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.
Founded in 2011, all-natural burger-and-milkshake chain M Shack is a concept from Jacksonville-based brothers Matthew and David Medure.
The Medures are also the minds behind Matthew’s and Rue Saint Marc in San Marco, along with the upcoming Midtown Table near the Town Center.
Steven Schaeffer also serves as a managing partner for the chain.
In eight years of operation, M Shack has expanded to four area locations in Riverside, the Town Center, Atlantic Beach, and Nocatee.
Medure Brothers, its parent company, is headquartered in San Marco.