Grumpy’s Restaurant Featured “Grumpy’s Restaurant Reopens Middleburg Location One Year After Shutdown” On Franchise.org

January 04, 2023

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Grumpy’s Restaurant, an award-winning full-service Americana breakfast, lunch and brunch diner, has just reopened its location in Middleburg. Located at 1805 Blanding Boulevard, Suite 107, the Middleburg location reopened its doors to the public on January 2nd, 2023.

The Middleburg location, which originally opened in October of 2020, was forced to close in January of 2022 after an equipment fire caused major damage to the restaurant. A full year later, the beloved diner has been rebuilt and is ready to start serving the Clay County community once again.

“While we made some minor changes to the interior of the restaurant, we did our best to restore it to look and feel just how our customers will remember it,” said Daniel DeLeon, President and CEO of Grumpy’s. “We wanted to ensure it kept the same homestyle feeling as the rest of our Grumpy’s locations.”

The reopened diner was able to retain 80% of the employees, a fact that the brand is proud of. Employee retention and satisfaction is an important value to DeLeon. During the COVID pandemic, DeLeon forfeited months of his personal salary to donate to an employee relief fund to continue providing staff with a paycheck.

“Middleburg was the first franchise location of Grumpy’s,” continued DeLeon. “It was a huge step for the brand and its reopening was a main priority for us. We are very happy to be able to keep serving the community and offer a space for people to gather and enjoy a meal together.”

Grumpy’s prides itself on made-to-order and always-made-from-scratch comfort food and sweet southern hospitality all at a working-class price. Grumpy’s serves breakfast, lunch and brunch along with an array of daily and weekly chalk board specials which include a variety of sandwiches, homemade soups, salads, signature coffee, fresh squeezed juices, homemade hot chocolate and desserts.

Including a franchise fee of $40,000, the initial investment necessary to open a single location ranges between $574,000 and $1,294,000. Each Grumpy’s Restaurant location will occupy approximately 2,800 square feet of real estate and will have approximately 120 seats.

For more information about the Grumpy’s Restaurant franchise opportunity, visit: www.GrumpysFranchise.com.   

About Grumpy’s Restaurant

Founded in 1999 and franchising since 2019, Grumpy’s Restaurant is a traditional Americana, full-service restaurant offering breakfast, lunch and brunch. Grumpy’s offers fresh, made-to-order and always-made-from-scratch menu items at an affordable, family-friendly price. Today, there are four locations open and one franchise location in development in Northeast Florida.

For more information, visit: www.GrumpysRestaurantCo.com/Grumpys-Blog

Check out Grumpy’s Restaurant and the whole article at “Franchise.org”.

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Grumpy’s Restaurant Featured “Smiling, hungry customers return to Grumpy’s” On ClayTodayOnline.com

By Don Coble don@claytodayonline.com

STAFF PHOTOS BY DON COBLE

MIDDLEBURG – Proving you can get a second chance to make a first impression, customers lined up in the darkened fog Monday morning to be the first through the doors at the relaunch of Grumpy’s Restaurant on Blanding Boulevard. The popular spot for breakfast and lunch was destroyed by a fire on Jan. 19, 2022. It took nearly 50 weeks later, but customers were eager to hug co-owner Courtney Hoard at the door and to get their meals delivered by Madison Baity.

For more information, visit: www.GrumpysRestaurantCo.com/Grumpys-Blog

Check out Grumpy’s Restaurant and the whole article at “ClayTodayOnline.com.com”.

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Grumpy’s Restaurant Featured “Re-opening of Grumpy’s puts loyal customers in great mood” On ClayTodayOnline.com

By Don Coble don@claytodayonline.com

MIDDLEBURG – The minutes before Grumpy’s Restaurant was scheduled to re-open were filled with frenzied activity inside the popular eatery. There were menus to place on tables, food to be prepped, T-shirts to be folded and a final moment for everyone to catch their breath.

“I need these guys to be exceptional today,” co-owner Del Hoard Sr. told his kitchen staff. “Actually, guys, just do what you always do.”

Outside, the line of hungry and eager customers was growing. The dark and foggy conditions created an eerie backdrop. Headlights poked a hole through the thick cover as the line quickly became a crowd.

Then at 5:30 a.m., Courtney Hoard, the wife of co-owner Del Hoard Jr., opened the door and she was quickly greeted with smiles and hugs.

“We got here about 4:40 (a.m.). We wanted to be the first when they opened the doors,” said Middleburg’s Jay Miller.

The restaurant was destroyed on Jan. 19, 2022, by a fire that started with an electrical spark in the wall behind the dishwasher. COVID, supply chain issues, red tape and labor shortages caused several delays in the rebuilding. Nearly a year of frustration and anticipation was replaced with filled stomachs, hot cups of coffee and a few tears.

“It feels good to be back,” Hoard Sr. said. “We never gave up.”

Within minutes, every seat at Grumpy’s was filled. A new line formed outside, and it didn’t subside until the final lunch left the line at 2 p.m.

The only things that distinguished the pre-fire Grumpy’s with the rebuild was the large “GRUMPY’S” signs above the counter and a wooden American flag leading to the restrooms. The GRUMPY’S letters still were covered with soot and char. So was the flag. They serve as a reminder of the restaurant’s journey, Hoard Sr. said.

The rest of the place was rebuilt exactly as the old one. The Hoards resisted the temptation to expand to better accommodate the demand, but they decided coziness and a friendly attention was more important.

Only a few returning customers opened their menus. Most were such regulars, they already knew what they wanted to eat.

Including Miller and his wife, Barb. They took the first booth near the door. He ordered two poached eggs, grits, bacon and unsweet iced tea. She ordered oatmeal, toast and coffee.

“I came up here right after the fire and took photos of the inside,” Jay Miller said. “We’ve been waiting a long time for them to be back. We come up here for the comradery. It’s a very personal place. It’s a family affair here.

“Grumpy’s is a lot more than eggs and grits.”

“We’ve been coming here since they opened,” Barb Miller said. “We love it here.”

Although Grumpy’s is new again, the Hoards were glad to pick up where they left off. That means legions of loyal customers, huge bowls of fresh fruit, big waffles, fresh-squeezed orange juice, eggs and a waiting line that forms before the doors are unlocked.

For more information, visit: www.GrumpysRestaurantCo.com/Grumpys-Blog

Check out Grumpy’s Restaurant and the whole article at “ClayTodayOnline.com.com”.

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Grumpy’s Restaurant Featured “'Tough times happen': Middleburg Grumpy's owner excited for reopening year after devastating fire” On SpotOnFlorida.com

The owner of Grumpy's Restaurant in Middleburg says the last year has been a bit of an emotional roller coaster, but he's excited to get back to serving the community.

For more information, visit: www.GrumpysRestaurantCo.com/Grumpys-Blog

Check out Grumpy’s Restaurant and the whole article at “SpotOnFlorida.com”.

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Grumpy’s Restaurant Featured “Grumpy’s restaurant in Middleburg set to reopen” On BizJournals.com

By Don Johnson

Grumpy’s restaurant, one of Middleburg’s most popular eateries, has plans to reopen on Monday morning, Jan. 2, according to a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page.

The restaurant was damaged by fire in January and has faced delays in reopening.

The Middleburg diner, which opened in October 2020 at 1805 Blanding Blvd. was Grumpy’s first franchise restaurant. The original Grumpy’s is located in Orange Park.

The Middleburg restaurant is co-owned by Dell Hoard Sr., his wife, Peggy, their son, Dell Jr., and his wife, Courtney.

Daniel DeLeon, president and CEO of Grumpy's Restaurant, said in an earlier interview that the building will be the same size. The former restaurant had a seating capacity of about 112.

“Everything will be the same,” he said.

He said they had hoped to salvage some of the building, but there was too much damage. “It is unbelievable how much soot can ruin everything,” DeLeon added.

Grumpy’s has received numerous awards for its made-to-order homestyle breakfast and lunch and has several locations in Northeast Florida.

No one was hurt in the fire on Jan. 19 at the restaurant. The restaurant had been closed for about four hours when an employee at a nearby business smelled smoke and called the fire department.

The fire started in the restaurant’s back prep room. A floor fan used by the cleaning crew to dry the floor caught on fire 14 minutes after the crew left the building.

DeLeon and his wife, Morgan, bought the flagship Grumpy's Restaurant in Orange Park in 2017. They now offer franchises of the restaurant.

A U.S. Navy cook, known as Chef Grumpy, opened the first Grumpy’s restaurant in 1999. The restaurant serves American and Southern food, including seafood. The restaurant promotes its cranky-looking chef logo and is known as the "Home of the Bad Mood Dude." The restaurants serve breakfast and lunch.

The restaurant’s hours are 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For more information, visit: www.GrumpysRestaurantCo.com/Grumpys-Blog

Check out Grumpy’s Restaurant and the whole article at “NewsBreak.com”.

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Grumpy’s Restaurant Featured “Grumpy's re-opens Middleburg location following fire, $1M rebuild” On BizJournals.com

By Penny Dickerson  –  Reporter, Jacksonville Business Journal

A January 2022 fire caused by faulty equipment completely gutted and shut down Grumpy’s Middleburg location.

Two-weeks shy of one year later, owner Dan Deleon has invested $1 million to rebuild the restaurant and will open doors to the public Jan. 2.

DeLeon said the Middleburg Grumpy’s located at 1805 Blanding Blvd., Suite 107 is 2,800-square-foot location and will retain its original footprint consistent with counterpart Grumpy restaurants in St. Johns and Clay counties. 

The Business Journal previously reported that Grumpy’s fourth and largest franchise opened in Neptune Beach on Nov. 14.

That 4,500 square feet restaurant cost $1.2 million and has 160 seats, private conference room and outdoor patio seating similar to Grumpy’s flagship location in Orange Park.

“We were hoping to acquire more space for Grumpy’s Middleburg by negotiating with the liquor store next door, but it just didn’t work out,” said DeLeon. “We were specifically looking to expand to a 10-foot wider space to add four more tables and additional cooler space.”

DeLeon said holiday traffic for all Grumpy’s restaurants has been “insane.” He said the restaurants have never been as busy during a holiday season and attributes it to people getting out more and families comprised of large parties patronizing the restaurants.

“Our goal was to see an increase in the single digits, but we’ve experienced tremendous growth with an increased volume of 12% to 15%,” said Deleon. “Middleburg has 53 employees with close to 40 working full-time. We were “lucky” to retain 80% of the original staff.

The Grumpy’s Middleburg restaurant is a franchise location owned and operated by Dell Hoard Sr. and Dell Hoard Jr. along with their wives Peggy and Courtney, respectively.

A fifth Grumpy’s in Yulee's Wildight development was also scheduled to open in January; it has been pushed back to the second week in February due to construction schedules.

For more information, visit: www.GrumpysRestaurantCo.com/Grumpys-Blog

Check out Grumpy’s Restaurant and the whole article at “FirstCoastNews.BizJournals.com.com”.

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Grumpy’s Restaurant Featured In “Grumpy's in Middleburg set to reopen Monday after January 2022 fire” On FirstCoastNews.com

Author: Renata Di Gregorio

The reopening is coming with a hefty price tag. Owner Dell Hoard, senior, says it cost more to rebuild than to initially open.

MIDDLEBURG, Fla — It's a new year and a new start for a beloved local restaurant.

Nearly a year after a fire ravaged their Middleburg location, Grumpy's restaurant on Blanding Boulevard has a reopening date: Monday.

The reopening is coming with a hefty price tag. Owner Dell Hoard, senior, says it cost more to rebuild than to initially open.

"The cost of everything has doubled," Hoard said. "It's significantly more expensive to rebuild our place than it was to build it originally."

Grumpy's on Blanding Boulevard was only open for one year before catching fire in January. It's been closed ever since, but now the company is starting the new year on the right foot. A fourth Grumpy's restaurant is set to open in May in the Wildlight community in Nassau County.

Hoard says supply chain problems caused a delay in reopening and they had to wait several months for appliances to be delivered. Inside the rebuilt restaurant, they say you'll notice only minor changes and some changes were made to make operations easier for employees.

They're reopening with 85 percent of their employees, many of whom worked at other Grumpy's restaurant locations this past year.

"We have such a family atmosphere amongst our employees and our restaurant patrons that come in," Hoard said. "We see a lot of them everyday."

Grumpy's is open from 5:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

For more information, visit: www.GrumpysRestaurantCo.com/Grumpys-Blog

Check out Grumpy’s Restaurant and the whole article at “FirstCoastNews.com.com”.

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Grumpy’s Restaurant Featured In “‘Tough times happen’: Middleburg Grumpy’s owner excited for reopening year after devastating fire” On News4Jax.com

MIDDLEBURG, Fla. – The owner of Grumpy’s Restaurant in Middleburg says the last year has been a bit of an emotional roller coaster, but he’s excited to get back to serving the community.

Walk in, and the first thing you’ll now see is a charred sign (pictured above). Dell Hoard Jr. says it’s a reminder of what happened about a year ago.

“We’re gonna keep it like this,” he said. “It tells a story, and we want everyone to know it’s part of Grumpy’s now.”

In January 2022, the restaurant went up in flames. Investigators believe a fire broke out in the kitchen.

No one was physically hurt in the blaze, but the damage was extensive.

Hoard Jr. said that, naturally, the fire took an emotional toll.

“I mean, I couldn’t talk to anybody at the time,” he said. “It was hard. Our family, we put a lot into this, and I remember getting the call, I had just gotten home from eating here beside the place.”

From there, the family business focused on rebuilding — although it took a lot longer than expected.

Hoard Jr. says they’ve been motivated by their loyal customers.

“It’s been so comforting to know we have so many people around here who care about Grumpy’s,” Hoard Jr. said. “We were only here for 15 months, but we were able to come in and form that relationship that we could really see.”

“Tough times happen. And you can see what comes from it afterwards,” Hoard Jr. said. “You’ve just got to work hard and you’ll get back to where you were.”

Nearly a year later, crews are putting the final touches together before the doors reopen.

For more information, visit: www.GrumpysRestaurantCo.com/Grumpys-Blog

Check out Grumpy’s Restaurant and the whole article at “News4Jax.com”.

#Grumpys #GrumpysRestaurant #Franchising #Restaurant #Franchise #Florida #Breakfast #Brunch #Lunch

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