Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls is getting ready to expand throughout Northeast Florida, with a new location coming soon to St. Johns at 120 Durbin Park Drive, Suite D1.
The company’s newest location is set to open at The Pavilion at Durbin Park in Saint Johns County by the end of summer, likely in September 2024, according to Jacksonville Daily Record. This is just the beginning for franchise owners Michael and Diane Taradash, who are awaiting permitting from St. Johns County to begin the estimated $500,000 build-out. The mechanical engineer and McDonald’s franchisee is also opening another location in St. Augustine, hoping to find a site around St. George Street.
“Florida is booming,” Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls CEO and founder Dan Beck tells the Jacksonville Daily Record. “A lot of people who have moved to Florida are from the Northeast, so they understand the product and are familiar with it. Even though people are really kind of cutting back on spending, they’re still willing to splurge on vacation.”
Taradash tells JDR that he chose this brand because he likes the product and believes it will be “an opportunity to bring a new concept into a new area.” The first Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls in northeast Florida opened last October in Fernandina Beach at 708 Centre St. There are many more coming to the Sunshine State, with new locations opening in Belleair Bluffs, Bradenton, Fort Myers, Miami, Panama City Beach, and St. Petersburg. All locations offer a simplistic menu focused on different lobster options, such as a warm Connecticut lobster roll. Once Taradash opens the two new brick-and-mortar, he tells What Now Jacksonville that he hopes to open a Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls food trailer in the first quarter of 2025.
“It’s only going to be for the bigger events like the TPC, Daytona 500, and maybe Nights of Lights in St. Augustine,” Taradash tells Jacksonville Daily Record.
