Dick Mondell’s Burgers & Fries, the fast-casual concept currently only in Gainesville, is preparing to open a new location in Jacksonville Beach at 1177 3rd St.
This will be the company’s third location, following a new site opening in Tallahassee any day now. Owner Chris Leckerling tells What Now Jacksonville that the new Jacksonville Beach will open in late Summer or early Fall 2023. The new Dick Mondell’s will move into the former home of Car Washes, which Paul Grainger bought in February 2021 for $925,000. Leckerling and co-owner Connor Castelli will lease the land from him and plans to spend $1 million on the opening with Toney Construction.
Dick Mondell’s, which isn’t named after anyone specific, features only outdoor seating with no indoor seating. The new 1,136 square feet Jacksonville Beach location will have covered picnic tables on 365 square feet of outdoor dining, according to Jacksonville Daily Record. The company’s original location at 412 4th Avenue, which opened in December 2018, features a drive-thru, a feature that will likely be found at the new Jacksonville Beach site. The to-go and outdoor dining-only concept was a result of the pandemic and has proven to be a success since then.
When the new Dick Mondell’s opens, customers can expect a throwback drive-thru burger restaurant that uses products and ingredients from local farms, dairies, and bakeries whenever possible. On top of beef and chicken burgers, the restaurant also proudly serves the meat-free Impossible Burger and a housemade veggie burger. For dessert, customers can get dessert cookie sandwiches that are made from scratch. Another fun promotion from Dick Mondell’s is the weekly “free ticket” promotion, where the 177th customer of the day eats a meal for free.
“We chose the number 177 because it usually falls when we are not particularly busy,” Castelli tells Jacksonville Daily Record. That way, we can snap a photo and talk to the person. We get some contact information. The idea allows us to be more involved in social media.”
