Parker’s Kitchen is coming to Florida. Here’s a sneak peek.
Parker’s Kitchen, known for its freshly made-from-scratch Southern-style comfort food, plans to open multiple locations in the Jacksonville area.
- Parker’s Kitchen, a Southern convenience store chain, plans to expand into the Jacksonville, Florida area within the next five years.
- The expansion will include multiple locations in Duval, Clay and Nassau counties.
- Parker’s Kitchen is known for its fresh, homestyle Southern-inspired comfort food and has received national recognition for its menu.
The days when hot dogs of dubious age, origin, and grease content spinning endlessly on a roller grill were the top, if not only, option for a quick meal or snack at a convenience store are long gone.
Menu offerings have increased dramatically as customer appetites have evolved in recent years. Consumers nationwide are demanding more and better choices for a quick but satisfying breakfast, lunch and dinner at convenience stores.
In other words, they expect greater convenience without sacrificing quality when they fuel up their stomachs as well as their cars.
A family-owned convenience store and fuel station chain popular for its freshly made, down-home Southern-style comfort food, such as fried chicken, biscuits and gravy, pork chops, fried catfish, and grits is at the forefront of efforts to meet those expectations.
Parker’s Kitchen plans to open multiple Jacksonville-area stores. The general timeline is within the next five years, company CEO Brandon Hofmann confirmed to the Times-Union via email.
They will be the first in Florida and the only stores outside of Georgia and South Carolina, where the Savannah-based chain has a combined total of 103 stores, Hofmann said.
“At Parker’s Kitchen, we want to expand in the path of growth,” Hofmann said. “Many residents in the Jacksonville area have already experienced the Parker’s Kitchen difference in their travels and have expressed an interest in us expanding into north Florida.”
He said the Jacksonville-area stores are part of the company’s plans to “to add 100 more stores in new and existing markets.”
Right now, the nearest Parker’s Kitchen to Jacksonville is at 1215 E. King Ave., in Kingsland, Ga. It’s also the chain’s southernmost store.
“We think Jacksonville is a fantastic, growing community and are excited to become part of it,” he said of the planned expansion.
Southern roots branching out: Parker’s Kitchen eyes Northeast Florida
The Jacksonville area will be a gateway to the rest of Florida for Parker’s Kitchen.
A Times-Union review of online city and county records, including preliminary development review documents, as well as JEA and St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) service availability inquiries, plus at least one real estate marketing flyer, shows Parker’s Kitchen is exploring multiple sites in Duval, Clay and Nassau counties.
No locations have been finalized. As of July 23, records and other documents indicate Parker’s Kitchen is scouting at least five possible locations in the three counties.
- Jacksonville: A 7,600-square-foot store at 11205 Alta Drive and Faye Road near Interstate 295 on the Northside.
- Jacksonville: A 5,175-square-foot store at Old Middleburg Road between Wilson Boulevard and Earl Lane in Southwest Jacksonville.
- Clay County: A 5,204-square-foot store at Creighton Road and U.S. 17 on Fleming Island.
- Clay County: A 5,000-square-foot store on Branan Field Road in Middleburg.
- Nassau County: A 5,175-square-foot store at William Burgess Boulevard and Florida 200 in the Crossings at Wildlight shopping center in Yulee. SJRWMD issued a permit on June 24 for the project. A Sleiman real estate marketing brochure shows the Parker’s Kitchen on an outparcel at the Publix-anchored shopping center.
SJRWMD lists as “closed” service availability pre-applications for possible Parker’s Kitchen stores at Beach Boulevard, as well as St. Johns Bluff Road South, and Atlantic and Southside boulevards — both in Jacksonville.
Saying it’s too early in the process, Hofmann declined to identify specific locations that they are investigating.
“We are currently exploring potential locations in the metro Jacksonville area for new stores and cannot confirm any of these locations at this time,” he told the Times-Union.
Parker’s Kitchen menu: Homestyle Southern favorites
Parker’s Kitchen features a hot bar offering breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Grab-and-go items include freshly prepared sandwiches, salads and more. The food is made at each store daily, Hofmann said.
The chain’s food has earned accolades. In 2023, Parker’s Kitchen was voted No. 4 for Best Gas Station Food in the USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice travel award contest. Food & Wine magazine ranked Parker’s Kitchen as No. 5 for best convenience store food nationwide in 2019.
“From our Spicy Chicken Sandwich to our legendary sweet tea and Fancy Lemonade with our signature Chewy Ice, we truly offer a one-stop shopping experience, where fueling your vehicle is only a small piece of the experience,” Hofmann said.
The Jacksonville-area stores will likely offer a hot bar menu similar to the Kingsland location. Signature dishes include:
- Chicken Tender Fill Up Box ($9.99): Three fresh, never frozen, chicken tenders with a small side and a large drink
- Fried Chicken Fill Up Box ($8.99): Two pieces. Choice of two legs, two thighs, or one of each, served with a small side, and a large drink
- Chicken Tender Sandwich ($4.99): Two chicken tenders on a soft potato roll served with signature Parker’s Kitchen sauce and pickles. Available with spicy chicken tenders
- Fried Catfish Fill Up Box ($9.99): Two fried catfish fillets, a small side, and a large drink
- Fried Pork Chops Fill Up Box ($9.99): Two fried pork chops, a small side, and a large drink
- Livers & Gizzards Fill Up Box ($8.99): Chicken livers and gizzards, a small side, and a large drink
The breakfast menu showcases bacon, sausage or chicken biscuit sandwiches, biscuits and gravy, catfish and grits, a breakfast bowl, burritos, egg casserole and a full breakfast platter.
Side dishes range from mac & cheese to potato logs, yeast rolls and French fries. In addition, a variety of salads, as well as desserts, such as banana pudding, are offered, according to the menu.
Hungry consumers are turning to convenience stores
Parker’s expansion into the Jacksonville area taps into a nationwide trend of consumers choosing convenience stores for meals — especially hot food — more often, industry data shows.
Convenience and cravings are the top two reasons people choose convenience stores for food and drinks, CSP Daily News, a leading convenience and petroleum retailing publication, reported in March.
CSP quoted Robert Byrne, director of consumer and industry insights at Technomic, a Chicago-based research firm focused on the food service industry, which is CSP’s research arm.
The publication reported that Byrne said convenience was the No. 1 reason — up two percentage points to 31% last year from 2023. He also noted that cravings increased by 1 percentage point to 30% last year from 2023, according to CSP.
In addition, food service in U.S. convenience stores “drove in-store sales to record levels in 2024,” according to April data from the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), a leading global trade association for convenience and fuel retailers.
Parker’s Kitchen faces formidable competition in Northeast Florida competition
Formidable rivals will greet Parker’s Kitchen in Northeast Florida.
The homegrown competition includes Gate and Daily’s convenience store chains — each founded in Jacksonville and having established strong footholds.
Founded in 1960, Gate lists about 49 stores in Northeast Florida on its website. Those stores include 39 in Jacksonville, four in Ponte Vedra Beach, two on Fleming Island, and one each in Orange Park, Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach, and Yulee.
Gate also has multiple stores elsewhere in Florida as well as in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, its website shows.
Daily’s, owned and operated by First Coast Energy based in Jacksonville, dates back to 1997. It has 37 stores primarily in Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Gainesville, and Broward County, according to its website.
Then there are out-of-state companies such as Buc-ee’s, headquartered in Lake Jackson, Texas; Love’s Travel Stops, based in Oklahoma City; and Wawa, headquartered in Wawa, Penn.
Hofmann isn’t fazed by the prospect.
“We have a powerful focus on efficiency, convenience, and cleanliness, which means Jacksonville residents can expect spotless surfaces, sparkling restrooms, and state-of-the-art technology designed to help them save time and money,” he said.
Hofmann emphasized the company’s track record since its founding nearly 50 years ago in Georgia.
“Since 1976, we’ve provided excellent customer service and have built state-of-the-art stores that provide bright, clean, safe and inviting spaces for our customers and their families,” he said, adding that their goal is to be “the best place to work and the best place to shop.”
Family-owned and operated company aims to be a good neighbor
In 1976, founder Greg Parker opened the first Parker’s Kitchen in Midway, Ga. — just outside of Savannah. He served as the family-owned and operated company’s CEO for 50 years until transitioning to executive chairman in March.
Hofmann was named CEO at that time. He’d worked his way up in the company, beginning his career at age 19 when he was hired as a night clerk at its Hinesville, Ga., store.
He is credited as “the architect behind the company’s explosive expansion plans and Best Place to Work initiatives.”
“We’re a family-owned company and are committed to being a great neighbor in every community where we operate stores, said Hofmann, noting Parker’s Kitchen “has donated more than $30 million over the past eight years to support causes that matter most to our customers and our team members.”
Giving back to the community, he said, is a company priority.
“We’re focused on making a transformative impact in the communities we serve,” Hofmann said. “At Parker’s Kitchen, we have a strong track record of supporting education, expanding access to healthcare, reducing childhood hunger and supporting local veterans.”
The company’s community involvement includes donating two million meals to feed hungry children and supporting injured local veterans through its partnership with the Wounded Warrior Project.
He also said that since 2011, Parker’s Kitchen has supported local schools through its Fueling the Community initiative. That program entails donating a portion of all gas sold at every store on the first Wednesday of each month to area schools.
“We’ve donated nearly $3 million to public and private schools in every community where we operate stores and can’t wait to bring our Fueling the Community program to Jacksonville,” Hofmann said.
Parker’s Kitchen currently employs nearly 1,800 people throughout Georgia and South Carolina.
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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