MONDAY
Credit union buys Diamond-S building
November 25, 2019
PAGE 2
jaxdailyrecord.com • 35 cents
Public legal notices begin on page 3
Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
MAPLE STREET BISCUIT COMPANY
Jacksonville October jobless rate falls to 2.8%
‘THEY KNOW WE’RE Daily Record DOING SOMETHING RIGHT’ JACKSONVILLE
The region added 22,900 jobs over the past year.
Daily Record Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
BY MARK BASCH CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Maple Street General Counsel Alexandria Hill said at the luncheon event at the Davis College of Business at Jacksonville University. Moore assured that Cracker Barrel isn’t micromanaging the Maple Street business. “No one at Maple Street reports to anyone at Cracker Barrel except for me,” he said. Maple Street doesn’t spend money on marketing, and Moore said Cracker Barrel officials were surprised to look at his company’s financial statements. “We didn’t have a line for advertising”
Jacksonville’s unemployment rate edged lower in October as job growth surged, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity reported last week. The jobless rate in the Jacksonville metropolitan area (Duval, Baker, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties) fell from 2.9% in September to 2.8% in October. Duval County’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 3% last month but the other four counties in the metro area were all below Loh 3%, with St. Johns County the lowest at 2.4%. The Department of Economic Opportunity does not adjust the data for seasonal factors, but according to the University of North Florida’s Local Economic Indicators Project, the unemployment rate for the area showed a similar decline on a seasonally adjusted basis. The seasonally adjusted unemployment for the five-county metro area fell from 2.98% in September to 2.89%, it said, and Duval County’s jobless rate fell from 3.17% to 3.05% last month. UNF economist Albert Loh said the unemployment rate remaining below 3% indicates a strong labor market for Northeast Florida. “As we begin the holiday shopping season with a strong consumer sentiment regarding their financial situation, the employ-
SEE MAPLE STREET, PAGE 2
SEE JOBS, PAGE 2
JACKSONVILLE
Maple Street Biscuit Company co-founder and CEO Scott Moore.
Photos special to the Daily Record
Economic Roundtable of Jacksonville President Daniel Gilham leads the discussion with Tuesday at the Davis College of Business at Jacksonville University.
CEO Scott Moore says new owner Cracker Barrel isn’t micromanaging the business. BY MARK BASCH CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Scott Moore knows how difficult it is to start a new business, particularly a new restaurant. It should have been even harder for him and Gus Evans, because neither had any experience running restaurants before they opened the first Maple Street Biscuit Company store in 2012.
“This should have failed but it didn’t,” Maple Street CEO Moore said Tuesday during a talk to the Economic Roundtable of Jacksonville. However, Maple Street became a success story, growing from its first restaurant started by Moore and Evans in San Marco to 33 stores in seven states. And a month ago, Maple Street agreed to a $36 million buyout by Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. As part of the agreement, Maple Street will remain an independent subsidiary run by Moore, with no changes planned for the restaurant operations. “They see what we’re doing and they know we’re doing something right,”
Maple Street General Counsel Alexandria Hill.
Florida’s first ‘Chipotlane’ to debut Florida’s first “Chipotlane” will debut at the Chipotle Mexican Grill that opens today in Oakleaf Town Center. A Chipotlane is a drive-thru where customers can pick up orders made via the internet or smartphone without getting out of their vehicle. Unlike a traditional drive-thru, where you talk to an employee, all orders are made digitally. The restaurant, at 9671 Argyle Forest Blvd., will be open 10:45 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. It’s the ninth Chipotle in the Jacksonville area.
VOLUME 107, NO. 7 • ONE SECTION