Habit Burger & Grill opens second Jacksonville restaurant as California chain expands its Northeast Florida footprint

Second Jacksonville location opens on Baymeadows Road

Habit Burger & Grill opened its second Jacksonville restaurant on January 28, 2026, adding a new outpost at 9171 Baymeadows Road, east of Interstate 95 near Western Way. The site occupies a renovated former Arby’s building, continuing the brand’s early strategy in Jacksonville of repurposing existing freestanding restaurant properties.

The opening follows the chain’s Jacksonville debut on October 15, 2025, at 13559 Beach Blvd., a converted former Bojangles location near the intersection of Beach and Hodges boulevards in the Beach Haven area.

What the opening signals for restaurant real estate in Jacksonville

The Baymeadows location highlights a broader pattern in local commercial development: established restaurant pads with drive-thru infrastructure are being reused as national brands seek faster openings and lower development risk than ground-up construction. Conversions can also reduce entitlement and site-prep timelines compared with new builds, particularly along heavily traveled corridors where existing traffic patterns and ingress/egress are already proven.

In Jacksonville, Habit’s first two restaurants were conversions of closed quick-service sites. A third location is now in the pipeline in North Jacksonville near River City Marketplace, where permits have been issued for site clearing and construction for a smaller, ground-up restaurant on Max Leggett Parkway.

Timeline of Habit’s Jacksonville rollout

• October 15, 2025: First Jacksonville restaurant opened at 13559 Beach Blvd.

• January 28, 2026: Second Jacksonville restaurant opened at 9171 Baymeadows Road.

• January 2026: City permits issued for construction activity tied to a planned North Jacksonville restaurant near River City Marketplace on Max Leggett Parkway.

Company background and ownership

Habit Burger & Grill traces its roots to California, where the first restaurant opened in 1969. In 2020, Yum! Brands completed its acquisition of The Habit Restaurants, adding the fast-casual burger chain to a portfolio best known for Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC. Since the acquisition, the chain has continued expanding through a mix of company-operated and franchised restaurants, with Florida representing an established market for the brand.

Jacksonville’s first two Habit Burger & Grill restaurants opened in repurposed, closed quick-service buildings, while a third site is moving forward as a ground-up build in North Jacksonville.

What comes next

With two locations now operating and a third advancing through permitting, Habit’s near-term growth path in Jacksonville appears centered on clustering restaurants across key retail corridors: Beach Boulevard, Baymeadows and the River City Marketplace area. The pace and form of that expansion will likely depend on the availability of suitable drive-thru properties, construction costs, and the ability to secure high-visibility sites near established shopping and dining hubs.