Two Asian buffet restaurants plan to open in former Red Lobster locations in Jacksonville, and another possible Asian or buffet-style restaurant may open in a former Red Lobster in the Regency area.
The Red Lobster chain closed more than 80 restaurants, including three in Jacksonville, in May and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Mikata Buffet has plans to open at 8720 Baymeadows Road.
Fushimi Grille & Modern Buffet has a sign saying it will open in the River City Marketplace near Jacksonville International Airport. Plans have not been filed.
Mikata Buffet
The city is reviewing construction plans for Mikata Buffet.
The property is on 1.87 acres. The building, constructed in 1983, is 7,496 square feet.
LOD Jacksonville LLC of Coral Gables owns the building. Greenlogic of Gotha in the Orlando area created the interior redesign. Plans show five buffet stations and 46 tables. Occupancy is listed at 226. It has a full kitchen and no bar.
The original Mikata Buffet is in Jensen Beach about 240 miles south of Jacksonville. This store will be its second in the state, according to Daniel Dominguez of LOD Jacksonville LLC.
He said his company was fortunate to find a successful restaurant that wanted to expand into a building that size.
“It is a good concept. We had thought of splitting it up for two tenants but we couldn’t make that work. I think this is long-term. family style dinner place,” he said.
Its menu includes appetizers, soup, a selection of chicken, beef, pork and shrimp dishes, sushi and sashimi.
Fushimi
Fushimi also is a multi-cuisine buffet. It has more than 200 items daily, according to its website. It has a restaurant at 12777 Atlantic Blvd. Its menu features hibachi, sushi, sashimi, Chinese, Korean and American fare. There is also a dessert bar.
The River City Marketplace building at 13150 City Station Drive is owned by Mark J. Freitag Trust of 1988 of Durango, Colorado. The building, constructed in 2008, and is 7,303 square feet on 1.34 acres.
This is the second location and the goal is to open by the end of the year, according to Mandy Yang, manager. The first opened a year and a half ago, she said.
Regency
The final closed Red Lobster in Jacksonville is at 416 Commerce Center Drive in Regency. That building sold Sept. 4 for $3.7 million to St. Augustine-based CJC USA LLC.
The LLC is managed by Jing Xin Liu. He could not be reached for comment.
That building is 7,208 square feet on 1.8 acres and was constructed in 2003.
Liu is the manager and chef executive member of CJC USA LLC and registered the name with the state in February.
State corporate records show that Liu also is the manager or member of several other LLCs, including Sunrise Center Group. It bought the former O’Charley’s in the Regency area at 410 Commerce Center Drive and opened Cajun Crab Juicy Seafood & Bar.
He also is the president of New Pacific Asian Bistro Inc., which operates the Pacific Asian Bistro at 159 Palencia Village Drive, Suite 111, in St. Augustine.
Red Lobster out of bankruptcy
Red Lobster announced Sept. 16 it was exiting Chapter 11 under the ownership of RL Investor Holdings LLC. It is part of Fortress Investment Group.
Damola Adamolekun is Red Lobster’s new CEO.
“Our comprehensive and long-term investment plan for Red Lobster includes a commitment of more than $60 million in new funding which will help us to deliver improvements across every aspect of our company. I’m looking forward to working with our 30,000-strong team to bring our plan to life,” he said in a news release.
The remaining Red Lobster in operation in Northeast Florida is at 32 Blanding Blvd. in Orange Park.