As shown above in this aerial, the area stretching from King Street to Myrtle Avenue (once referred to as Honeymoon Yard) is identical in length to the Strip District in Pittsburgh. This loosely defined district already houses large scale food production companies like Beaver Street Fisheries, Condaxis Coffee and WhiteWave Foods, the oldest continually operating wholesale/retail farmers market in the State of Florida- the Jacksonville Farmers Market, and a new breed of specialty manufacturers like Dignity U Wear, Peterbrooke Chocolates, ReThreaded, Duval Container Company and Engine 15 Brewing.
Since 1959 Condaxis Coffee and Tea has produced and distributed fine coffees and related products across the southeast.
The Jacksonville Farmers Market is the oldest continually operating farmers market in Florida since 1938
In Jacksonville, a conflict exists among businesses operating within Light Industrial zoning areas that restricts how much floor space can be dedicated to retail sales. As small-scale, specialty manufacturing operations experience a boom across the US, local officials would be wise to update zoning regulations in this area that are consistent with present-day market realities. This will allow more specialty manufacturers the ability to create hybrid manufacturing/wholesale/retail destinations. Allowing for the type of on-site, multi-faceted services that these home-grown, specialty businesses need to be successful will assist existing wholesale and retail businesses to expand and attract new development to the underutilized district.
Rethreaded is a social entrepreneurship that is breaking the cycle of the sex trade by offering viable and creative work to those affected by the sex trade
Beaver Street Fisheries is a leading wholesale seafood and meat supplier for food service, wholesalers, retailers, distributors and national chain accounts.
Along the Beaver/Myrtle corridor, there is an unprecedented opportunity to assemble developable parcels, market ready-to-build sites, design vehicular and pedestrian access systems to contemporary standards, and cluster compatible uses. In doing so, a regional food hub could be created that would attract an influx of people of all social, economic and ethnic backgrounds to come together and gather at what has historically been Jacksonville’s proverbial kitchen table.