Latest news with #WorldofBeer
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
'With a very heavy heart,' Jacksonville gastropub closes for second time in two years
Just over a year after reopening, a Jacksonville gastropub abruptly shut its doors, saying "we unfortunately could not keep our doors open anymore." World of Beer Bar & Kitchen closed for the second time in as many years at 5105 Butler Blvd. off Interstate 95 in Southpoint, announcing the closure mid-afternoon Aug. 15 on Facebook. The tavern, also called WOB and known for its extensive selection of craft beers including many from across the world, thanked and apologized to customers. "It is with a very heavy heart we regret to inform you that our World of Beer location has shut down. After just over a year of service, we unfortunately could not keep our doors open anymore," World of Beer posted. "We thank everyone who supported us on this journey. It was a pleasure serving everyone." The post didn't specify the factors prompting the decision. Customers speculated on social media that the gastropub's location contributed to the closure. "I enjoyed every visit there and always loved the vibe. Something about that location just unfortunately doesn't work," one customer posted on the restaurant's website. The closure comes roughly 13 months after the Tampa-based chain reopened the Southpoint gastropub in July 2024 with a new franchisee and new management at the helm. At that time, the 5,625-square-foot tavern had been shuttered for almost a year after initially closing in May 2023. World of Beer officials couldn't be reached immediately for comment. Tapped out: After 26 years, another Jacksonville craft brewery and restaurant calls it quits The restaurant's food service license is listed as "delinquent, active" with a June 1, 2025, expiration date. However, its retail alcohol license was classified as "current, active" with a Sept. 30 expiration date, according to Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation online records Aug.15. The Jacksonville listing was gone from the World of Beer website. Calls to the restaurant were answered with a recording stating the "lines were temporarily busy." World of Beer restructures amid past bankruptcy protection World of Beer first opened the Southpoint gastropub in May 2022 after the concept's six-year absence from Jacksonville. At that time, it was intended to be the first of two locations in Duval County. A second featuring a rooftop patio had been planned in Jacksonville Beach but never opened. In August 2024, World of Beer — with plans to restructure — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Tampa division of U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida. The company said the situation resulted from "growing market pressures, including rising interest rates, inflation, increased operating costs and a slow return to pre-pandemic dining habits by consumers." The Jacksonville gastropub remained open. And a World of Beer representative told the Times-Union the chain didn't anticipate the restructuring would affect that restaurant. World of Beer emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 2024 — less than five months after it filed to restructure, reported Nation's Restaurant News, an independent trade publication. Founded in 2007 in Tampa, World of Beer says its restaurants feature more than 250 beers from 40 different countries, according to franchising information on its website. World of Beer lists 26 locations from Connecticut south to Florida — which has nine — and west to Texas on its website. Sorry, we're closed: Restaurants we've lost in Jacksonville in 2025 Tough times for Jacksonville-area craft breweries and gastropubs Several Jacksonville-area craft breweries and gastropubs have called it quits in the past couple of years. Among them: Whiskey Jax Baymeadows gastropub, 10915 Baymeadows Road, closed July 19 after almost 11 years. Previously, the Whiskey Jax Kitchen & Cocktails restaurant at 725 Atlantic Blvd. in Atlantic Beach, closed in March 2024 after two years. Seven Bridges Grille & Brewery, 9735 N. Gate Parkway in Tinseltown, closed June 24 after 26 years. Jekyll Brewing, 131 First Ave. N. in Jax Beach Town Center, closed May 10 after almost two years. Barley & Pie Brewing Co., 1605 County Road 220, closed April 5, just nine months after opening on Fleming Island. Ragtime Tavern, 207 Atlantic Blvd. in Atlantic Beach, closed Jan. 27 after 42 years. Historically Hoppy Brewing Company, 1636 North Main St. in historic Springfield, closed in December 2024 after 2 1/2 years. A1A Ale Works, 1 King St. in St. Augustine, closed in May 2024 after 29 years. Hyperion Brewing Co., At 1744 N Main St. in historic Springfield, closed in March 2024 after more than six years Brewer's Pizza, the home of Pinglehead Brewing Co,, 14B Blanding Blvd. in Orange Park, closed in November 2023 after 14 years. Lemonstreet Brewing Co., 2100 Dennis St. in Jacksonville's Rail Yard District, closed in December 2023 after four years. Tabula Rasa Brewery, 2385 Corbett St., also in the Rail Yard District, closed in August 2023 after five years. Teresa Stepzinski is the dining reporter for the Times-Union. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @TeresaStepz or reach her via email at tstepzinski@ If you're a subscriber, thank you. If not, become a subscriber to get the latest dining coverage. This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: World of Beer Bar & Kitchen abruptly closes Jacksonville gastropub Solve the daily Crossword
Axios
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
High-end Mediterranean restaurant coming to Mass Ave
An upscale Mediterranean-inspired restaurant and lounge is coming to Mass Ave next month. Driving the news: Dusk will open in early August in the space vacated by World of Beer at the end of 2023, restaurateur Nasco Angelov told Axios. The first floor will be a 135-seat restaurant and patio, which Dusk is expanding beyond the outdoor space World of Beer occupied. The basement will be a weekend-only speakeasy serving craft cocktails and bottle service with space for about 80. Zoom in: Angelov said the menu will be Mediterranean-inspired, drawing from Greek, Lebanese, Moroccan and Italian cuisines. Entrees will be priced between $30-$50, he said. The vibe: Swanky. Think Miami or Tulum, Angelov said, with a big city lounge element. The large marble bar will be backlit and flanked by fire towers built into the tiled wall. DJ booths will be on both floors, and there will be live music on the weekends. Wood panels hang from the ceiling and rich grasscloth covers most of the walls — with the exception of a wall of original 1900 brick that the team cleaned up and restored to honor the building's 125-year history. Plus: Wait until you see the wallpaper in the women's bathroom. It may single-handedly bring back the bathroom selfie. If you go: 409 Mass Ave.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
As Saint Dinette says a long Minnesota goodbye, a look at the state of restaurants in Lowertown and beyond
All in all, they have had a good run. The staff and owners of Saint Dinette, the bright, modern 'finer diner' in Lowertown St. Paul are choosing to focus on the positives as they prepare to close March 22. The restaurant, which opened in the spring of 2014, has been serving butter-infused cheeseburgers, perfect omelettes, beautifully plated pastas and excellent cocktails for nearly 10 years, and that's more than many places — even those adored by critics and tastemakers — get. 'I'm closing at this moment with a feeling of full achievement,' owner Tim Niver said. 'I broke even and I had 10 years of something amazing.' But overall, the story of Saint Dinette, and its fate, are emblematic of a larger issue: Many restaurants downtown, and particularly in Lowertown, are suffering, closed or on their way to it. In general, owning a restaurant is harder than ever. Inflation has slashed profit margins for owners who are hesitant to raise prices lest they lose their regulars. Labor prices have leaped. Rent everywhere is sky-high, and interest rates make it unappealing to own a building. And customers, who are facing their own financial woes with interest rates, housing costs and inflation, have less money to spend on eating out. Almost every restaurant, Niver and others in the industry say, is just a few slow weeks or months away from closure. These closures are a loss for the community — gathering places are an important part of our society, and all types of cuisine contribute to the culture and vibe of a city. But they're also a loss for employees who have poured their hearts into the business. Nicole Paton, general manager of Saint Dinette, said she fully understands what led to the closure and harbors no hard feelings. She and the restaurant's 21 other employees are putting their all into these final few weeks. 'A restaurant closing doesn't have to be a bad thing,' Paton said. 'We're going out by choice. Closing after 10 years isn't anything to be disappointed about. I'm looking at it as a positive moment instead of spending all my time thinking about what I'm going to do next.' For his part, Niver says the closure is multi-faceted. His landlord wanted him to sign a five-year lease, and he wasn't confident that Lowertown would rebound enough to make that lease worthwhile. 'And the demographics of the area have changed,' Niver said. 'When we opened, it was older people who lived around here, but the neighborhood flipped. Younger people have moved in, and what we do doesn't fit that demographic. Their interests and what I do don't necessarily align.' Even bars that might appear to be geared toward a younger crowd aren't immune, though. Just down the street, Dark Horse Bar & Eatery recently announced it would close on Valentine's Day. The World of Beer space on nearby Sibley Street has been sitting empty since 2019, and the site of the former Black Dog Cafe has been unoccupied since 2022. With the exception of The Bulldog, all the restaurant spaces surrounding Mears Park are empty. And rumors of other nearby closures swirl as winter drags on. Saint Dinette's across-the-street neighbor, Big River Pizza, is one of those teetering on the edge of closure. Owner Steve Lott said Lowertown's changes include an influx of unhoused people, many of whom suffer from addiction and mental illness. While Lott used to be the first to offer an in-need person a free slice, he said he's grown jaded from burglaries, overdoses on his street corner, a gun left in his restaurant and even a murder in the apartments above Big River. Lott said an unpoliced light-rail line — which ends a block from his restaurant — and nearby facilities that help unhoused people are contributing to the problem. 'I think elected officials have good intentions,' Lott said. 'But some of the policies have negatively impacted the business community.' Areas outside the city center are suffering, too. Revival, the fried-chicken and burger-centric restaurant that opened a location on Selby Avenue late in 2016, recently — and suddenly — shuttered all of its locations. Co-owner Thomas Boemer said it's a tough time for restaurants in the Twin Cities. 'Every single cost that we have has drastically increased and is still increasing,' he said. 'It hasn't stopped. When you combine that with where we started a year ago with a massive labor shortage which pushed the labor cost and wage up exponentially. … It's all going up and you're racing to follow. I think there's a fundamental shift and change in people's dining habits because of it. Over the past few months or past year, it's just insanely expensive to go out to dinner.' It's not all bad news downtown, though. The owners of the popular local chain Tono Pizzeria + Cheesesteak are taking over the former Black Sheep space on Robert Street. Co-owner Shaz Khan said he knows his company is taking a risk opening their new concept, Prince Coal-Fired Pizza, in the struggling downtown area, but it's a calculated one that he hopes pays off. 'We have a headquarters and real estate in St. Paul … and we have formed a lot of relationships there,' Khan said. 'I look in the mirror and say who better to begin making a change than myself. We hope we can be that oomph that makes a change for the area.' In response to an inquiry for this article, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter's office sent us the following via email: 'As we have worked through the normal cycle of businesses opening and closing, we've worked especially hard to improve the concerns around public safety … Within the last year, we've also celebrated 10 restaurants opening across Downtown, including Ruam Mit Thai, 1881 by Lake Elmo Inn, and soon Prince Coal-Fired Pizza. This work is tied to our efforts to revitalize downtown St. Paul. As development continues to increase Downtown, we will continue to prioritize the relationships we've built with business owners and community partners alike.' As for Niver, he said that although he's at peace with Saint Dinette's closure, he does feel a little let down by city officials. Moves such as raising the minimum wage to $15 without a tip credit have made things more difficult for restaurant owners, and empty properties make coming downtown less appealing for those who don't live there. 'They have hearings,' Niver said of city officials. 'But they're not listening.' So what's next for Niver and Paton? Niver, who was recently named a semifinalist for a James Beard Foundation Award for hospitality at his other St. Paul restaurant, Mucci's, said he plans to take a little time 'finding out what owning one restaurant is like.' He said he has lots of ideas for future concepts, but is happy to take his time figuring out whether he wants to act on any of them. And Paton, who has worked in restaurants her entire career, said she hasn't decided where she'll go next, or even if it will be in the hospitality industry. 'I know that I love being in this industry,' Paton said. 'I'm not dying to get out, but I'd be doing myself a disservice if I didn't think about it.' For now, though, it's all hands on deck as the crew at Saint Dinette works the dining room, still adding new menu items and taking care of every guest as if they were family. They'll maintain that level of culinary excellence and hospitality until the last day. Speaking of which, reservations, especially on weekends, are starting to become scarce. So if you want one more cheeseburger, you should book a table now. Saint Dinette: 261 E. Fifth St., St. Paul; 651-800-1415; Restaurants, Food and Drink | A recipe from 'Kapusta': Cabbage Rolls with Sauerkraut Leaves, Beef and Rice in a Tomato Sauce Restaurants, Food and Drink | Eastern Europe's traditional ingredients get star treatment in the new cookbook 'Kapusta' Restaurants, Food and Drink | This smoky, buttery shrimp dinner is ready in no time Restaurants, Food and Drink | KFC is leaving its ancestral home as parent company moves its corporate office to Texas Restaurants, Food and Drink | 10 weeknight dinner recipes that don't use eggs
