Two Doors Down Restaurant is on the move. Literally.
The Brooklyn restaurant popular with elected officials, business executives, construction workers and neighborhood residents, needs to relocate because Norman Abraham leases the site and the block is slated to be sold.
His lease will be terminated Dec. 29, but he could move sooner if he finds a site.
And he’s looking. “We have our own equipment. We are willing to move it, and that helps,” he said.
Abraham wants a site in Brooklyn, LaVilla or Riverside that can accommodate a 5,000-square-foot restaurant that can seat 125 diners, along with plenty of parking, at least 40 spaces.
“Parking is the main thing,” Abraham said.
Wherever he lands, there probably will be a downtime of 30-40 days for the move.
Ware Family Realty LLC owns the 400 block of Park Street, where Two Doors Down leases a building. Abraham officially was notified Monday he will need to move, although he has been aware that the decision was possible.
Abraham said he and former owner Walter Ware, who died in 2013, discussed the lease terms when the restaurant opened in July 2009.
“They knew that at some point they would sell it. I took a chance, he took a chance. It lasted almost seven years. They’ve lived up to their end and I lived up to mine,” Abraham said.
Abraham said the sale of the property is anticipated later this year. He referred questions about the prospective buyer to Ware trustee Chris Ware, who declined comment.
Two Doors Down shares the 400 block with another business and part of Johnstone Supply. Chris Ware, Walter Ware’s son, owns most of the 500 block, which he purchased from the family trust this year. He is renovating and consolidating the Johnstone heating, air conditioning and refrigeration equipment functions there that serve area contractors.
Abraham is accustomed to moving the restaurant, and that’s why he wants to stay close by. It’s where his base of customers is – judges, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office officers, Beaver Street Fisheries Chairman Harry Frisch, City Council members, business executives, sports figures like retired Jacksonville Jaguar Tony Boselli, and many others.
The noontime lunch crowd Tuesday packed the place and included Frisch, his son and two top executives; new council member Aaron Bowman with JAX-USA Partnership President Jerry Mallot and CSX Real Property President Steve Crosby; brothers Ceree Harden, an insurance company chairman, and Paul Harden, a lawyer; and more high- and lower-profile patrons.
Two Doors traces its history to Tad’s restaurant at 400 Park St. According to Abraham, Tom A. Davis opened Tad’s in 1951. Bernie Hoffman bought it in the early 1970s. He closed it in the mid-80s and Abraham then leased it from 1985-96, when the state needed the property to widen Forest Street.
Abraham moved the business to Lane Avenue in West Jacksonville and ran it until 2005, when he sold it.
He returned to Brooklyn in July 2009 to establish Two Doors at 436 Park St., two doors down from the Tad’s restaurant site. The building had been a florist shop and Abraham said it took seven to eight months to renovate it.
The restaurant is open 6 a.m.-2:30 p.m. for breakfast and lunch Monday-Friday. It also caters.
Along with burgers, salads, sandwiches and country cooking, Abraham offers daily specials, including the popular “Norman’s Middle Eastern Specialties” on Thursday.
Printing & Promotional Partners next door at 444 Park St. also will move. Owner Jennifer Miller said she would like to stay in the Brooklyn area, but didn’t find space in her price range. She leases 1,200 square feet and likely will expand to 1,700 square feet or more. “It was a good fit. I’m going to miss the neighborhood,” she said.
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