The pita-wrapped sandwiches that have anchored downtown Jacksonville lunch counters for more than half a century are back on the menu. Desert Rider Sandwich Shop has reopened under new ownership at 217 N. Hogan St., serving the same Desert Rider Special, Larry's famous potato salad, homemade dressings and giant cookies that regulars have ordered for decades.
The new owners are Sweet Pete's Candy founders Pete and Allison Behringer along with business partner Effie Kennedy, according to Jacksonville Daily Record. The shop is open 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, and the publication reports the menu is unchanged — including the shop's signature Desert Rider sauce and its classic rider sandwiches, which pack cold cuts and fixings into pita bread.
A Sandwich Shop With Deep Downtown Roots
Desert Rider traces its history to 1969, when Larry Hazouri opened his first location on East Forsyth Street, then expanded with a second shop on Bay Street in 1971, per the same account. The Bay Street location closed in 2003, according to an earlier Jacksonville Daily Record report, leaving the Hogan Street shop as the only Desert Rider still standing today.
Hazouri filed for a voluntary dissolution of Desert Rider LLC on Sept. 1, citing health reasons, per the state filing cited in the Daily Record's reporting. That earlier September report had described the restaurant as closed for repairs during the ownership transition, while the outlet's October account confirms the shop has since reopened under its new owners — a timeline the publication itself has now updated across its two pieces.
Honoring The Man Behind The Pita
The new owners plan to hold a Farewell Open House at 2 p.m. on Oct. 16 at the shop to honor Hazouri and the longtime employees who kept the counter running for generations of customers. The Daily Record's reporting notes the new owners say the shop became a familiar gathering place connecting generations of customers, and that they intend to preserve Hazouri's identity and traditions as the business moves forward under new leadership.
A Jacksonville Original
The rider sandwich itself has a history that predates Desert Rider by nearly a decade. The dish came from Jacksonville's Arab American community in the early 1960s, according to the Daily Record's reporting, a lineage that The Jaxson traces to a cold-cut Arabic club sandwich packed in pita that Joseph Assi introduced during that same period, often credited as the invention of the city's camel rider. By the mid-1970s, the sandwich had spread to shops across town including Sheik, Desert Rider and Pinegrove Market and Deli, as reported by The Jaxson's coverage of Jacksonville's signature foods, which also notes the city is now home to at least 50 eateries serving riders.
A traditional rider, per that same outlet, consists of ham, salami, bologna and sandwich fixings stuffed into a pita — the formula that still defines the Desert Rider Special on Hogan Street today. For a shop with roots stretching back to 1969, the reopening means one more chapter for a sandwich that has outlasted multiple owners, one closed location and now a change in hands, while keeping its menu exactly as customers remember it.
