Electric Dough Pizza Co. could open in the former San Marco Theatre building by the end of the year.
Urban Partners, the contractor, has submitted plans to the city of Jacksonville. The concept comes from Chef Tom Gray, who operates Prati Italia at St. Johns Town Center and Town Hall, just a few storefronts from the San Marco Theatre location.
Electric Dough Pizza Co. will feature rectangular artisan pizzas featuring a Roman-style dough with Detroit-style crispy, cheesy edges, according to a news release from CuliVino Hospitality Management and Consulting, a company Gray founded with his spouse.
The name Electric Dough references the Italian-imported electric oven that the pizzas are baked in and the pizza’s handmade, long-fermented dough. The electric oven produces a pizza with a crunchy crust.
Along with pizza, Electric Dough Pizza Co. will offer salads and a rotating selection of gelato and sorbets. Beverages will include a full cocktail bar, domestic and imported beer, wine, craft sodas and zero-proof offerings.
Electric Dough Pizza Co. also will include a retail area offering take-and-bake frozen pizzas, fresh pastas, from-scratch sauces, house made pimento cheese and other products.
The restaurant hopes to open in the fourth quarter of 2024, the news release said.
The San Marco Theatre closed last year after 84 years in business. A Flying Iguana restaurant had been envisioned in that space, but Al’s Pizza founder Al Mansur backed away from the concept earlier this year.
The theater was built in 1938 and was designed by prominent Jacksonville architect Roy Benjamin. TSG Realty, the owner of the building, has made a commitment to maintain the building’s historic facade.
Randy comes to Jacksonville from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, where as metro editor, he led investigative coverage of the Parkland school shooting that won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for public service. He has spent more than 40 years in reporting and editing positions in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio and Florida.