WEDNESDAY January 22, 2020 jaxdailyrecord.com • 35 cents
San Marco Square building sold PAGE 2 Public legal notices begin on page 3
Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
Lucky’s Market closing Northeast Florida stores
Lobbyist with ties to Zahn resigns
Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
Deno Hicks was managing partner of the Jacksonville office of The Southern Group.
Daily Record Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
BY MIKE MENDENHALL STAFF WRITER
JACKSONVILLE
Lucky’s Market photos
Lucky’s Market opened its store at 8380 Merchants Way in the Oakleaf Station shopping center May 22. The 30,000-square-foot store was planned to employ 150 workers.
The Colorado-based natural food grocery chain, which operates stores in Oakleaf and Neptune Beach, is closing 20 of its 21 stores in Florida. BY KATIE GARWOOD STAFF WRITER
Lucky’s Market, the natural foods grocer, will close all but one of its Florida locations, according to a report Jan. 21 by the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Lucky’s operates two stores in Northeast Florida, in Neptune Beach and Oakleaf. The Oakleaf store opened May 22 at 8380 Merchants Way. The Neptune Beach store at 580 Atlantic Blvd. opened in 2016.
The Oakleaf Station Lucky’s Market. The chain is based in Boulder, Colorado.
The 20 Florida stores will close Feb. 12 and liquidation sales will begin Jan. 22. The West Melbourne store will remain open, the report said. When the Oakleaf location opened in
May, 150 were hired to staff the store. A store representative at the Oakleaf location deferred comment to the national media office. A call to the national office went to a full voice mailbox. Sleiman Enterprises, which leases space in Oakleaf to Lucky’s Market, said it hadn’t received notice from the grocer that it would be closing. The phone number at the Neptune Beach store was out of service. In December, Kroger, an investor in Lucky’s, announced that after three years it would divest its stake. Lucky’s Market was founded in 2003 by Bo and Trish Sharon in Boulder, Colorado, according to the grocer’s website. KGARWOOD@ JAXDAILYRECORD.COM (904) 356-2466
Deno Hicks, the lobbyist with ties to fired JEA CEO and Managing Director Aaron Zahn, resigned Jan. 17 as managing partner for the Jacksonville office of The Southern Group. A spokesperson for The Southern Group confirmed that Hicks submitted his resignation in an email to Paul Bradshaw, the lobbying firm’s chairman and founder. The Florida Times-Union reported Dec. 13 that Hicks was a partner with Zahn in Hicks Legacy Industries of Jax LLC. Through Legacy, Hicks and Zahn co-owned a 24-acre undeveloped site on the Westside that the newspaper reported was offered for sale for nearly $2 million. The city charter states JEA’s managing director is not allowed to have outside employment or businesses. Hicks did not provide a reason for his resignation in the email and he did not respond to a Jan. 20 voice message for comment. “Although this is a difficult decision please consider this my official resignation from The Southern Group. I have valued my experience that I’ve gained over the last 11 years in working with this great team,” Hicks wrote in the email. “I am proud to have helped put The Southern Group on the map SEE HICKS, PAGE 2
Fleet Landing planning campus in Nocatee Fleet Landing plans to develop a LifeCare community campus in Nocatee. Its first is in Atlantic Beach. Fleet Landing announced Jan. 15 it bought 35 acres in the Nocatee Town Center in Ponte Vedra for the residential campus for adults age 62 and older. The campus will provide single-family homes and apartments for independent living along with assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing. The facility will include resort-style amenities, activities, services and programs. Fleet Landing said it has not determined a construction timeline for the Nocatee project.
VOLUME 107, NO. 46 • ONE SECTION