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October 17-23, 2019 jaxdailyrecord.com
JACKSONVILLE
Record & Observer GuideWell adding 750 positions in Riverside
HOW THEY SOLD Record & Observer MAPLE STREET JACKSONVILLE
Parent company of Florida Blue says it will be a mix of contract and and full-time positions.
JACKSONVILLE Seven years after starting their biscuit-based breakfast and lunch concept, founders Scott Moore and Gus Evans agree to a $36 million sale to Cracker Barrel.
Record & Observer BY MIKE MENDENHALL STAFF WRITER
GuideWell Inc., the parent company of Florida Blue, announced Wednesday it will add 750 jobs at its Riverside Avenue office Downtown. The mix of 500 seasonal contract and 250 full-time positions will increase the workforce at the 532 Riverside Ave. office to 1,750. GuideWell made the announcement Wednesday through JAXUSA Partnership, the JAX Chamber’s economic development division. “We continue to grow here in Jacksonville and wanted to expand our presence at the Riverside tower,” Florida Blue North Florida Market President Darnell Smith said in a news release. “Our Riverside office is centrally located and an attractive career opportunity for potential employees who live north and west of downtown.” GuideWell employs more than 6,500 workers in Northeast Florida, with its largest presence at its Deerwood Park campus. In the news release, Mayor Lenny Curry linked the jobs expansion to a proposed $22.5 million, 869-space parking garage Florida Blue plans to build on city-owned property near the company’s Riverside office. “These 750 new jobs and the parking garage will positively contribute to economic activity and I am proud the administration was able to help facilitate this job creation,” Curry said in a statement.
JACKSONVILLE
Record & Observer S BY KAREN BRUNE MATHIS EDITOR
cott Moore and Gus Evans met Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. President and CEO Sandra Cochran about four
years ago. Moore and Evans were several years into their Jacksonville-based Maple Street Biscuit Company Inc. venture of opening biscuit-based breakfast and lunch restaurants. They launched the first in 2012. “We spent a couple of days around her,” Moore said Saturday. “I thought, if we could have an opportunity to do something, that would be a good thing.” Moore and Evans and their management team, along with Cochran, announced that “good thing” Friday. Cracker Barrel paid $36 million in cash for Maple Street and its 33 restaurants in seven states. Moore remains CEO and the management team and 600
SEE MAPLE STREET, PAGE 4
MORE INSIDE The Basch Report: Maple Street isn’t the only new Cracker Barrel concept. Page 10
Photo by Robyn Moore
Maple Street Biscuit Company Inc. co-founders Gus Evans, left, and Scott Moore. They established the company in 2012 and sold it last week for $36 million.
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VOLUME 106, NO. 20 • ONE SECTION