Fleming Island’s busy U.S. 17 corridor is on track to get a new place to gas up and grab fried chicken in one stop. Parker's Kitchen, the Savannah-based convenience-store chain that marries a full kitchen with fuel pumps, is planning a location at the corner of U.S. 17 and Creighton Road. If approved, the project would bring a made-from-scratch Southern menu, dine-in seating and fueling islands to the riverfront stretch. Company filings and local reporting indicate the Fleming Island address is one of several Parker's has in its sights across Northeast Florida.
Plans, permits and the site
Clay County records show a permit application for a roughly 5,204-square-foot convenience store at the U.S. 17 and Creighton Road parcel, with fueling islands and about 51 parking spaces, according to the Jacksonville Daily Record. The application lists Kimley-Horn as the civil engineer and notes that the planned store would sit just south of an existing Gate station and west of the St. Johns River, putting it squarely in an already busy stretch of Fleming Island. The county's Development Review Committee previously scheduled the project for review after the application was filed in June 2025.
What the menu will look like
The Parker's Kitchen concept leans hard into made-from-scratch Southern food, with biscuits baked daily, catfish, grits, breakfast burritos and the chain’s hand-breaded, never-frozen chicken tenders highlighted in the company’s menu and brand materials. Parker's Kitchen markets its locations as a hybrid of a fast-casual restaurant and a modern convenience store, which helps explain the larger footprint and full in-store kitchen. In other markets, stores typically combine indoor seating with drive-through lanes and a heavy emphasis on takeout.
How many stores might arrive
Fleming Island is not a one-off. Local reporting and industry posts suggest this site is part of a bigger Northeast Florida push, with as many as eight to ten potential locations under consideration. As reported by What Now, Amanda Thompson, Parker's senior director of real estate and development, said in a statement that Jacksonville’s growth and retail landscape make the region an attractive target for expansion, and a local Instagram post cited in that coverage named three possible sites in Clay County. The company has already filed or explored multiple Jacksonville-area parcels, signaling a fairly aggressive rollout plan.
Timing and what to expect next
For now, there is no firm opening date. The Fleming Island proposal remains in county review and will advance only after permits and site work receive the green light, the Jacksonville Daily Record reports. Parker's broader expansion push is being underwritten in part by recent financing efforts, including a $900 million credit facility the company closed in late 2024, according to CSP Daily News. Residents can expect to see signage, permit updates and eventually construction notices in the coming months as plans move through the approval process and developers seek final signoff.
