May saw the opening of a Jacksonville mom-and-pop pizzeria offering Chicago tavern-style pizza as well as the Northeast Florida debut of a highly anticipated Chicago-based chain known for its toasted, made-to-order sandwiches, hand-scooped milkshakes.
Also opening were a French-Asian bakery cafe founded in South Korea and known for its fresh breads, sandwiches, pastries, gourmet cakes and other desserts made from scratch daily, and the sixth location of a popular local French cafe concept known for its croissants, macarons, quiche and more.
Here’s a recap of notable Jacksonville-area restaurant news in May.
Oxford Place
Oxford Place, a new family‑owned restaurant serving refined Southern‑inspired fare, opened in Jacksonville’s historic Ortega Village, breathing new life into a 103‑year‑old neighborhood landmark building at 2902 Corinthian Ave. that had stood vacant for four years. The family-friendly, upscale‑casual restaurant comes from Hughes Brown and his father, Jerry Brown, who own and operate two Bold Birds Nashville Hot Chicken restaurants, one in Murray Hill and a second in Lakewood. | Read more
Smalls Sliders
Highly anticipated Smalls Sliders opened the first of several planned Jacksonville-area restaurants at 1545 County Road 210 W., in Saint Johns near The Fountains at St. Johns mixed-use development. Smalls is known for cooked-to-order mini-cheeseburgers, seasoned waffle-cut fries and hand-spun shakes. The fast-growing Atlanta-based restaurant chain is also known for its bright “Smorange’ shipping container construction called a “can.” The Saint Johns restaurant is the first of seven proposed Smalls Sliders locations. | Read more
Le Petit Paris
An authentic taste of France spiced with a dash of history on the side comes to Ponte Vedra Beach with the opening of Le Petit Paris at 830 Florida A1A N., Suites 4-6, in Tournament Plaza retail center. The restaurant, the sixth from owner and founder Alex Chezaud, is known for authentic, freshly made-from-scratch macarons, croissants, quiche, baguette sandwiches, tartines and salads. The restaurant’s ambiance and decor pay homage to historic Versailles and Marie Antoinette, France’s glamorous and final queen before the French Revolution abolished the monarchy. | Read more
Nick’s Pizza Co.
A new family‑run pizzeria in Mandarin — Nick’s Pizza Co. — introduced Chicago tavern‑style pizza to Jacksonville. The takeout‑only spot at 9766 Old St. Augustine Road also serves another Chicago favorite: Italian Beef sandwiches. The small mom-and-pop pizzeria focuses on authenticity, from cracker‑thin crust and edge‑to‑edge toppings to ingredients sourced from Chicago and Wisconsin. Chicago tavern-style pizza has an ultra‑thin crust, edge-to-edge toppings and is cut into small squares. | Read more
Hard Pressed Burgers
First an award-winning food truck, Hard Pressed Burgers opened its first brick-and-mortar restaurant at 1636 Hendricks Ave. in historic San Marco. Hard Pressed Burgers specializes in freshly made-to-order smash burgers as well as other fare. The new restaurant joins two Hard Pressed Burgers food trucks. One is permanently parked at Ink Factory Brewing, 602 Shetter Ave., in Jacksonville Beach, while the other is at 845 Edgewood Ave. S. (behind Catbird Coffee Roasters) in Murray Hill. | Read more
Chick-fil-A
Ending years of off-and-on opposition rooted in some neighbors’ concerns about traffic safety and congestion, Chick-fil-A opened its newest restaurant at 705 Duval Station Road across from First Coast High School in North Jacksonville. Chick-fil-A said in a news release announcing the opening that it had worked closely with city officials, police and neighboring businesses “to develop a plan to alleviate congestion during high-volume periods.” | Read more
Potbelly Sandwich Works
Finally. Potbelly Sandwich Works — known for toasted, made-to-order sandwiches, hand-scooped milkshakes and other scratch-made comfort food — opened the first of its proposed seven Jacksonville restaurants. The restaurant is at 9908 Old Baymeadows Road in the Publix-anchored Deerwood Village shopping center in the 1,566-square-foot space vacated by Subway sandwich shop. The Deerwood Village opening comes as a second Potbelly is planned at 13529 Beach Blvd., Suite 101, in the Hodges Station shopping center in the Intracoastal West area. | Read more
Tous les Jours
Tous les Jours, an artisan French-Asian-inspired bakery cafe, opened its first standalone Jacksonville restaurant at 9810 Baymeadows Road, No. 6, in Baymeadows Village retail center. The popular bakery cafe chain introduced itself to Northeast Florida several months ago — debuting in Jacksonville as one of the anchor restaurants in the food court at Lotte Plaza Market, 9355 Atlantic Blvd., which opened on Sept. 12, 2025. It is known for its fresh breads, sandwiches, pastries, gourmet cakes and other desserts made from scratch daily. | Read more
Ruby Tuesday
After nearly 24 years at its Regency-area location, Ruby Tuesday abruptly closed in late May at 1022 Hospitality Lane, one of several Ruby Tuesday restaurants to close in recent weeks. Known for its large menu of American cuisine, including steaks, chicken, seafood, pasta and burgers, as well as its popular Endless Garden Bar, the chain once operated nine Jacksonville-area restaurants. After the latest closing, just four area restaurants remain: 1360 Airport Road, 4784 Windsor Commons Court, 1512 CR 220 in Fleming Island and 2443 SR 16 in St. Augustine. | Read more
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@jacksonville.com.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: 8 Jacksonville-area restaurants open, 1 permanently closes in May
Reporting by Teresa Stepzinski, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
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