A fast-casual pasta chain born in Venice, Italy is opening its first Jacksonville restaurant this fall, and it's landing inside one of Riverside's most storied buildings. DalMoros Fresh Italian announced it is coming to 1018 Park St., taking a 1,280-square-foot space inside the historic Five Points Theatre building, with plans to open in fall 2026.
The Jacksonville shop will be owned and operated by Tyler Gilmore and Alyssa Gilmore, according to a news release from the company reported by the Jacksonville Daily Record. It will be DalMoros' first Jacksonville location, adding to existing restaurants in St. Petersburg, Tampa, Orlando and Boston. David Caruso Jr., president of DalMoros Fresh Italian, said in the release that “Jacksonville represents an exciting next step for the chain's growth throughout Florida and beyond.”
The concept traces back to 2012, when seventh-generation Venetian chef Gabriele Dal Moro built the brand around fresh-extruded pasta served in portable boxes as a quick, affordable alternative to sit-down tourist restaurants, according to the St. Pete Catalyst. The Caruso family brought the format stateside on May 27, 2021, opening the brand's first U.S. location on Central Avenue in downtown St. Petersburg after discovering the restaurant while traveling in Italy. DalMoros locations run custom pasta-extrusion equipment in customer view, turning out fresh semolina-and-water pasta daily that gets paired with scratch-made sauces and packaged for grab-and-go eating.
What's on the Menu
Beyond fresh pasta, the Jacksonville location's menu will include sandwiches, salads, garlic breadsticks, meatballs, tiramisu, soft drinks, beer and wine. The restaurant plans to offer both lunch and dinner service, and it's also planning late-night weekend hours, a strategy DalMoros recently tested when it relocated its original St. Petersburg location to a larger storefront near Jannus Live in May 2026, adding hours until 2:30 a.m. and Panino sandwiches, per Patch.
A Landmark Building in Transition
The four-story Five Points Theatre Building carries deep history. Built in 1927 by architect Roy A. Benjamin as the Riverside Theatre, the 35,000-square-foot structure made state history as the first Florida movie theater equipped to screen sound motion pictures, per the Daily Record's earlier reporting. Atlanta-area developer Union South Partners bought the building in May 2024 for $7 million from longtime owner 5 Points Theatre Building LLC, committing more than $2 million toward upgrades while preserving its historic facade.
That ownership change led directly to the exit of Sun-Ray Cinema, which ended its 13-year run in the building on July 6, 2024, after Union South Partners chose not to renew its lease. The independent theater operator relocated to Tampa. In March 2025, the city issued a build-out permit for a $1.4 million renovation of the building's 13,320-square-foot former cinema space to create FIVE, a live music and performance venue operated by Marathon Music.
Pasta Arrives Amid a Wave of Closures
DalMoros' arrival lands squarely in the middle of significant dining contraction across the broader Five Points corridor. Mossfire Grill closed in November 2025 after 27 years, and Al's Pizza followed this month after 23 years in business, joining Prospect Five Points and Clarke Bros. Subs, which both closed in June, as the neighborhood's independent restaurant scene has thinned considerably, as detailed in Hoodline's earlier report on Al's Pizza shutting its Riverside shop.
Even as those local institutions have exited, national and regional fast-casual brands have been signing leases along the same block of Park Street. A Ben & Jerry's scoop shop was approved at 1027 Park St. in March 2026, and a Fat Tuesday frozen daiquiri bar is planned for 1045 Park St. after a July 2026 lease signing. DalMoros' grab-and-go, late-night pasta format fits that same pattern of national chains filling storefronts once occupied by longtime independent operators.
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