Barring issues or delays, the 10/Six Grille could be open for Mad Hatter Day on Oct. 6 as a new restaurant at the historic Seminole Building Downtown.
The 10/Six Grille hopes to open Oct. 1 in the restaurant space at the Sweet Pete’s building at 400 N. Hogan St.
“My theme is derived from Lewis Carroll’s work,” said restaurateur Russ Disparti, referring to the author of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking-Glass.”
The Mad Hatter character’s hat carried a 10/6 label, meaning 10 shillings and a sixpence for the cost of one. The price mark became the date and month to celebrate Mad Hatter Day.
The Jacksonville-based Sweet Pete’s candy store uses most of the building. The 10/Six Grille intends to lease the restaurant space on part of the first floor.
Disparti, the owner of The Stout Snug in Murray Hill, said the 10/Six Grille won’t be an Irish pub.
“This concept will be tied more to the candy shop with a classic literary theme,” he said.
“I would like for those working in the Downtown area to have a place to escape during lunch or after work, where they can let the daily stresses subside while they get lost in their own wonderland,” Disparti said.
He said Wi-Fi will be available but “we hope that grown-ups and kids alike will put down their devices, enjoy the ambiance and maybe even pick up a book to read.”
Disparti offered a Carroll quote: “I’d give all the wealth that years have piled, the slow result of life’s decay, to be once more a little child for one bright summers day!”
Disparti said the menu is being finalized for 10/Six Grille, which will serve all-day brunch, lunch and dinner and have a full bar.
It will operate 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. or 9 p.m., Tuesday-Sunday, depending on the day.
He said paint and decor will be updated but no renovations are being made.
A job listing was posted last week on Indeed.com for wait staff and servers at 10/Six Grille Downtown
The three-story, 16,900-square-foot Seminole Building has a 730-square-foot porch.
Most of the building is used by Sweet Pete’s, which is owned by Allison and Peter Behringer and reality TV host Marcus Lemonis. Lemonis also owns the structure.
The restaurant space on part of the first floor was operated as The Candy Apple Cafe & Cocktails, which left in August 2018 after the building closed to the public for repairs.
Lemonis, the Chicago-based host of “The Profit,” then opened MLG – Marcus Lemonis Grill – from November to the spring.
Allison Behringer said Friday that 10/Six Grille will be a good addition.
“We’ve always considered ourselves a destination and it helps when there is a restaurant and bar here,” she said.
Disparti and Michael Mosley registered Dismo Restaurants Inc. with the state Aug. 16 at 400 N. Hogan St. and Disparti applied for a certificate of use with the city Aug. 21.
That COU shows that the 10/Six Grille would take 4,650 square feet of enclosed space and 100 square feet on the porch.
On the first floor, the café and bar area is on the left and Sweet Pete’s operates a candy store to the right. The kitchen is in the back.
The second floor features more Sweet Pete’s retail space, a dining and party room, dessert dining and a view of the candy production.
The third floor comprises Sweet Pete’s party and production demonstration areas along with toys and offices.
The 10/Six Grille would become a tenant along with Sweet Pete’s in the building.
While Lemonis owns the building now, that could change.
Hybridge, a Tampa-based real estate company, is marketing the 110-year-old structure at $1.95 million, reduced from its initial asking price of $2.5 million, to an investor who would become the landlord or to an owner-user.
