After closing 3 restaurants in recent years, The Loop opens a new restaurant. Here's where

A popular homegrown Jacksonville restaurant known for serving up freshly made to order burgers and pizza along with hand-spun shakes for 42 years has launched its 14th location in northern St. Johns County.

The Loop, at 150 Village Commons Drive, Suite 105, at World Golf Village, showcases a prototype design intended to accommodate the growing guest demand for take-out.

With the World Golf Village location, The Loop has 10 restaurants in the Greater Jacksonville area — five in Duval County, three in St. Johns, and one each in Clay and Nassau. The Loop also has four North Carolina locations, its website shows.

The new restaurant that opened Wednesday is the fifth from local franchise owners Angelina and Maurilio Gonzalez, whose other Loop locations include Nocatee, Fleming Island, Amelia Island and Julington Creek.

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“Responding to the growing demand for neighborhood family-friendly gathering places, we designed this location with a larger patio and slightly more intimate interior," Maurilio Gonzalez told the Times-Union in an email.

"This allows for a similar capacity of our other locations, but with the opportunity to enjoy the coastal breeze dining outside. We’re also responding to the trend toward increased To Go, Delivery through our App and Catering requests," he said.

In addition, he said the World Golf Village restaurant carries on the tradition of The Loop's original fast-casual San Marco and its other family-friendly locations.

The couple also are preparing for continued future expansion — looking actively for a potential site in North Ponte Vedra Beach.

On the menu at The Loop's new restaurant

Guests will find familiar Loop favorites on the new restaurant's menu.

• Original Loop Burger ($11.10 or with cheese $11.48): Grilled hand-patted, freshly ground chuck

• BBQ Bacon Cheddar Burger ($13.49): Burger with aged Cheddar cheese, grilled onions, Applewood smoked bacon and chipotle barbecue sauce

• Spicy Cajun Chicken and Jack sandwich ($11.79): Grilled chicken with Cajun seasonings, Jack cheese and creamy honey dijon

• Portabella Mushroom Melt ($10.99): Portabella mushroom with grilled onions, Jack cheese and roasted garlic mayo

Pizzas with freshly made Mutti tomato sauce range from an 8-inch pie ($11.49) to 12-inch ($18.49), the menu shows. A 10-inch cauliflower crust pie ($13.99) is also available.

Popular pizza flavors include the Farmers Market, Fennel Sausage and Goat Cheese, Meat Market and Five Cheese.

Rounding out The Loop menu are "hand-dipped and spun" chocolate, vanilla and strawberry or Oreo specialty milkshakes ($5.99), the menu shows.

After closures, The Loop returns to expansion

Jacksonville restauranteurs Mike and Terry Schneider founded The Loop, opening their first restaurant in 1981 in San Marco Square.

Weathering the ups and downs of the economy as well as the COVID-19 pandemic that has taken a toll on many local restaurants, the Loop is now in expansion mode.

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The World Golf Village restaurant comes after the closures of three Jacksonville-area locations over the last three years including Orange Park (in 2023), St. Johns Town Center (2022) and Neptune Beach (2021). The Orange Park and Neptune Beach restaurants had been fixtures in those neighborhoods for over 30 years.

At the time of the Orange Park restaurant's closure, the World Golf Village restaurant was identified as one of multiple new locations planned. The Loop also said it was scouting out potential sites in Sawgrass, Oakleaf and North Jacksonville as well as additional locations in North Carolina.

The Loop at World Golf Village is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

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 [email protected].

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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: The Loop opens 14th pizza, burgers restaurant at World Golf Village