by erin thursby scopes1925@msn.com
Drew Cavins owns two restaurants with a historic Jacksonville flair, the Mossfire Grill and the Preservation Tap and Chop House.
Scooter and Drew Cavins opened the Mossfire in 1998 and the restaurant soon became a 5 Points favorite. It’s a great place to go for a meal with a Southwestern flair and often has live entertainment on the weekends. Friday nights are particularly busy. Servers tend to know the menu well and are great at recommending something for everybody. Mossfire is vegetarian friendly, so if you’re vegetarian and looking for another place to go out, add this one to your list.
Somehow, the mix between Southwestern style and Jacksonville history works, perhaps because the food’s so good. The Mossfire’s historical angle comes mainly from the name, which ties into Jacksonville history, though you will see the occasional historic photo of the fire. Says Cavins about the christening of the Mossfire:
“When we first opened up we were trying to do a kind of a Southwestern name and we called it the Tumbleweed Grill. Unbeknownst to us there was a company up in Kentucky…that had 40 Tumbleweed Grills we didn’t know about…They found out about us and sent us a friendly letter saying that we needed to change our name…We didn’t know what to name it, so we held a contest and fielded a bunch of crazy ideas.”
While the name “Mossfire” sounds cozy, the bit of Jacksonville history it relates to really isn’t. In 1901, Jacksonville suffered because of the Great Fire, which took out most of the Downtown area. The fire originated at the Cleveland Fibre Factory, which processed the moss used to stuff mattresses in those days. During a drought, moss on the drying platform caught fire from a lunchtime kitchen fire. Workers found the small fire and attempted to extinguish it with a few buckets of water. But it was a windy day and they couldn’t control the flying sparks. It spread, becoming a large fire in a very short amount of time. By the time the fire department arrived, Jacksonville was ablaze.
Though this was one of the largest fires in Florida, the loss of life was minimal, with only seven people unaccounted for. The loss of property was enormous, causing many people to move to other parts of Jacksonville. Riverside and the surrounding areas became known as the Mosssfire district. Even though the actual “mossfire” happened in the Downtown area, Riverside, and specifically 5 Points, was the closest place for evacuees. And the ones that couldn’t make the trek down Riverside Avenue, were ferried there by the Cummer family’s boat.
The building that the Preservation Tap and Chop House is in does have a longer history than their Mossfire location. The building went up in 1929. It served as a store in Jacksonville during the 30s and beyond. The owner’s family lived above the shop.
The Preservation is decorated in vibrant, dramatic red, black and white, in the style of the 1930s. Says Cavins “I wanted it to be a neighborhood place with an elegant ambiance…I wanted to create what a restaurant in 1930 in Jacksonville might be like…Because we’re in the Riverside/Avondale Preservation District…we were trying to keep it historic as well, as close to the time period as possible.” From the decorating to the menu with a Southern flair, it seems that the high-living pre-Depression 30s are indeed captured here.
If you’re eager to mix a little local color with a scrumptious meal, take a drive to the Preservation House for something upscale or to the Mossfire for something a little more casual.
Mossfire Grill
1537 Margaret Street
(904)355-0777
Preservation Tap & Chop House
3951 St. Johns Ave
(904) 387-5700
|
EU Critic’s Choice Awards
