Hungry employees, residents and visitors are set to welcome downtown’s first food truck court when The Court: An Urban Food Park opens to the public Thursday Feb 23rd at 11:00AM. Located adjacent to the Suntrust Tower’s parking garage along Hogan Street between Forsyth St and Independent Drive, The Court will feature a rotating lineup of food trucks Monday through Friday. This unique, outdoor food court will help activate an empty block by creating a culinary destination downtown.
The food truck court will be open Monday through Friday from 11:00AM until 2:00PM starting Thursday Feb 23rd and will also be open for Art Walk on Wednesday March 1st from 5:00PM until 9:00PM. Each day, a rotating lineup of up to four food trucks will serve a variety of specialized cuisines. Guests can eat on-site under shaded seating or take food to-go. Additional after hours and weekend programming will be announced soon.
The Court Urban Food Park is an endeavor from downtown advocates Mike Field and Jack Shad. Field and Shad worked with Traci Jenks of Cushman & Wakefield, who serves as the exclusive leasing agent for the SunTrust Tower, in order to activate the space. The Court Co-founder MikeFieldsaid, “In order to revive downtown, it’s critical to take a block-by- block approach and engage in creative partnerships like this.” Field adds, “The food truck park is located right in the middle of where many visitors engage downtown, triangulated between the Landing, the Omni, the Riverwalk and the Times Union Center. Now, those visitors will see signs of life and a bustling café culture along the block instead of hurriedly passing through to another destination. To be able to provide the kind of unique place that you won’t find anywhere else in Jacksonville only adds to downtown’s ever-increasing role as a the neighborhood where you want to work, stay and play.”
The Court Co-founder Jack Shad said, “We’re calling this concept an ‘urban meet and eat’. Food plays such an important role in social interactions and fostering a sense of community. The Block Urban Food Park was created to fit right into that nexus between food and community. It’s a dynamic outdoor space that provides employees a place to meet up with friends and colleagues outside of the office environment, in a relaxing setting that sparks creative collaboration.”
Traci Jenks, Senior Director at Cushman & Wakefield said, “The Court Urban Food Park is an exciting new amenity for the SunTrust Tower and downtown that is designed to help energize the area with a unique dining option. Since acquiring the property, Mainstreet Capital Partnershas worked diligently to position the property into the best Class A workplace environment in Jacksonville. Adding food-centric concepts like this and the soon-to- open Tossgreen location really adds to the value of SunTrust Tower and the “coolness” of downtown!”
The Court: An Urban Food Park is located on Hogan Street between Independent Drive and West Bay Street.