WEDNESDAY April 8, 2020
BEAT
jaxdailyrecord.com • 35 cents
the virus
support your lo to
yo u
by Dai ly
d& cor nd Re
Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
LV1 88 34
cal er
g ou Br
ht
businesses! Record a
r se Ob
v
Demolition permits sought for Doro
Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
Developer wants to transform property near 121 Financial Ballpark into apartments, retail. BY KAREN BRUNE MATHIS & MIKE MENDENHALL STAFF WRITERS
listed as the contractor to demolish warehouse structures on the block bounded by A. Philip Randolph Boulevard and Adams, Lafayette and Forsyth streets. Three permits show a job cost of $225,015 for demolition of structures at 128 A. Philip Randolph Blvd.; 102 A. Philip Randolph Blvd., the main George Doro building; and 951 Forsyth St. Permit documents show Realco Recycling intends to use an excavator and attachments for the demolition. Debris will be disposed at the Old Kings Road Landfill. The Downtown Development
Review Board approved conceptual designs March 12 for Valdosta, Georgia-based Rise Properties to build a residential and retail development at the site. It needs final design approval before construction can proceed. The DDRB canceled its meeting scheduled for April 9, due to social distancing measures for COVID-19. The May 14 meeting still is planned. Jacksonville Properties I LLC proposes an eight-story, 247-unit mixed-use project at 102 A. Philip Randolph Blvd.
Daily Record Daily Sales Record boom for packaging firm
Rise Properties LLC applied to the city for permits to demolish properties on the George Doro Fixture Co. block to prepare for a proposed Downtown mixed-use and retail project called The Doro. Realco Recycling Co. Inc. is
JACKSONVILLE
SEE DORO, PAGE 2
File image
An artist’s rendering of The Doro, a mixed-use development planned on the site of the George Doro Fixture Co. block Downtown.
JACKSONVILLE
CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC: YOUR INSIGHT
Apollo Packaging owner Ken Petsch sold 4,512 rolls of toilet paper in three days and says a diversified product mix is keeping his company strong. BY KAREN BRUNE MATHIS EDITOR
Special to the Daily Record
Ken Petsch started Apollo Packaging Inc. in 2013 to distribute paper, packaging and janitorial supplies to businesses. March was his best month so far this year because of his product mix that includes cleaning supplies, sanitizers, medical gloves and masks, and toilet paper.
Ken Petsch credits diversification for the financial health of Apollo Packaging Inc., a company he started in 2013 and operates with his two sons. That includes selling toilet paper. Jacksonville-based Apollo sells packaging, paper products and janitorial cleaning supplies to businesses that range from Fortune 500 companies to mom-and-pops working out of their garage. People found out about the toilet paper and he sold 94 cases of 48 rolls each in three days in March as COVID-19 fears sparked a run on the products at retail stores. That’s 4,512 rolls. “A lot of our customers bought it to give to their employees,” Petsch said April 3. “I’ve seen the good in people and the bad, but, thank God, I’ve seen more good.” March was Apollo’s best month so far this year,
KEEPING CLOSE – FROM A DISTANCE Since March 13, city event venues, stores, restaurants, malls, entertainment centers, churches and businesses shut down and laid off workers or sent them home to telecommute to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Daily Record will report how local small business owners are dealing with the imposed social isolation.
and April started strong. Petsch, who turns 56 on April 16, runs the business with his sons Robert, 25, and Kenny, 23. “We are the truest sense of a family business,” he said. Apollo distributes to companies throughout the country because of its internet presence. The diversification of customer size and product mix keeps Apollo Packaging strong. Petsch has more reasons. His Petsch Properties Inc. owns the warehouse Apollo occupies at 3001 Faye Road in North Jacksonville and leases part of it to a rentpaying tenant. SEE PETSCH, PAGE 2
New name for Safe Harbor in Jacksonville Beach Safe Harbor Seafood Restaurant in Jacksonville Beach will change its name to Dockside Seafood Restaurant in an ownership split. Safe Harbor owners Chris and Deanna Wooten, who will continue to operate locations in Mayport, Riverside and Crescent Beach, sold their partnership in the Jacksonville Beach restaurant. They will focus their efforts on their other locations. Chef Ben Groshell and his wife, Liza, will take over ownership of the Dockside at 2510 Second Ave. N. They were part-owners of Safe Harbor. Other than the name change, everything with the restaurant will remain the same, Ben Groshell said.
VOLUME 107, NO. 101 • ONE SECTION