.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Owner Mark Janasik, who also owns Oaxaca Club, Blueberry Artisan Bakery and the Southern Grounds coffee shops, opened the first Alder & Oak in January at The Hub in Riverside.<\/p>\n

Regency Centers announced several restaurants for The Village at Seven Pines, its Publix-anchored shopping center at Interstate 295 and Butler Boulevard, opening in 2027, including 1928 Cuban Bistro. The Jacksonville-based restaurant, founded in Baymeadows in 2019, now has eight locations across four counties.<\/p>\n

Alexander Chezaud told the Daily Record in April that he wasn\u2019t planning a third location after opening a new Le Petit Paris and an offshoot, Le Petit Atelier, within a year. But when space opened in Ponte Vedra Beach, he said, he couldn\u2019t pass it up.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not every day that you get spaces available in Ponte Vedra. It checked a lot of the boxes that we needed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Ember<\/p>\n

Ember & Iron restaurant is owned by chef Michael Cooney. He attended the groundbreaking The Village at Seven Pines shopping center Feb. 18 when it was announced that the restaurant will be part of the development.<\/p>\n

Photo by J. Brooks Terry<\/p>\n

The new location, at 830 Florida A1A N., is Chezaud\u2019s sixth since his first restaurant opened in Mandarin in 2019. He has since expanded to Atlantic Beach, Southside and San Pablo.<\/p>\n

Earlier this summer, spouses Michael and Brittany Cooney announced plans to open two more Ember & Iron restaurants.<\/p>\n

The first will open in 2027 at 62 Spanish St. in St. Augustine\u2019s historic district. In 2028, another will open in The Village of Seven Pines.<\/p>\n

The couple also owns Gemma Fish + Oyster at 2039 Hendricks Ave. in San Marco.<\/p>\n

The decision to open two more restaurants is one of serendipity rather than a structured business plan, Brittany Cooney said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLocation is the No. 1 stop when we think of any type of long-term growth,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe search and seek the right opportunities in the right place, and I think the confidence with which we open is because we\u2019ve done our due diligence of where we\u2019re trying to go, what we\u2019re trying to do and we\u2019re looking for that location that will breed that success.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Cooneys grew up in Jacksonville and are familiar with the city\u2019s growth areas, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When opening the first Ember & Iron at 60 Shops Blvd. in Saint Johns, they wanted to be in that economically advantaged area.<\/p>\n

The historic location of the St. Augustine spot means steady foot traffic and a customer base with a desire to dine out.<\/p>\n

The opportunity to be part of The Village at Seven Pines was too good to turn down, Cooney said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The adjacent Seven Pines neighborhood, where home prices start in the mid-$500,000 range, provides a ready base of customers that in many cases would be a golf cart or bicycle ride away. Recent road work now provides convenient access for those exiting Butler Boulevard.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would have waited five or 10 years if we needed to get the right spot where we felt comfortable opening,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Brittany grew up around the restaurant business and brand expansion. Her father is Chris Sorensen who, with his brother, Robin, founded Firehouse Subs. They sold the company to Restaurant Brands International for $1 billion cash in 2021.<\/p>\n

Brittany said \u00a0her father and her uncle are not part of the Ember & Iron business.<\/p>\n

The Cooneys have no plans to expand the Gemma Fish + Oyster brand. The seafood restaurant opened in 2023 and is named after their daughter.<\/p>\n

When it opened, there were not many seafood-specific restaurants in the San Marco and Southbank area other than The Chart House, she said.<\/p>\n

Now, City Grille & Raw Bar on Prudential Drive and Taverna Oceana in San Marco also offer raw bars.<\/p>\n

\u201cEmber and Iron is our bread and butter,\u201d Cooney she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGemma is this specialty, unique place that we built for San Marco specifically because we saw again \u2014 the location.\u201d<\/p>\n

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