Whiskey Jax Kitchen & Cocktails is coming to Atlantic Beach, relocating from Jacksonville Beach

Whiskey Jax Kitchen & Cocktails is relocating its second restaurant roughly five miles down the road to Atlantic Beach from its former site in Jacksonville Beach.

The gastropub plans to open in February at 725 Atlantic Blvd. in North Beach Shopping Center, owner Tom Fisher told the Times-Union on Monday.

"We're known for the live music work. But we're really going to focus on the food aspect for several months and get that down first before we start on the live entertainment," said Fisher, adding that the restaurant's food will be fresh from scratch.

Whiskey Jax is moving into the space previously used by Firefly Bay and before that, North Beach Bistro.

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Fisher said he decided to relocate the Jacksonville Beach restaurant — previously at 950 Marsh Landing Parkway in Marsh Landing Plaza shopping center — when its five-year lease expired on Nov. 30.

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The COVID-19 pandemic with its accompanying staff shortages and supply chain disruptions took a toll on the Jacksonville Beach restaurant, Fisher said.

"Pre-COVID, it was thriving, but toward the end, there were staffing issues," he said. Business also had dropped off. Staying there, he said, just didn't make sense.

"We didn't get any of the walk-by or drive-by traffic that we wanted over there," he explained.

Relocating is a new opportunity, he said.

"With relocation, you're the fresh face in the area. You get new staff. We're just excited about the opportunity to start fresh," said Fisher, adding they will have a chance to "run a little tighter ship" because the staff will be new.

In the last weeks at the Jacksonville Beach site, the staff shortage was so bad that operations weren't as smooth as they should have been, he said.

Fisher said his strength is marketing and the front of the house, talking with customers and creating good experiences. As the Jacksonville Beach staff dwindled, he was spending more time in the kitchen.

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"I felt like in Jax Beach, I couldn't market to make us busier because I didn't have a staff. In case we had an influx of people I didn't want to disappoint anybody," he said.

Fisher said after scouting several potential sites to relocate the gastropub, the Atlantic Beach location was best-suited to the restaurant's needs, he said.

"That one seemed to fit with what we're trying to do. It has ample parking. The layout seemed right for us. And the landlord was a pretty nice guy," he said of the decision.

Fisher said the Atlantic Beach menu will be similar to the one at the original Whiskey Jax, 10915 Baymeadows Road in Jacksonville.

It's all a matter of supply and demand, he said.

"We'd like to expand the menu. Once we open, we're going to keep it to our main menu for a little bit and then start adding our monthly specials, which are the higher-end entrees and cuisine," Fisher said.

The Baymeadows menu includes popular appetizers such as the Whiskey Blues Chips, which are Kettle chips, blue cheese fondue, bacon, balsamic reduction and scallions.

Among the signature entrees likely to return are chicken piccata, fish and chips, mango salmon and even Filet au Poivre, a pepper-crusted filet, mashed potatoes, sauteed spinach and bourbon-mushroom demi-glaze.

Main menu offerings feature burgers, sandwiches, salads, soup, flatbreads and tacos plus desserts, according to the Baymeadows menu.

"As far as the whiskies and bourbons, it's been challenging for us to get some of the brands that everybody likes and wants me to have," Fisher said.

He said they've been working hard with suppliers to get the brands that they want for their customers.

"We like to have somewhere between 130 and 150 brands. We just don't want to have stuff just to say that we have it and it sits there. We want to have product that's moving," Fisher said.

Aside from redecorating, the Atlantic Beach site doesn't need any renovations or remodeling. It is slightly smaller than the former Jacksonville Beach location, he said.

The front of the house is about 20 percent smaller than the old location and that is an advantage, he said.

"We're hoping with this we will be able to stagger the seating a little bit or the times in so we can be more efficient in the kitchen," Fisher said.

Seating will be about 170 to 185 at the Atlantic Beach location.

"It has a really, really nice outdoor patio, much better than we had either location," he said.

Neighboring restaurants at the new site are Cantina Louie and The Fish Company.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Whiskey Jax to open 2nd Jacksonville-area restaurant in Atlantic Beach