River City Brewing Company officially closes its doors in Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville mainstay is officially closing its doors on July 18.

River City Brewing Company celebrated its final night with music, drinks and dancing.

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Many customers said it will be a big loss for the community.

“I pulled in here 25 years ago on my boat for margaritas for the afternoon and stayed,” said long-time customer Carl Pegel.

“We’re losing a lot of places here,” he added.

It’s a sentiment many Jacksonville locals are feeling.

“It’s a shame because there are so few places to go now,” said Steve Crandall, another loyal customer.

“This follows the same steps as The Landing, Crawdaddy’s, Metropolitan Park — places you could go for a function or have a good time,” he said.

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Now, a new development is moving into the space where the River City Brewing Company is.

The Downtown Investment Authority stated it will be a good thing.

“We think the holiday season downtown and in Jacksonville overall — there is such an opportunity to do some more cool things. You saw with Jax River Jams, our concert series — said if there’s something cool in downtown people will come to it,” said Jake Gordon, CEO of Downtown Visions.

However, the development’s main project, an apartment complex, worries locals the most.

“It’s all housing going up and fewer things for people to do for those who move here or live here,” Crandall said.

“The city just needs to treasure this river and not close it with apartment buildings like they’ve done and give the average person here access to the river,” he said.

The development is just one of over 50 currently proposed to the city.

Many show that Jacksonville does have plans to expand work-live-play environments in the city.

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