Fat Tuesday fans have waited nearly 30 years for the chain’s return to Jacksonville.
Now they’ll have to wait one more week.
Citing potential “severe weather and flooding,” Fat Tuesday is delaying the opening
of its new Five Points location until Friday, Oct. 16, the restaurant and bar announced earlier this week. It was set to host a preview party on Thursday, Oct. 8 and a grand opening Friday, Oct. 9.Known for its signature frozen cocktails, Fat Tuesday Kitchen & Bar is opening at 1043 Park St., in the former Timoti’s Seafood Shak, where it will offer a full bar and menu of crispy wings, smash burgers, seafood baskets, tacos and more.
Next door, at 1045 Park St., Fat Tuesday Social Lounge will open in the former Rain Dogs spot. Open Thursdays
through Sundays only, the lounge will offer a more curated cocktail menu, limited-time frozen drink flavors, and smaller bite options built for a late-night crowd. The lounge will feature DJs, live music and themed events.
The openings will mark the return of Fat Tuesday to Jacksonville nearly 30 years after the lease at its second-story, riverfront spot at The Jacksonville Landing was not renewed in 1997, a decade after it opened as one of the Landing’s original tenants.
Fat Tuesday dress code flap
Prior to the restaurant and bar’s planned opening this week, Fat Tuesday responded to social media posts critical of a dress code at its establishments prohibiting hoodies, baggy clothing, white T-shirts and more.
The post included a photo of a sign of the dress code.
The company responded on social media, saying that the post did not reflect the dress code policy of the Five Points location.
A Times-Union reporter did not see any posted dress code policy on the Five Points bar’s door or windows during a visit on Oct. 7.
Samy Guerrero, the company’s head of global operations, addressed the social media post.
“Our dress code is no different than any other bar that we have around Five Points,” Guerrero said, according to Times-Union news partner First Coast News. “As long as you wear what you wore next door across the street, I think you should be very fine and very welcome in our doors.”
Times-Union dining reporter Teresa Stepzinski contributed to this report.
Gary T. Mills is the deputy managing editor at The Florida Times-Union. He has led the newspaper's dining coverage since 2010.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Fat Tuesday delays Five Points opening as severe weather looms
