Published on July 22, 2025 at 6:13 pm
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Downtown Jacksonville has struggled to maintain a consistent evening dining presence, but that will soon change. A crop of new restaurants under construction have the potential to turn the area into the hottest dining destination in Northeast Florida.
1. Norikawa, 1 Riverside Ave.
The One Riverside development, on the riverfront at the former site of the Florida Times-Union building, includes apartments, a parking garage and, soon, a new Whole Foods grocery store. And in early 2026, an exciting new waterfront dining concept from Pearl Hospitality Group called Norikawa will open there overlooking the Riverwalk at the entrance of the new Emerald Trail extension along McCoys Creek.
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A division of the Bento Group, the Pearl Hospitality Group operates Norikase on Jacksonville’s Southside and Beachside Seafood Restaurant & Market and Izakaya Ko in Jacksonville Beach, along with nearly 50 restaurants other throughout Florida.
Norikawa will offer traditional and modern Japanese cuisine, including a high-end sushi program. The 4,149-square foot restaurant will also feature 2,500 square feet of waterfront patio space for a refined al fresco dining experience with views of the Downtown skyline.
Norikawa will also offer a full bar program focused on premium sake and Japanese whiskey.
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2. Alder & Oak, 400 Riverside Ave.
Also in Brooklyn, a mixed-used office and restaurant complex called The Hub Brooklyn is being built at the intersection of Riverside Avenue and Forest Street. Southern Grounds Coffee chain owner Mark Janasik plans to open a Southern Grounds location there, along with a full-service restaurant called Alder & Oak, offering local and coastal inspired wood-fired cuisine and Prohibition-style cocktails. Alder & Oak will offer both interior dining and 3,220 square feet of covered open-air dining.
3. Oak Steakhouse, 204 N. Laura St.
Currently under construction in the historic Greenleaf & Crosby Building, Charleston, S.C.-based Indigo Road Hospitality Group will open the eighth location of their Oak Steakhouse concept by the end of 2025. Longtime Jaxsons may recognize the space as the former Jacobs Jewelry store at the corner of Adams and Laura streets.
Oak Steakhouse will offer a seasonally driven menu featuring local and regional ingredients, Prime Certified Angus Beef and a world-class wine list. Indigo Road Hospitality Group also operates O-Ku Sushi at the foot of the Jacksonville Beach pier.
Under construction during the bust of the Florida Land Boom, only one half of the 10-story Greenleaf & Crosby Building was ever completed. The building was designed by architects Marsh & Saxelbye and built in 1926 for the Greenleaf & Crosby Co. The company, founded by Damon Greenleaf and J.H. Crosby in 1880, owned one of the city’s earliest jewelry stores. V.E. Jacobs renamed the business Jacobs Jewelry after he acquired it in 1930. Considered one of Jacksonville’s oldest continuously operated businesses, Jacobs closed in 2023 with the retirement of its last owners, Roy and Delorise Thomas.
4. Ariete, 50 N. Laura St.
Ariete Hospitality, a Miami-based and Michelin-starred restaurant group, is opening a new concept in Downtown’s Bank of America tower. Ariete will be similar concept to the group’s Chug’s Diner, a morning-noon-or-night eatery in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami. First, work is about to begin to transform the ground-floor space at the corner of Laura and Bay streets into a Starbucks. When that is complete, work will begin at the corner of Laura and Forsyth streets on the new diner and full-service bar.
The Bank of America branch once located in the building closed in early 2024 after operating there since the building was originally constructed for the former Barnett Bank in 1990. Ariete will transform the former bank counter into a high-end bar. This will be the first restaurant in Jacksonville operated by a Michelin-starred restaurant group.
5. Zunzibar, 90 Riverside Ave.
Zunzibar is currently renovating the former Burrito Gallery space in the Fresh Market-anchored Brooklyn Station development at 90 Riverside Ave. Based in Savannah with additional locations in Hilton Head and Tybee Island, Zunzibar is a South African-inspired beach bar.
Originally opened during the 2005 Super Bowl, Burrito Gallery served the Downtown market for 20 years. The Adams Street location was recently backfilled by Dorothy’s Downtown.
The Zunzibar menu features seafood, wings and sandwiches served on French bread. The sandwich offerings feature global flavors like Indian curry chili chicken, curry chicken and Boerewors sausage, a traditional South African sausage flavored with coriander and nutmeg.
Since the demolition of the Jacksonville Landing in 2019, ordering approachably-priced seafood has become difficult Downtown. That will change when Zunzibar opens later this year
