Cowford Chophouse – the upscale Downtown restaurant at 101 E. Bay St. – is not for sale.
The building might be, however, as an investment opportunity.
Through BAM Commercial Holdings LLC, restaurant owner Jacques Klempf also owns the Downtown property that Cowford Chophouse occupies.
Klempf bought the historic Bostwick Building in 2014 and invested more than $8 million to redevelop it, almost brick by brick, restoring the dilapidated structure.
He opened it as Cowford Chophouse almost seven years ago.
Now, Klempf is considering taking on an investment partner in owning the building.
Klempf wants to make it clear that the restaurant remains as it is with no changes.
“I have no plans to change anything about the business. I’m simply looking for an investment partner in the real estate,” he said Sept. 4.
Klempf said the move is an investment strategy.
"I'm just trying to reduce my real estate exposure," he said.
"I'm probably 70% real estate, he said, and his financial advisers recommend more balance.
It also is a part of his personal strategy.
“I love Jacksonville, have been here my entire life and want to be part of the solution in Downtown Jacksonville.”
What has sparked interest in the topic is a LoopNet.com real estate listing for the property at a price of $12 million.
The listing shares some of the history of the building that records show was built in 1933 and “totally ground up renovated” in 2016-17 at northeast Bay and Ocean streets on the Downtown Northbank. Other records say it was built in 1902.
The listing says the two-story, 7,650-square-foot building now houses Cowford Chophouse and a rooftop bar overlooking Downtown and the St. Johns River. The building is near the Northbank foot of the Main Street Bridge.
An appraisal included with the listing shows a replacement cost valuation of about $11.5 million. That means it would cost that much to reconstruct the building, structures and features.
The appraisal gives the full building floor area as 11,708 square feet with a finished rentable square footage of 8,580 square feet.
The seating capacity is 379 people. There is an elevator.
Cowford Chophouse celebrates seven years in business in October specializing in steaks and seafood.
It had been open for lunch before the pandemic but has settled into a schedule of 4-10 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.
Klempf also owns 50% of an adjacent building, which houses the private dining space on the second floor at Cowford Chophouse as well as the second floor kitchen.
The high-profile site is several blocks from the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Jacksonville under development by Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan.
That project’s 170 guest rooms and suites and 26 condominiums for sale are expected to be completed in summer 2026.
Next February, the Jaguars expect to start a three-year renovation of EverBank Stadium, near the Four Seasons.
City Council approved a $1.45 billion package of legislation that includes funding for the stadium’s makeover, a 30-year lease, a nonrelocation agreement and $56 million in spending on riverfront parks and the flex field next to the stadium. The deal includes $775 million in public funding for the stadium, the most expensive single capital project in the city’s history.
The team’s timeline calls for the stadium construction to begin in February 2025 and be completed for the season opening in August 2028,
The Jaguars will play at EverBank Stadium during the 2025 and 2026 seasons with a lower capacity and then play the 2027 home games in Orlando or Gainesville, with the possibility of three in London.
A brief history
Klempf opened the Cowford Chophouse on Oct. 26, 2017.
He had taken title to the property a decade ago.
A group led by Klempf, who owned Dixie Egg Co., purchased the former First Guaranty Bank & Trust Building, often referred to as the “Bostwick Building,” in July 2014 for $165,100 in a city foreclosure auction.
The group announced plans for the Cowford Chophouse as a high-end steak and seafood restaurant with a raw bar and rooftop lounge.
Elkins Constructors was chosen as the general contractor for the project, but Klempf said the first step was to ensure the 110-year-old building was structurally stable.
Then it was time to begin planning its historic renovation.
In November 2014, Klempf estimated the group would invest $2.7 million in construction costs and $2.6 million in build-out. That was in addition to $260,000 in site acquisition and $600,000 in operating capital. That was more than $6 million before the restaurant served its first meal, and the total ended up at more than $8 million.
In 2014, the Downtown Investment Authority signed off on incentives worth $750,000 for the project.
In 2016, Klempf sold Jacksonville-based Foodonics International Inc., which did business as Dixie Egg Co., to Cal-Maine Foods Inc., based in Jackson, Miss.
That allowed him to focus on restaurant development that included Cowford Chophouse.
His group had since sold several other restaurants and he now focuses solely on Cowford Chophouse.