Who Decided What Replaces Ragtime Tavern at The Corner

On September 30, heavy equipment was moving debris around inside the old Ragtime Tavern building, and part of the shell was open to the sky. Outside, four men tossed ceremonial dirt. One was the property landlord, Rad Lovett. Two were Jeff Grafton McCusker and Bob Fleckenstein, co-founders of River Restaurant Group. The fourth was Phil Whitehill of RLH Construction.

That lineup explains more about the next chapter of 299 Atlantic Blvd. than the new restaurant's name does. Grafton & Fleck's, an upscale steakhouse with a rooftop lounge, is targeting a summer 2027 opening on the historic corner of First Street and Ocean Boulevard in Beaches Town Center. How it got there comes down to a split that came before Ragtime went dark. The restaurant business changed hands, and the building did not.

The sale that left the building behind

Ragtime opened in 1983 as a 12-table Cajun seafood spot with a single bar. Over the 1980s and 1990s, the Morton brothers grew it into a larger dining room, Salud, and the Taproom & Brewery. The tavern is widely credited as the Jacksonville area's first microbrewery, and the founders went on to open A1A Ale Works in St. Augustine in 1995. It became known for red beans and rice, coconut shrimp and weekend live music, and it anchored The Corner, where Atlantic Beach and Neptune Beach meet.

Over four decades, the restaurant and the building beneath it went separate ways. According to the Beach Gazette, the building dates to 1927 by Duval County Property Appraiser records. It is owned by Rad Lovett of Southcoast Capital Partnership, and the property has been in his family for generations. The restaurant business belonged to Houston-based SPB Hospitality, which did not own the building.

Here is how the corner moved from there to a groundbreaking:

1. December 2024. SPB Hospitality sold Ragtime Tavern, Seven Bridges Grille & Brewery in Tinseltown and three other properties to Kelly Companies of Southern California.
2. January 2025. Ragtime closed, one month after that sale. The Jax Daily Record reported the closure on January 27, 2025.
3. May 2025. The Jax Daily Record reported that the owners of River & Post were in early talks about opening a restaurant in the former Ragtime space.
4. January 2026. Permits were submitted for Grafton & Fleck's Steakhouse, and the Atlantic Beach permitting department was reviewing them as of late March.
5. September 30, 2026. Groundbreaking, with summer 2027 as the opening target.

The restaurant business went to a Southern California operator, and the 1927 building stayed on the corner with the family that has held it for generations. So once the tavern closed, the decision about what came next belonged to the landlord.

A landlord picking a neighbor

According to the Jax Daily Record's groundbreaking coverage, McCusker and Fleckenstein heard about the opportunity at The Corner and built a relationship with the landlord before developing a concept for the space. Lovett told the paper River Restaurant Group was an obvious choice for a local operator. He said more about his criteria to the Beach Gazette:

"We look for operators who are committed to creating places that contribute to the character of the community. River Restaurant Group shares that philosophy, and we're excited to see this project come to life."

The Beach Gazette also reported that Southcoast Capital Partnership developed the project together with River Restaurant Group, and that the partnership's portfolio includes several mixed-use and hospitality properties at the Beaches. This is a landlord and an operator building a concept together, which is a different arrangement from a tenant answering a "for lease" sign.

The operator is a known quantity on the First Coast. McCusker and Fleckenstein run River & Post in Jacksonville, plus SAINT and River & Fort in St. Augustine. The new restaurant's name joins McCusker's middle name to Fleckenstein's surname. Fleckenstein called Atlantic Beach "kind of like the fourth leg in a chair" and said, "It's probably the best location that we can think of in Jacksonville at this time. There's so much activity in this area."

Two floors for two kinds of night out

A locally rooted owner choosing a locally rooted operator shows up in the plans. The design keeps the corner open to people who just walk up. The menu headlines a special-occasion steakhouse, but the second level is planned for drop-in visits.

Those March figures add up to 264 seats. The project's public relations representative put the total at about 260 in September, across more than 8,000 square feet. The rooftop is a new second story, so the building will be taller than the one Ragtime occupied. McCusker told Action News Jax the rooftop will be walk-up with no reservations, as the Beach Gazette reported, and valet parking will be available.

Downstairs, the pitch is about occasions. "When people have a special occasion, we want them to think of us first," McCusker told the Jax Daily Record. He described a menu of USDA Prime steaks, Wagyu beef, shareable appetizers and seafood, adding, "We're going to probably feature some local fish. We'll have some lobster on the menu, a salmon dish." The dining room is designed with acoustic treatments so tables can hear each other when the room is busy. As McCusker put it to the Beach Gazette, "We really prioritized sound reduction throughout the space so guests can actually hear the person across from them, a rare thing these days."

What carries over from Ragtime

Some of the 1927 structure is staying. An interior brick partition from the Ragtime building will remain. McCusker also said he might try to recreate a popular Ragtime tuna dish.

His reasons are personal. "Ragtime is very sentimental to a lot of people, myself included," he told the Jax Daily Record.

The new look is art deco. Interior designer Rebecca Davisson told the paper the plan includes "a lot of wood, a lot of high-end marble and granite finishes, a lot of seating types," with "some intimate spaces and then we have some larger spaces for bigger parties." Cronk Duch Architects designed the restaurant, Rebecca Davisson Interior Design is handling the interiors, and RLH Construction is the general contractor. Fleckenstein estimated construction at about $6 million, though the Jax Daily Record noted a full project estimate wasn't available.

Fleckenstein framed the goal in terms of the corner itself. "As a locally owned group, we understand what this corner means to Atlantic Beach," he told the Beach Gazette. "Our goal is to create a place that feels like it has always belonged here."

Between now and summer 2027

The timeline has already moved once. A Jax Daily Record announcement on September 29 forecast an opening in early 2027. By groundbreaking day the target was summer 2027, and the Florida Times-Union repeated that on October 2. For anyone walking First Street this winter, that means a construction site where a second level is being added, and an opening date that is still a target.

This corner may not be the group's last move at the Beaches. Fleckenstein said more restaurants could be on the way, though on September 30 he had nothing to announce.

Down the street, the former One Ocean Resort & Spa at 1 Ocean Blvd. reopened as Dune House Hotel & Spa, and its Coastal Farmer restaurant opened July 3, 2026.

Who owns a building on a street like First Street affects daily life in the neighborhood long after a closing, and it's the kind of history Michele keeps track of for her clients. If you'd like to talk about how The Corner's next chapter fits into life near Beaches Town Center, Michele Tremblay would be glad to meet with you. Request a Private Consultation.