Boba, coffee and creamery franchise Candy Cloud is building-out in Ortega Park.
The city issued a permit March 10 for Jacksonville-based World Construction Co. Inc. to build-out the 1,166-square-foot space at a project cost of $297,300.
Candy Cloud will lease Suite 309 at 4495 Roosevelt Blvd., between SoFresh and Green Lake Chinese Restaurant.
The Ortega Park shopping center store layout shows Candy Cloud in 1,200 square feet of space in Building E. Ortega Park, formerly known as Roosevelt Square, is at southeast Roosevelt Boulevard and San Juan Avenue.
The permit says Candy Cloud will renovate existing space into a small cafe serving boba, tea, shakes and drinks. Boba is a drink made of tea, milk, water, sugar and tapioca pearls.
The project work scope includes the kitchen and serving prep area, two new accessible restrooms and updated front-of-house finishes.
The operator is Thomas & Clark Investments LLC, led by Christopher Thomas, of Saint Johns.
Candy Cloud’s menu includes lemonades, plant-based caffeine, teas, coffees, shakes, frappes, specialty drinks and cake pops.
CandyCloudCompany.com shows two Florida locations coming soon – Jacksonville and Miami.
Other locations include six open in Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee and Wisconsin and, in addition to Florida, five coming soon in Illinois, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin.
The website says Candy Cloud started in 2019 in Rockford, Illinois, as Alex and Paityn Edwards added cotton candy to a merchandise trailer they were using at a farmers markets to sell fresh flowers. The flowers came from a backyard garden named for their late young daughter, Evelyn.
The truck changed from selling flowers to sweet treats. The site says that in 2020, Alex, a firefighter, and Paityn renovated and moved into a camper to pursue their dream.
“A simple decision to add drinks to their menu turned into an unexpected blessing. Their signature canned beverages - homemade horchata, refreshing strawberry lemonade, and perfectly crafted iced coffee - became the talk of the town by 2021. People weren’t just coming for treats anymore; they were coming back again and again for their Candy Cloud drink fix.”
The couple found an empty boba shop in late 2021, opened their first storefront in March 2022 and began franchising that November.