Several tipsters wrote in to tell us of the joy they felt upon seeing a new “Jimmy John’s Coming Soon” banner posted on the side of the Mercantile Gallery Lofts on the corner of Floyd & Market Street. The sign has, in fact, only been in place for a matter of days, but Broken Sidewalk readers have keen eyes. Construction on the new sandwich shop is already under way with the windows were covered. We peeked in the side door to see walls already in place but no counters or furniture, but they were moving fast.
Jimmy John’s will take about 2,000 square feet in the corner building that once housed Charmette Bridal before the condo conversion. A portion of the structure that collapsed during construction of the Mercantile now is the site of massive concrete and steel buttresses and will serve as an outdoor patio for the new restaurant. Jimmy John’s will open its doors in April, and just the thought of one more shop in this slightly retail-dead-zone made the whole area seem more livable.
There are two more retail spots at the Mercantile Gallery Lofts that will one day round out the commercial development of the corner. It’s good to see the development named after trade and commerce finally land a retail tenant to liven up East Downtown. The new Jimmy John’s joins the Subway location currently under construction at the Waterfront Park Place tower a couple blocks north on Floyd.
Todd Blue of Cobalt Ventures who built the Mercantile said that his company may soon have some exciting announcements concerning more retail at the Cobalt Marketplace down the street that was once home to Primo and Market on Market. We’ll have to wait and see on that one. He was also very excited about a new promotional video for the Mercantile that recently was posted on the project’s website.
- Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches (Official Site)
- Mercantile Gallery Lofts (Official Site)
- Cobalt Ventures (Official Site)
“Peeked”!
You “peeked” in the window.
Not “peaked.”
I love this blog, by the way. Just be more careful with the editing.
Guilty. Just fixed the typo, thanks for sending that in and the kudos.
This is great news!
Thanks for breaking it.
I can’t wait to have a complimentary business down the block from my espresso and beer bar.
I can only hope they open soon!
Mercantile lofts gives the impression of a young thirty something professionals dwelling.
Much better than a Jimmy Johns… would have been a chic little bistro to compliment the espresso and beer bar. Where is the imagination in this town?
It really comes down to this economy. A chic local bistro probably would be the best tenant for such a development (luckily there are two more retail spots), but at this point, developers are taking what they can get. The Waterfront Park Place luxury tower had to go with a Subway, hardly the gourmet luxury image of the building.