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Permit issued for Time Out Sports Grill, 100 feet from Mandarin synagogue

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Time Out Sports Grill is set to open its second Jacksonville location in Mandarin with a grand opening in time for the Florida-Georgia Game.

A permit was issued Friday for the facility, which will take over the old Village Inn Restaurant at the corner of San Jose Boulevard and Haley Road.

Matt Harris, the owner, said the facility will be completely gutted out.

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He told Action News Jax’s Robert Grant that it will offer a modern restaurant to the neighborhood, including an outdoor patio and bar.

It is set to close at midnight during weekdays and 2 a.m. on the weekends. But Harris said that could change.

The restaurant and bar has gained pushback from many in the neighborhood who are concerned it will bring extra traffic and noise on Haley Road, where many people walk.

Neighbors first submitted a petition in May and then appealed the planning commission’s decision, which was denied in August.

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“After the bar opens, I’m not going to let my kids walk home by themselves,” Zipora Zaguri said. She moved here back in 2010.

“We’re asking for safety,” Howard Wolpoff added.

The bar was not originally zoned for liquor because it’s less than 500 feet from a house of worship.

There are four that are within 500 feet:

  • Korean Central Baptist
  • Jacksonville Jewish Center
  • Etz Chaim Synagogue
  • Chabad Lubavich

The neighborhood along Haley Road is also home to many in the Jewish community who walk to services on Friday and Saturday nights during Sabbath.

Safety has already been a concern in San Jose. In 2013, 57-year-old Esther Ohayon was hit and killed by a car while walking to Yom Kippur services.

“Already, people use [Haley Road] as a cut-through. Now they’ll be driving through here with different levels of intoxication,” Wolpoff said.

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Harris said the restaurant will have quarterly training as mandated by the state to train servers and bartenders on overpouring and signs of intoxication.

Wolpoff said residents plan to take their concerns to court next.

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