{"id":60048,"date":"2025-07-12T16:54:16","date_gmt":"2025-07-12T16:54:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/60048\/"},"modified":"2025-07-12T16:54:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-12T16:54:16","slug":"after-more-than-a-decade-whiskey-jax-baymeadows-is-closing-heres-whats-coming-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/60048\/","title":{"rendered":"After more than a decade, Whiskey Jax Baymeadows is closing. Here\u2019s what\u2019s coming next"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.<\/strong> \u2013 Whiskey Jax Baymeadows is closing after service July 19 and will be replaced by a new restaurant concept, its former owner told the Jacksonville Daily Record<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Tom Fisher, who is still affiliated with the business, announced the closure of the restaurant, bar and music venue at 10915 Baymeadows Road in a July 9 Facebook post.<\/p>\n

Whiskey Jax Baymeadows is in the Point Meadows shopping center anchored by Winn-Dixie near Interstate 295.<\/p>\n

Fisher said Whiskey Jax has been operating on a month-to-month lease since January while the landlord looked for a new tenant.<\/p>\n

The Toasted Yolk Cafe, which is open for breakfast and lunch, will take the Whiskey Jax spot, Fisher said.<\/p>\n

The Texas-based Toasted Yolk has 45 locations, including one in Northeast Florida in Fleming Island. The restaurant website shows one coming soon in Atlantic Beach. The Daily Record has reported others planned in Yulee and in St. Johns County.<\/p>\n

Ownership split<\/b><\/p>\n

Whiskey Jax Baymeadows opened in 2014.<\/p>\n

It was originally owned by Fisher and Adam Fontaine, but the two split ownership in 2015 when Fisher opened the Whiskey Jax at 950 Marsh Landing Parkway in Jacksonville Beach.<\/p>\n

Fontaine retained ownership of the Baymeadows location. He did not return a call for comment.<\/p>\n

Fisher closed the Jacksonville Beach location in November 2021 and moved to 725 Atlantic Blvd., in Atlantic Beach, in February 2022. That operation, called Whiskey Jax Kitchen & Cocktails, shut down in March 2024.<\/p>\n

It closed due to unforeseen staffing problems and other setbacks caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Fisher told the Daily Record at that time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had plenty of hope, but hope isn\u2019t much of a business plan,\u201d he said in 2024.<\/p>\n

Since that closing, Fisher has been working with Fontaine.<\/p>\n

No agreement<\/b><\/p>\n

There were negotiations to renew the expired Baymeadows lease, but agreeable terms could not be reached.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were working on some things, and it just didn\u2019t work. Commercial real estate is a business and they\u2019ve got to make money and we\u2019ve got to make money. If both parties can\u2019t make money, then we\u2019ve just got to part ways. There\u2019s absolutely no hard feelings,\u201d Fisher said.<\/p>\n

While Whiskey Jax remained busy with regulars and other customers, people aren\u2019t spending as much as they were even in January, Fisher said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost nights we\u2019d get pretty full still, but people tend to spend 25% on average, less than they may have just six months ago. And it\u2019s not just us, it\u2019s a lot of restaurants,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe track daily numbers. You can\u2019t get blood out of a turnip.\u201d<\/p>\n

As an example of the downturn, instead of an entree and three drinks, customers are now having an appetizer and one drink or iced tea, Fisher said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lone glass<\/b><\/p>\n

The Facebook announcement pictured a lone glass of whiskey on a table.<\/p>\n

Fisher thought it best to announce the closing date ahead of time rather than bolting the doors without notice.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted our friends and family members and all those people and staff to know it is coming. It worked out for the best,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Although he couldn\u2019t speak for Fontaine\u2019s plans, Fisher said he personally is out of the restaurant business. He said he won\u2019t miss the long hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll be a new and welcome change for me in my life. I\u2019ll actually have a normal bedtime, you know, a consistent bedtime. I\u2019ll be able to get up with my kids at 6:30 and not be exhausted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Whiskey Jax Baymeadows is closing after service July 19 and will be replaced by a…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":60049,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5136],"tags":[5229,8314,3188,723,7310,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-60048","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-duval-county","10":"tag-fl","11":"tag-florida","12":"tag-jacksonville","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-united-states-of-america","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","17":"tag-us","18":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114841312500450812","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60048\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}