CARMINES / LOLAS BURRITO JOINT
Opened in 2011 by Robert Kapuschansky and Kevin Brezil, Carmine’s Pie House is a neighborhood-focused, Italian eatery housed in a converted convenience store. Carmines has a more robust beer selection than most restaurants in town, but along King Street where 50+ taps are the norm- Carmines stands out with a happy hour that sells local beers for only $2.47. In many places, a bottle of water is more expensive.
Image Credit: Carmines
18 months after opening Carmines, Robert and Kevin opened a baja cantina just down the street called Lola’s Burrito Joint. Ironically, Lola’s is also housed in a storefront that once served as a convenience store. Besides the obvious difference in menus, Lola’s gravitates more towards King Street’s love for a massive draft beer selection, offering 50 taps that flow a selection of domestic and international craft beers.
The partners have since opened a third restaurant concept on the Southside of town.
Image Credit: Lolas
THE SILVER COW / THE MAZER
Former marketing professional for local craft beer companies, Regina Heffington and husband Whit opened a craft-beer focused bar called the Silver Cow in 2013. In 2014, the business would expand to include an adjoining storefront. Offering 39 beers on draft for on-site consumption or growler fills and another 56 beers available in bottles/cans, the Silver Cow is noted for a stocking a carefully curated selection, covering a wide range of beer styles- and they are happy to educate you on the nuances of each selection.
The name Silver Cow is a playful combination of historic Jacksonville references- Jacksonville was once known as the ‘Cowford’ and the Northern end of King Street was developed as a neighborhood for working-class African Americans called ‘Silvertown’.
Regina and Whit teamed up with home brewer and local beer columnist for the Florida Times Union, Ed Stansel, to begin construction on a combination cider and mead production facility and bar called East Florida Fermentology and The Mazer. The facility, slated to open in the fall of 2016, is located next to The Silver Cow and will become the third location in the King Street District to house beer production facilities.