USA, FL: Seven Bridges Grille & Brewery abruptly shuts its doors for good

One of Jacksonville's best-known craft breweries has abruptly shut its doors after 26 years, with its owners saying the business was no longer financially sustainable, The Florida Times-Union reported on June 24.

Lunchtime customers arrived June 24 to find Seven Bridges Grille & Brewery, at 9735 Gate Parkway N. in Tinseltown, empty except for a few employees doing inventory and other final details, including preparing to hang up a "closed" sign.

"It's due to a lack of business," Jonathan Blair, chief operating officer of the Kelly Companies of Southern California, a private equity company which owns Seven Bridges and multiple other restaurants, told the Times-Union.

"I feel bad for our team, but we couldn't turn it around," said Blair, adding the company is reaching out to other restaurants in an effort to help former Seven Bridges employees find new jobs.

"We haven't gotten that far," said Blair when asked about the possibility of Seven Bridges reopening, relocating, or changing concepts.

Dating back to January 1999, Seven Bridges was known for its multiple craft beers on tap as well as its food menu, including steaks, burgers, wings, sandwiches, pizza, and salads.

The closure comes five months after another longtime microbrewery, Ragtime Tavern, shut its doors, ending nearly 42 years at 207 Atlantic Blvd. in Atlantic Beach.

Ragtime had similar offerings, such as craft beer, seafood, steaks, and more, at the high-profile corner of First Street and Atlantic Boulevard since it first opened with just 12 tables in 1983.

The Kelly Companies bought both Seven Bridges and Ragtime plus three other brewery brands — Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, ChopHouse & Brewery — from SPB Hospitality of Houston, Texas, last December, Nation's Restaurant News reported.