After November 16, Both Restaurant Spaces on Atlantic Beach's Side of The Corner Sit Empty. Here's What Stays Open.

AB Kitchen serves its last meals on Nov. 16, when its lease at 299 Atlantic Blvd. expires. Next door, the old Ragtime Tavern is a construction site that River Restaurant Group doesn't expect to open as Grafton & Fleck's until summer 2027. Once AB Kitchen closes, both restaurant spaces on the Atlantic Beach side of The Corner will be closed at once.

There's a longer change behind that gap. For decades The Corner had two casual restaurants side by side. Ragtime ran for 42 years. MShack lasted a decade, and AB Kitchen followed it in the same space. The next anchor on this corner is one bigger restaurant built for special occasions. Until it opens, evenings in Beaches Town Center will happen a block inland and on the events calendar.

How the Corner Emptied, One Lease at a Time

Ragtime closed almost two years before AB Kitchen's lease ran out, and construction on its replacement began just weeks before AB Kitchen announced its closing.

AB Kitchen is a family restaurant from Southern Table Hospitality, the Jacksonville Beach company founded by chefs Ben and Liza Groshell. They renovated the old MShack space and served an upscale coastal and American-fusion menu there for five years. The owners told the Florida Times-Union that they chose not to renew "as we look ahead to exciting new projects," and said the restaurant's staff "will continue to be part of our restaurant family at our other locations."

No replacement tenant has been announced for AB Kitchen's space. That leaves the Ragtime site as the only part of the corner with a known future, and its opening is still targeted for summer 2027.

What's Actually Being Built Next Door

The Jax Daily Record reported plans for more than 8,000 square feet and 260 seats. The project adds a second level for a rooftop lounge, and co-founder Bob Fleckenstein estimated construction at about $6 million. At the Sept. 30 groundbreaking, heavy equipment was hauling debris out of a shell that was open to the sky.

The operators already run River & Post in Jacksonville and SAINT and River & Fort in St. Augustine. Fleckenstein described the Atlantic Beach site as "kind of like the fourth leg in a chair." Co-founder Jeff Grafton McCusker explained the plan to the Daily Record:

"We want to build a simple steakhouse that's high end on the first floor then a little bit more casual on the rooftop."

The Daily Record reported that the menu will center on USDA prime steaks and Wagyu beef, plus shareable appetizers, local fish, lobster and a salmon dish. There will be a full bar downstairs, private dining rooms and acoustic design meant to keep conversation easy when the room is full. Plans also include a piano bar and valet parking. "When people have a special occasion, we want them to think of us first," McCusker said.

Some of the old building is staying. Ragtime's interior brick partition will remain, and McCusker said he might try to recreate a popular Ragtime tuna dish. Fleckenstein called it "probably the best location that we can think of in Jacksonville at this time," and said more restaurants could follow, though he had nothing to announce. The Times-Union's Oct. 2 report gives the same summer 2027 target.

Put together, the corner that used to hold two everyday restaurants will hold one larger room aimed at occasion dinners, with a casual rooftop on top. That's the change behind the closures, and the winter gap comes with it.

The Block Behind the Corner Already Picked Up New Tenants

The businesses that opened near The Corner over the past year are spread one block back from the beach, on Atlantic Boulevard, East Coast Drive and First Street. That's where Town Center will keep its evening activity this winter.

• Hearth & Soul, 363 Atlantic Blvd., Atlantic Beach. It announced a Nov. 14, 2025 opening in the space where Island Donuts used to be. Its store page lists hours of Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.
• The Grande, 42 East Coast Drive, Suite 102, Atlantic Beach. The Beaches Town Center Agency introduced it in November 2025 as a craft-cocktail bar. It advertises daily happy hour until 7 p.m. and late-night specials Sunday through Thursday from 10 p.m. until close.
• Phoenix Power Yoga, 217 First St., Neptune Beach. Just across the city line, the studio opens at 5:30 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and its weekend hours run Saturday from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. and Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to noon.

If you'd like to keep eating the Groshells' cooking after Nov. 16, Southern Table Hospitality runs Marker 32, Palm Valley Fish Camp, North Beach Fish Camp, Julington Creek Fish Camp, St. Augustine Fish Camp, Dockside Seafood, Valley Smoke and Billy Jack's. The owners told the Times-Union that the AB Kitchen team will move to the group's other locations, but they didn't say which ones.

The Calendar Fills the Corner Until the Steakhouse Does

With both restaurant spaces closed, scheduled events become the main reason to be at Atlantic Boulevard and the ocean on a weeknight or weekend evening. Here's what's on the calendar from this Saturday through mid-December, combining the Beaches Town Center calendar and the City of Atlantic Beach calendars for November and December:

1. Saturday, Nov. 7: The 9th Annual Beaches Tour of Homes.
2. Sunday, Nov. 8: Farmers Market at Jack Russell Park, 800 Seminole Road, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
3. Wednesday, Nov. 11: Veterans Day Ceremony at Beaches Veterans Memorial Park, 1 W. 1st St., 9 to 11 a.m.
4. Monday, Nov. 16: AB Kitchen's last day.
5. Thursday, Nov. 19: North Beaches Art Walk in Beaches Town Center, 5 to 9 p.m. It's held on the third Thursday of every month.
6. Saturday, Nov. 21: Atlantic Beach Music Festival at Jack Russell Park, 5 to 10 p.m.
7. Thursday, Dec. 3: Artisans' Faire at Bull Memorial Park and the Adele Grage Cultural Center, 716 Ocean Blvd., 4 to 8 p.m. The city says more details are coming.
8. Saturday, Dec. 5: The free Holiday Celebration and Christmas Tree Lighting where Atlantic Beach and Neptune Beach meet the ocean. Activities start at 3 p.m.
9. Thursday, Dec. 17: The next North Beaches Art Walk.

The tree lighting is the event to watch this year, because it happens right in front of the two closed spaces. The Beaches Town Center Agency's Season of Lights campaign raises money each year to light more than 200 palm trees and holiday decorations across the central business district. This December those lights will be on while construction continues on the Ragtime site.

Both calendars are live listings, so check them before you head out. The Artisans' Faire entry in particular is still waiting on details.

Grafton & Fleck's is aiming for summer 2027, and AB Kitchen's space at 299 Atlantic Blvd. has no announced tenant. If you own a home within walking distance of Beaches Town Center and want to know how these changes may affect its value, the Tonya O'Quinn Group will walk you through it. Request your free home valuation, and we'll keep you posted on the corner as it fills back in.