The Hardee's at 11191 San Jose Blvd. in Jacksonville's Mandarin neighborhood closed on Monday after a 32-year run, ending an era for a fast-food spot that had served the area since 1994. A sign posted at the restaurant thanked customers for their business and support over the years and pointed them toward two other Hardee's locations in the city.
A Sign on the Door, Few Answers Behind It
According to the Florida Times-Union, the closure sign directed customers to Hardee's restaurants at 6852 Wilson Blvd. and 9210 Baymeadows Road. The Times-Union reported that Hardee's corporate owners and local management could not be reached for comment as of Nov. 3. Despite the apparent shutdown, the Mandarin location remained listed on the chain's own website, a discrepancy the newspaper's reporting did not resolve.
Indeed, a search of Hardee's own location finder still shows an entry for the San Jose Boulevard address, though that listing alone does not confirm whether the restaurant was still operating. The chain's site also lists a restaurant at 9210 Baymeadows Road, one of the two locations the closure sign reportedly recommended to displaced customers.
Decades of Turnover at the Same Address
The Mandarin restaurant had multiple owners over the years and had been rebuilt at least once, according to public records cited in the Times-Union's reporting. Most recently, Florida Division of Corporations records show the location was owned by Phase Three Star LLC, a Tampa-based company affiliated with Phase Three Brands, which is also headquartered in Tampa.
Phase Three Star is considered Florida's largest Hardee's franchisee, operating roughly 80 Hardee's restaurants statewide, including Jacksonville's 10 other locations. That statewide count marks a sharp jump from 2015, when the Tampa Bay Business Journal reported that founder Jack Kemp and Phase Three Star operated 40 Hardee's locations statewide. The available reporting does not explain whether that difference reflects years of expansion or simply a different way of counting restaurants.
Humble Beginnings in the Tampa Market
Kemp's Hardee's footprint traces back more than a decade. Per the Business Journal's 2015 reporting, he acquired an initial 10 Hardee's restaurants in the Tampa market in 2013 and later added two more there, laying the groundwork for what would become a much larger statewide operation.
For now, Mandarin customers are left with a thank-you sign and directions to two other Hardee's drive-thrus across town, while the fate of the San Jose Boulevard building itself remains unaddressed in the available reporting.
