History

The Debs Store in the Historic Eastside neighborhood. | Courtesy of LIFT Jax

For nearly 100 years, the red brick building at the southwest corner of Florida Avenue and East 5th Street was an important symbol of vitality and life in the Eastside. Built in 1913 by Gullah Geechee contractor Edward D. Mixson, the Debs Store operated as an old fashioned neighborhood grocery market for the Eastside community. During the late 1920s, the property was acquired by Nicholas and Rosa Debs. Prior to the purchase and moving their family into the second-floor apartment, the Debses briefly operated their grocery business a few blocks east at 1738 Franklin St. after arriving in Jacksonville from Lebanon during the early 1920s.

Over the decades, the Debs Store grew into a neighborhood institution offering fresh produce, meats, dairy and other products. Generations of neighborhood kids grew up knowing to “go to Debs” for their groceries, sundries, newspapers, and any family necessity even if it meant putting the cost of the items “on the book” until such time as the family could pay. These same kids sent their kids and their kids’ kids to Debs daily to buy everything from fresh greens to handkerchiefs.

It also became a place where neighborhood children were hired to stock shelves and make deliveries by bike. Following the end of World War II, sons Nick and Eugene Debs took over the business. The brothers continued to operate the Debs Store until they became too ill to maintain the business. When Eugene Debs passed in 2006, the family arranged for the funeral procession to travel along Florida Avenue and stop in front of the store, allowing a block of neighbors and friends lined on both sides of the street to greet Gene as he passed the store for the final time. Nicholas continued to run the business until falling ill shortly before his death in 2011.

Over the last few years, the Debs family and several local organizations collaborated on a plan to renovate and reopen the long closed store. An important part of the neighborhood’s withintrification strategy, the new store is nearly double the original store’s floor area. Goodwill Inc. is set to operate new grocery store on the first floor and offer employment services on the second floor. In addition, VyStar Credit Union will provide financial services on-site.

A 2021 photograph of the closed Debs Store. | Ennis Davis, AICP