Jacksonville family closing doors of downtown restaurant

JACKSONVILLE, Fla – The Magnificat Cafe in downtown Jacksonville will be closing its doors Friday.

The owners of the French-American restaurant made the announcement Sunday in a Facebook post, saying the coronavirus pandemic and their health made it increasingly difficult to continue to operate.

“We had the best customers in all of Jacksonville and it has been nothing but a pleasure to serve you over all these years. We are not sure what we will do next. But know that we will not forget you. THANK YOU for a great 17 years!” reads the post from Chef Benoit Desclefs and his wife, Kathy.

The Desclefs family received an outpouring of support from the community after News4Jax shared their story in December. Benoit, Kathy and their son, Luke, were each diagnosed with a different kind of cancer. They had originally planned to closed their doors in January until people from all over the world, along with local business owners, raised thousands of dollars to help them with mounting medical costs.