After 84 years, a Jacksonville dining landmark famous for its fried chicken is set to close
For more than 80 years, Jacksonville diners have flocked to 4132 Atlantic Blvd. for classic chicken dinners.
That will come to an end on Tuesday, Feb. 28.
That’s when Beach Road Fish & Chicken Dinners will serve its last chicken dinner — at that location.
Owner Nathan Stuart announced the pending closing Monday in a social media post.
“Unfortunately we will be unable to lease our building after the sale of Beach Road Fish House & Chicken Dinners property” on February 28, he wrote. "We are identifying locations for relocation in the meantime.”
The news comes six months after Stuart confirmed to the Times-Union that the property the restaurant — first as Beach Road Chicken Dinners and then Beach Road Fish & Chicken Dinners — sits on had been sold. The restaurant had been a fixture there since 1939.
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A 270-unit luxury apartment complex is planned for the St. Nicholas restaurant site and neighboring parcels.
Stuart and his wife and business partner, Margo Klar, took over the restaurant in 2019, ending Beach Road Chicken Dinners’ run as the oldest continuously operating restaurant in Jacksonville. They reopened as Beach Road Fish House & Chicken Dinners, keeping the popular fried chicken dinners but adding the seafood component that Stuart has found success with at a number of area restaurants, including Orange Park Fish House & Oyster Bar in Orange Park, New Berlin Fish House & Oyster Bar in North Jacksonville, Seafood Kitchen in Atlantic Beach, St. Augustine Fish House & Oyster Bar in St. Augustine and others.
The pair bought the property for $1 million in a sale recorded Oct. 29, 2021, Duval County property and court records show. Last summer, the pair sold the property, making way for the apartment complex, which expects to start construction “immediately,” Stuart said in the social media post.
In August, Stuart told the Times-Union that they were looking for a smaller building to relocate the restaurant.
"It's like we need to downsize that store [Beach Road] to operate with less employees, which is our goal," Stuart said.
"Our St. Augustine store is only open at night and on weekends but it does triple the business while open half the hours," he said. "I feel like we could relocate [Beach Road Fish House & Chicken Dinners] with a smaller footprint and be that much more profitable," Stuart said.
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The reaction
Following the announcement of the restaurant's pending closure, here's what diners are saying on Nathan Stuart's Facebook post:
"I’ve never lived a life without this chicken at this location. We need to go before it’s gone."
"I wish I could come one last time. I have been going there for over 57 years."
"So sad! My family has been coming to this building for dinners for over 50 years."
"I am not a seafood person but I hope when you relocate and open, you keep offering the fried chicken and creamed peas!"
"The end of an era, but an opportunity to begin a new one."
Times-Union reporter Teresa Stepzinski contributed to this report.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville's Beach Road Fish House & Chicken Dinners set to close
