San Marco Theatre will open its next show this fall as Electric Dough Pizza Co.
The city issued a permit July 16 for conversion of the former movie theater into Electric Dough Pizza on San Marco Square.
Urban Partners Construction LLC of Jacksonville is the contractor for the $1 million project to renovate 4,642 square feet of space on two floors at 1996 San Marco Blvd.
Electric Dough intends to open in the fourth quarter.
Plans show 118 seats including 79 inside, 23 at the interior bar and 16 for sidewalk dining outside.
The first floor comprises the main dining area, front dining, bar dining, the back bar, the entry and retail area, an ordering area, the kitchen, cooler, restrooms and other space.
The mezzanine space, which is largely open to the main floor below, has space along with an office. There is a stairwell.
CuliVino Hospitality Management and Consulting issued a news release June 5 that Urban Partners submitted the construction permits to the city for Electric Dough Pizza Co., described as “the new handmade pizza-centric restaurant concept” by Chef Tom Gray.
Gray announced the concept and location this year and said he expected to open later this year.
The historic San Marco Theatre was built in 1938. It was designed by Jacksonville architect Roy Benjamin.
The owners of the two-screen theater announced Dec. 28, 2022, that the venue would close Jan. 1, 2023, because of a changing industry where theaters increasingly compete with streaming services for patrons, as well as the coronavirus pandemic’s negative effect on attendance.
Building owner TSG Realty has committed to maintain the building’s facade.
Gray engaged the ai3 Atlanta studio for the design.
“The ambiance of Electric Dough Pizza Co.’s 4,200-square-foot interior will celebrate the historic theater as a work of art with stylish design details,” the release said.
The release said Gray’s artisan pizzas will feature a Roman-style dough with Detroit-style crispy, cheesy edges.
“The name Electric Dough references the Italian-imported electric oven that the pizzas are baked in and the pizza’s handmade, long-fermented dough. The electric oven produces a pizza with a crunchy crust,” said the release.
Electric Dough Pizza Co.’s menu includes salads and a rotating selection of gelato and sorbets. Beverages include a full cocktail bar, domestic and imported beer, wine, craft sodas and zero-proof offerings.
The restaurant’s retail area will sell take-and-bake frozen pizzas, fresh pastas, from-scratch sauces, housemade pimento cheese and other products, the release said.
Electric Dough Pizza Co. will join Gray’s two full-service restaurants, Prati Italia, which opened in 2020 at the St. Johns Town Center, and Town Hall, which opened in 2017 a few storefronts from the San Marco Theatre location.
Gray is also the co-owner of CuliVino Hospitality Consulting and Management, a restaurant management and consulting firm he founded with his spouse, Sarah Marie Johnston, along with Chef Albert Fuentes.