Seafood restaurateur Ben Groshell is moving ahead on seeking approvals for the Pottsburg Creek Fish Shack, which he says may be developed in up to two years.
Property owner AB Modern, which is led by Groshell, has been working on plans for almost two years and now seeks an environmental resource permit from the St. Johns River Water Management District.
The restaurant is planned at 8550 Beach Blvd. along Pottsburg Creek in the Grove Park area.
Groshell said April 25 he is working with the city to create a more workable access to the property. The entrance is steep and the property is prone to flooding, he said.
“It has been a slow roll. We are pushing forward with the design of the building,” Groshell said.
Kevin Connors of Connors Design Group Architecture in Ponte Vedra Beach is designing the project.
Pottsburg Creek Fish Shack is a working name for permitting, Groshell said. Early plans call for seating for about 150 people with inside and outside dining.
AB Modern LLC bought the land for $630,000 in January 2020 from Suzanne Paul.
There now is an All Wet Sports store on the restaurant site. Owner Andy Fraden said the store will be torn down and Groshell will build a new one. It will be on stilts over the dock on Pottsburg Creek.
“It will be smaller than the current store, but because it is two stories, I’ll be able to store kayaks vertically. It’s smaller but I am gaining more space,” Fraden said.
All Wet Sports rents paddleboards, kayaks and canoes and holds lessons for paddleboarding, windsurfing and wakeboarding.
It sells watersports and skateboarding equipment along with kayak trailers, boat towers and more accessories. It also repairs kayaks and hosts water-oriented events, trips and parties.
The building, developed in 1957, also has been used as the Cedar River Seafood restaurant.
Urban Partners Construction of Jacksonville will build the restaurant and water sports store on about 3.5 acres, Groshell said.
Proposed site conditions show that the 3,316-square-foot restaurant will also have a 1,130-square-foot deck.
The retail store is shown as 1,600 square feet.
Groshell said he lived near Grove Park when he was growing up.
“Everyone in that area is ready for us. We want to help clean that area up,” he said.
Groshell owns several restaurants including Marker 32, Valley Smoke in Palm Valley, Dockside Seafood in Jacksonville Beach and the Fish Camps at Palm Valley, Neptune Beach, Julington Creek and St. Augustine. AB Kitchen in Atlantic Beach is owned by his children.
Groshell is preparing a new barbecue and country-style concept, Billy Jacks, that he expects to open within the next couple of months at the former Barz Bar & Package at 9660 Heckscher Drive.
It will be a fast-casual restaurant, as will be the Pottsburg Creek Fish Shack.
Groshell also said he recently renewed the lease with Barbara Jean’s on the Water restaurant at 15 S. Roscoe Blvd. in Palm Valley.