JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Brixx Pizza, the last of three restaurants in the Brooklyn neighborhood's Unity Plaza, has closed after 22 months.
The wood fired pizza eatery sat below hundreds of apartments at 220 Riverside. Neighbors who live there are unsure of the plaza's future as the first floor sits empty.
"We were shocked," Margaret Mendoza, a neighbor, said. "It was our hangout for the residents here. It was convenient and their prices were good."
Unity Plaza opened in 2015 with two other restaurants: Sbraga & Company, which closed, and Hobnob, which still uses its space for events.
Along with the amphitheater, expectation was high for Unity Plaza to attract a lot of people. But it's no secret there have been some financial issues for the previous owners of the property.
To avoid foreclosure, all of the retail space at 220 Riverside was sold for a little over $5 million to a property management group in Miami. Four months later, the staff said management at Unity Plaza is still in limbo, but it's working to get new restaurants to move into Unity Plaza.