Keke’s Breakfast Cafe is officially working its way through permitting for a new spot at River City Marketplace on Jacksonville’s Northside, a move that would bring the chain to seven locations in Northeast Florida. City filings show plans to convert nearly 5,000 square feet of former retail space at 840 Nautica Drive, and a Keke’s sign is already up in the storefront. The application pulls together adjacent units into a single daytime cafe that fits the brand’s breakfast-and-lunch format.
As first reported by the Jacksonville Business Journal, the permit filed this week covers a roughly 4,925-square-foot renovation. Regional Construction Services LC is listed as the contractor, with an estimated project cost of about $245,000. The filing confirms that neighboring storefronts will be combined into one restaurant instead of remaining a strip of smaller retail bays.
What The Permit Shows
City records and landlord materials reviewed by the Jacksonville Daily Record flag a small discrepancy in the numbers. The landlord’s brochure slots Keke’s into a 4,844-square-foot space between T-Mobile and Supercuts, while the tenant filing lists 4,925 square feet, a fairly routine mismatch at this early stage of tenant improvements. The site plan shows Units 115 through 117 being combined into one space, and the permit application names Thomas Duke Architect of Jacksonville as the project architect.
Who’s Behind The Build
According to the Jacksonville Business Journal, AM Eatery River City LLC is the franchise owner tied to the River City location, led by West Palm Beach-based John C. Metz. Landlord materials and leasing brochures connected to Kimco Realty, with Franklin Street as the leasing representative, were used in the filings. Local permitting records list Regional Construction Services LC as the contractor handling the tenant build-out.
Keke’s Growth Under Denny’s
Per Denny’s Corporation, the company completed its acquisition of Keke’s effective July 20, 2022, and has since highlighted faster cafe development in corporate disclosures. On Keke’s own site, the chain lists multiple Florida locations along with a menu built around breakfast staples and early-lunch plates. Hours typically run from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., a daytime-focused schedule that the River City cafe is expected to follow…