Restaurateurs Continue to Open New Concepts Around Jacksonville

Two local restaurateurs continue to make the greater Jacksonville area a dining hotspot, with several more concepts coming soon.

Previously, What Now Jacksonville reported on husband-and-wife Nathan Stuart and Margo Klar working on several concepts throughout the area, including a location of Julington Creek Fish House & Oyster Co. in Saint Johns, Boat House of Ponte Vedra Beach, and Boat House of St. Augustine, and Outback Crabshack in St. Augustine. Now, with at least six restaurants open, the duo plans to open at least three more concepts, including two that have yet to be reported.

At the beginning of the year, What Now Jacksonville reported on plans to reopen the original Outback Crab Shack on County Road 13. The restaurant had flooded during Hurricanes Matthew and Irma in 2016 and eventually closed, leading new owners Nathan Stuart and Margo Klar to renovate the space with hopes of eventually reopening. The owners are pending final county inspections for the restaurant and expect to finally reopen the concept soon, following about $2 million in restoration costs for a new foundation, restaurant, and dock, which were all rebuilt.

The couple is also working on two new concepts that What Now has yet to be reported on, including Cleo’s Crescent Beach , located in the Crescent Beach area of St. Augustine at 6896 Florida A1A S. , in the former home of Safe Harbor Seafood Restaurant. Stuart and Klar bought the restaurant in April for $1.525 million and planned to renovate the space into a full-service, casual restaurant with a covered patio. Cleo’s Crescent Beach is expected to open in about six months , according to Jacksonville Daily Record .

The other restaurant in the works is a new concept called Snappers in Vilano Beach . While the restaurant is in its design stages, it will be built from the ground up on a strip of land past Florida A1A near the Publix and Holiday Inn Express. Stuart and Klar bought the property for $950,000 and recently completed St. Johns County permitting. Customers can expect a large restaurant with indoor and outdoor dining when it opens. By this restaurant’s opening, the couple will own and operate at least ten restaurants in the greater Jacksonville area.

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