JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two well-known restaurants in downtown Jacksonville are preparing to close, renewing concerns about vacancies and foot traffic in the city’s urban core as local leaders push for more downtown development.
Bellwether announced in a Facebook post that it would close at the end of March after nearly nine years in business. The post did not cite a reason for the closure, though the owner previously cited rising food costs in 2025.
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The announcement follows an earlier notice that Intuition Ale Works plans to close in April after 15 years in business.
News4JAX spoke with nearby business owners and city leaders about what the closures could mean for downtown.
Some storefronts already display “for lease” signs, and several vacancies are visible across downtown, underscoring concerns from business owners about attracting customers back to the Northbank and other parts of the urban core.
“I think downtown has been struggling for a while, but I think with us and a few other newer businesses being open, we’re really about to start seeing up. So I think we’re in a transition period where things are going to get better,” Callie Callaghan with Pour Tap Room said.
“I see a lot of growth in the city, and I see a lot of changes for the better, and it feels like there’s actually a little bit of movement going on,” Clint Ross, owner of Davalt Optical, said.
Some business employees said the downtown area serves as the city’s public face, and they want to see more retail and events to bring people back.
“Downtown, it’s like a face of city,” Irina Varenikova said. “It’s a lot of businesses in and out, and I hope it’s going to be more shopping centers for people come in.”
Councilman Jimmy Peluso said the city was aware of the challenges and was working on strategies to attract more businesses and visitors downtown.
“I think one of the biggest issues when it comes to kind of urban revitalization in general is you want to do the three C’s. You want uses, you want clustering. You want to make sure that you got a really good commercial board door,” he said. “I think we’re about to see those here downtown where you’re going to see a number of retail operators as well as parts and restaurants.”
The City of Jacksonville also provided a statement about the state of downtown developments
We continue to see significant momentum downtown. Tens of thousands of people are visiting the downtown riverfront parks each month. The Four Seasons hotel, RISE Doro apartments, and first residential building of Pearl Square will bring in bring in more residents and visitors as they open this year. And many more projects are in the pipeline, including new restaurants. The two examples given reflect difficult decisions by the business owners after facing headwinds in their industries. The future of Downtown Jacksonville remains bright.
City of Jacksonville
Many business owners described the area as being in a transition and said more restaurants, shops and events could help revive foot traffic and economic activity downtown.
News4Jax reported that a contributing challenge for downtown restaurants is a high office vacancy rate in downtown office buildings. A report cited vacancy rates approaching 30% on the Northbank at the end of 2025.