After sitting quiet for years, Ortega's distinctive flatiron corner is about to get loud again. Oxford Place, a Southern-inspired restaurant from the Brown family behind Bold Birds Nashville Hot Chicken, is set to open its doors next Thursday, May 28. The team says diners can expect a mash-up of New Orleans-style plates, familiar Southern comfort dishes and an elevated craft-cocktail program. The restaurant fills the century-old Village Store building in Ortega Village after roughly a year of renovation.
According to the Jacksonville Business Journal, Oxford Place will debut with dinner service on May 28, with weekend brunch coming once the kitchen is fully up to speed. The outlet also reports that the team has named an executive chef and completed a yearlong restoration of the landmark storefront ahead of opening night.
Historic building gets a second act
The Village Store, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, sits on a triangular block at Oxford, Baltic and Corinthian and was built in the early 1920s, according to the National Park Service. The nomination documents highlight the flatiron building's clipped-corner entrances, tall display windows and original interior elements that the current owners say they preserved during the remodel. That historic backbone shapes the restaurant's design, which pairs those restored features with a new full-service bar and an expanded dining room.
Local restaurateurs lead the project
Owners Jerry and Hughes Brown purchased the Oxford & Corinthian property for $925,000 and have put roughly $750,000 into the interior work, the Jax Daily Record reports. They have hired Thomas White, most recently of Matthew's Restaurant in San Marco, as executive chef and opted to keep Gardner's Florist as a smaller tenant while combining former storefronts into one roughly 2,900-square-foot restaurant. Diversified Contractors and local design firms handled the buildout and interiors, with the owners saying the goal was a warm neighborhood dining room with outdoor seating in the mix.
Menu and neighborhood fit
The menu leans into Southern and New Orleans-influenced dishes, including barbecue shrimp, blackened redfish and a grit soufflé, alongside steaks, a signature burger and composed salads, as outlined by the JAX Chamber. Oxford Place is also planning a full bar with craft cocktails and a happy-hour program, and the owners say the concept is meant to work both as an everyday neighborhood spot and as a destination for special occasions. Dinner service will come first, with brunch added once the kitchen has settled into its rhythm.
What to know before you go
The Browns plan to operate Oxford Place seven days a week, with tentative weekday hours that bring the bar to life around 4:30 p.m. and open the dining room at 5 p.m., closing about 9 p.m. on weeknights and 10 p.m. on weekends, the Jax Daily Record reports. The team suggests checking for reservations or any last-minute updates as opening day draws closer.
Neighbors have already been buzzing about the long-vacant corner finally lighting up again; one resident told the Jax Daily Record, "I'll be there first day." With the historic façade intact and a cocktail bar ready to go, Oxford Place is positioning itself as a daily stop for Ortega locals and nearby Riverside and Avondale diners alike.
