P.F. Chang’s To Go is building-out its first Jacksonville location in River City Marketplace now that the city issued a permit Sept. 2 for the global restaurant chain’s new concept.
The company said in a statement at the beginning of the year it intended to open its first Jacksonville location this summer in the North Jacksonville shopping center. A representative could not be reached for comment over the Labor Day weekend about the projected opening date.
Commercial Contractors Inc. is the contractor for the $333,800 project to improve 1,589 square feet of space at 840 Nautica Drive, No. 121, in a former Subway shop.
“P.F. Chang’s To Go concept gives people one more option to find and enjoy our food,” the company said in a January statement.
The company’s pfchangs.com site says there are 11 P.F. Chang’s To Go locations open, comprising five in New York City, three in Chicago, two in Texas and one in Florida in Orlando.
The website shows six are coming soon, with three more in New York, two more in Texas and another in Florida in Lake Mary.
The site does not list Jacksonville but it does show it is hiring for the location, including for shift supervisor and culinary partner.
The company said the smaller footprint “is a great fit in high-density metro areas, allowing guests to enjoy at home or on the go.”
P.F. Chang’s operates a 7,000-square-foot full-service P.F. Chang’s China Bistro at St. Johns Town Center.
“P.F. Chang’s established its 2020 business strategy with a focus on off-premise dining, and then we experienced a year that brought an incredible shift in dining habits and industry practices,” the company said in a news release Oct. 19 when it announced the concept would expand to New York.
The release said the smaller format, at 1,700 square feet of space, would offer a smaller menu featuring the chain’s best-known dishes, made on the premises, like lettuce wraps, Mongolian beef, Dynamite Shrimp and spicy chicken.
In February 2020, Scottsdale, Arizona-based P.F. Chang’s announced the opening of its first P.F. Chang’s To Go location in Chicago.
“These new restaurant additions will allow more guests to experience the P.F. Chang’s Asian favorites they know and love in a convenient format that provides a solution for online ordering, takeout, catering and delivery in areas that don’t have a P.F. Chang’s restaurant nearby,” the company said in a news release.
The company said 25 percent of U.S. households are conveniently located near a P.F. Chang’s and distance is the No. 1 reason customers said they were not able to visit us as often as they would like.
The St. Johns Town Center restaurant is about 20 miles south of River City Marketplace.
Takeout, delivery, catering and third-party delivery services are the focus for P.F. Chang’s To Go.
In June, P.F. Chang’s said it plans to have more than 50 To Go locations, including in Colorado, Florida, Texas, New York, Louisiana, Nevada and Arizona, by the end of 2022.
The chain, founded in 1993, operates more than 300 restaurants around the world, comprising more than 210 in the United States, including airport locations, and more than 95 restaurants in more than 25 countries.
