The building at 3951 St. Johns Avenue was a grocery store about a century ago. For almost ten years it was Ale Pie House. Around Thanksgiving, if the schedule holds, it becomes Boathouse Avondale, a sushi-forward restaurant with a sushi bar on the ground floor and the kitchen upstairs.
At first glance that looks like a closing followed by an opening. Follow each name, though, and nothing on the avenue has actually gone dark. The pizzeria moved, and its owner planned to keep the same menu. The new restaurant comes from the couple who already owned the building. Back in the core of the shopping district at the Shoppes of Avondale, Biscottis is adding a room. The people running it now learned the business from the woman who co-founded it in 1993. In 2026, St. Johns Avenue is being rearranged by people who were already part of it.
The owners who decided to cook instead of re-lease
Nathan Stuart and Margo Klar are married restaurateurs. They opened their first restaurant, the Orange Park Fish House & Oyster Co., in 2018. Today they own eight restaurants, including Boathouse locations in St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra Beach and Julington Creek, Grouper Shacks in St. Augustine and Jacksonville Beach, and New Berlin Fish House & Oyster Co. in Jacksonville.
3951 St. Johns Ave. was the first commercial property they bought. It came with a tenant already in place, and that tenant was Ale Pie House. When Ale Pie's lease ended in March 2026, the couple renovated the old grocery to meet the neighborhood's preservation standards. Stuart called it a "heavy investment." They thought about leasing the building to someone new and decided to open a restaurant of their own.
That decision explains the layout. Putting the kitchen upstairs and the sushi bar downstairs works with the existing building, and it shapes the menu as well. According to Stuart, the Avondale menu will lean less on hot dishes than other Boathouse locations because of where the kitchen sits. The remodel was designed to combine the original architecture with what Stuart describes as "elevated coastal ambiance."
"We're really going to push hard to make it the best sushi in Jacksonville." Nathan Stuart, speaking to the Jax Daily Record
That goal rests on a track record. The Boathouse in Ponte Vedra Beach has won "best sushi" titles in that area. Sang Won Kim, the group's director of sushi and executive sushi chef, will lead the Avondale sushi program.
What to expect at 3951 when the doors open
Here is what has been announced so far:
- Opening target: around Thanksgiving 2026. No exact date had been announced as of WhatNow's September 30 report.
- Early hours: Wednesday through Sunday to start, probably dinner only. Stuart said the shorter week is meant to keep quality consistent and the staff well rested.
- Size: 135 seats indoors and on a covered outdoor area, with 4,300 square feet of air-conditioned space.
- Menu focus: sushi and seafood made with locally sourced fish, freshly made soy sauce, cocktails and premium sake.
- Hot food: a limited selection, so diners should not expect the fried-heavy lineup of a typical seafood house.
For a sense of the brand, the St. Augustine Boathouse's online menu includes a seared bluefin tuna steak with fried rice, grilled local vegetables, fire-roasted corn and ponzu, along with a lobster roll, sushi rolls and poke bowls. The Avondale menu is expected to differ, so those dishes show the brand's range rather than what will be served here.
Location matters for planning a walk. The Daily Record places 3951 about a half-mile from the core of Avondale's shopping district. Getting from Biscottis to the new sushi bar takes a proper walk along St. Johns Avenue.
Where the pizza went
Ale Pie House did not close. When its Avondale lease ended in March 2026, it moved south to 1580 Wells Road, Suite 7-8, in Orange Park and reopened there on June 15. Its website now promotes the Wells Road address as its "new home."
Owner Mario Kocibelli described his time in Avondale as "almost a decade" and said the menu would stay the same at the new location. The move took a little longer than planned. In April, Kocibelli expected to reopen in mid-May, and the Times-Union reported the actual opening as June 15.
For Avondale regulars, getting Ale Pie now means a drive to Orange Park. The restaurant is still operating, just under a different roof.
Biscottis, thirty-three years in and still adding space
The Shoppes of Avondale has its own news, and it carries the same thread of continuity.
Karin Tucker and her longtime business partner Barbara Bredehoeft founded Biscottis in Avondale in 1993. In 2000 they opened bb's restaurant and bar near the Southbank Riverwalk. Bredehoeft remembered her for her deep knowledge of spices, her gregarious personality and her "huge smile." The Daily Record reported that Tucker had retired several years earlier.
Biscottis is still run by people Tucker trained. Lindsey Bush and Jonas Loh, who now own both Biscottis and bb's, said Tucker inspired and educated them. Loh worked alongside her for close to 20 years, including stints as chef and general manager.
"Her smile and her voice resonated throughout the entire dining room." Jonas Loh
The restaurant is also growing. The Daily Record's August 4 permit roundup reported a permit issued July 31 for a 1,231-square-foot private dining and event space build-out at 3584 St. Johns Ave. Gold Standard Construction & Consulting is the contractor, and the job cost is listed at $77,000. The Jacksonville Business Journal reported that Biscottis is already taking reservations for the room, with bookings running into the first half of 2027. No opening date for the room has been published. Anyone hoping to host a rehearsal dinner, an office party or a milestone birthday at Biscottis next spring should ask soon, since the calendar is filling ahead of construction.
The avenue this fall, end to end
| Address | What's there now | What changed in 2026 | Who's behind it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3584 St. Johns Ave., Shoppes of Avondale | Biscottis, open since 1993 | Private dining and event room permitted July 31, booking into early 2027 | Lindsey Bush and Jonas Loh |
| 3951 St. Johns Ave., about a half-mile from the shopping core | Boathouse Avondale, under renovation | Ale Pie lease ended in March, building renovated to preservation standards, opening targeted around Thanksgiving | Nathan Stuart and Margo Klar |
| 1580 Wells Road, Suite 7-8, Orange Park | Ale Pie House | Moved from Avondale, reopened June 15, with the owner planning the same menu | Mario Kocibelli |
Each row has the same backstory. The pizzeria's owner moved his business. The building's owners put their own restaurant in it. A 33-year-old institution passed to staff the founder had trained, and they are building onto it. The century-old grocery building now has its third use, done to preservation standards by the people who bought it first.
A few things are still unknown. Boathouse has set a target, not a date. The Biscottis room has no announced opening. The name of the grocery that first occupied 3951 has not turned up in any reporting found so far. Until Boathouse announces its first night of service, Wednesday through Sunday dinners are the plan to watch for.
Questions about how a renovation like the one at 3951 works in Avondale's preservation district, or about what is happening on your own block of St. Johns Avenue? Michael Wright and Suzi Ford keep up with these changes across Northeast Florida, from Avondale to Ale Pie's new home in Orange Park, and are glad to talk through them with no pressure. Contact Us.
