When the sale of Maple Street Biscuit Company to breakfast behemoth Cracker Barrel was announced last month, we couldn’t help but feel a little sad.
To be clear, we’re certainly happy for the chain’s owners, who got a well-deserved payday for their hard work in building their brand. It’s just unfortunate to lose another local favorite to a national corporation.
The news came around four years after fellow local breakfast chain Metro Diner sold 100% of its intellectual property to ConSul Hospitality Group.
Obviously, there is nothing wrong with national chains; Jax has plenty of them. But when a local restaurant manages to spin off successfully into multiple locations, it’s hard not to root for them to stay local and to retain that “Jacksonville charm.”
In light of that, here are five examples of locally-owned restaurant chains that – at least for now – have continued to be owned and operated in Jacksonville.
The oldest entry on this list, Bono’s Pit Bar-B-Q has been here in Jacksonville since 1949.
That’s when Lou Bono opened the first location of his barbecue restaurant along Beach Boulevard. Bono would add a second location prior to selling both locations to Joe Adeeb.
Under the leadership of the Adeeb family, Bono’s has since expanded significantly by way of franchising. It now has sixteen area locations – some company-owned, some franchised – as well as franchise locations in St. Augustine, Stuart, and even a single location in Denver, CO.
It remains based in Jacksonville.
The Adeeb family also owns Strings Sports Brewery in Springfield and co-owns another local franchise, Beach Diner.
