Catullo’s Italian, the food-truck-turned-neighborhood favorite from brothers Carl and Dave Catullo, is closing its Nocatee Town Center outpost while keeping the original San Pablo Road restaurant in Jacksonville open. The decision shrinks the local footprint of the nationally noticed eatery and has regulars comparing notes online. For many diners, the San Pablo location still feels like the anchor that launched Catullo’s reputation.
As reported by the Jacksonville Business Journal, the Catullo brothers are shutting down the Nocatee restaurant and continuing to operate the original Jacksonville spot. The outlet first surfaced the news on Tuesday and described the move as a return to a single, longstanding location.
Catullo’s rise from a food truck to a must-visit storefront earned attention well beyond Jacksonville. The restaurant landed on Yelp’s Top 100 U.S. Restaurants list, a recognition that helped cement its status. Action News Jax reported on the honor when Yelp released its rankings.
Plans for a Nocatee spin-off had been in the works for years. In 2021, the Jax Daily Record reported that the brothers signed a lease in fall 2022 and targeted a winter opening as they moved into St. Johns County's Town Center market. That step was part of a multi-year effort to bring the Catullo’s menu to a wider audience.
What This Means For Local Diners
The Nocatee closure trims evening options at Town Center and lands in the middle of a broader reshuffling of the region’s dining scene, where independents and chains alike have been rethinking where they plant their flags this year. Local outlets have chronicled a steady mix of restaurant closures and adjustments across Jacksonville. Jacksonville Today recently tracked some of those changes.
For now, Catullo’s regulars can still find the house-made pastas and pear fiocchi at the San Pablo Road dining room while the brothers sort out the next chapter for their brand. Visit Jacksonville lists the original San Pablo Road storefront as the restaurant's flagship. This story will be updated if Catullo’s or its representatives share an official timetable or formal statement.
