What Now brought Jacksonville’s hospitality and business communities together Thursday, August 13, for an afternoon of relationship-building and idea-sharing at its latest Accelerate event. Held at Ajua Mexican Kitchen & Bar, at 107 2nd Ave N in Jacksonville Beach, the event was hosted by Director of Events Mariah Medley and co-hosted by What Now CEO and Founder Caleb Spivak.
The Accelerate series is designed to facilitate networking between business owners, prospective partners, and industry professionals. In total, 39 attendees representing 27 businesses and companies participated in the Jacksonville gathering. The group included 19 hospitality businesses and eight partner companies.
For attendees, the afternoon offered an opportunity to step away from day-to-day operations, build connections, and brainstorm with those who know the ins and outs of the industry and the local community.
Hospitality Attendees
Ajua Mexican Kitchen & Bar
Prateek Nellulli, Owner, represented the Jacksonville Beach restaurant, which hosted the Accelerate gathering. Ajua focuses on contemporary Mexican dining, with a menu featuring dishes including tacos, burritos, enchiladas, carne asada, birria, mole, and other Mexican-inspired offerings, alongside cocktails and margaritas.
Muscle Burger
Manny Aguilar, Co-Owner, and Ciara Nichols, Co-Owner, attended on behalf of Muscle Burger. The concept, which recently expanded to Jax and opened last month, describes itself as a scratch-kitchen burger restaurant built around 100-percent organic, grass-fed beef and fresh ingredients.
Jimmy John’s / Lake Ridge Capital Partners
Grant Roehm, Franchisee, represented Jimmy John’s and Lake Ridge Capital Partners. He is working on a significant franchise development agreement in the area with the sandwich shop brand and is looking to open a number of local stores.
Blackberry Creamery & Cafe
Raymond Paulk, Co-Owner, and Lynn Little, Co-Owner, attended on behalf of Blackberry Creamery & Cafe. The business is developing a food-truck park at the former Rally’s site on Normandy Boulevard, anchored by Blackberry Creamery & Cafe, which will sell ice cream, lemonade, and desserts.
Keke’s Breakfast Cafe / RREMC Restaurants
Vic Cuda, Partner; Jessica Quingana, GM; and Rod Mason, DOO, attended, representing Keke’s Breakfast Cafe and RREMC Restaurants. RREMC Restaurants is a major Denny’s franchise operator and also operates Keke’s Breakfast Cafe locations, continuing to expand the Keke’s brand throughout Northeast Florida.
Cuda shared his thoughts on the Accelerate event, saying, “I thought the event was great. I would highly recommend all local businesses to attend one of these events and share their ideas and best practices. It’s a great event to do some networking with other businesses.”
Pirate Island Pizza and BBQ
Llew Sutton, Owner, attended representing Pirate Island Pizza and BBQ, a mobile food concept combining pizza with smoked meats, preparing to serve the Fernandina Beach area. The business is planning to open at 22 S 8th St. and be available for large event bookings throughout Nassau County.
Bella Vista Ristorante Italiano
Paolo Ricciardi, Owner of Bella Vista Ristorante Italiano, attended, representing the Jacksonville Beach concept. It is part of the Bella Vista family of Italian restaurants, with a menu emphasizing traditional Italian dishes, imported ingredients, Italian-grain pasta, and house-made preparations.
Bang’n Bagel Company / Jersey Mike’s
Co-owners Augie DeBiase and Sophia DeBiase attended, representing Bang’n Bagel Company and Jersey Mike’s. The DeBiases bring a unique development perspective to the local hospitality community, operating over two dozen 25-plus Jersey Mike’s locations as well as running a local brand.
Ben & Jerry’s
Justin Renaldo, franchisee, attended, representing Ben & Jerry’s. Renaldo holds franchise rights covering a portion of the Jacksonville market for the trusted ice cream brand. His recent opening in Five Points marks the start of his franchising journey with the brand.
Sine Wave Coffee
Owner Anthony Brewer attended, representing Sine Wave Coffee, which expanded from a mobile espresso cart into a fixed espresso trailer in San Marco at 1435 Naldo Ave. Its catering services are perfect for weddings, corporate events, pop-ups, bridal showers, and other gatherings.
Cone and Cream
Chad Abernathy, Owner, attended representing Cone and Cream, an independent Jacksonville Beach fast-casual ice cream concept. The business is part of the area’s growing dessert and casual dining scene.
KoBu Sushi and Omakase
Ningrong “Chef Tuna” Liu, Owner and Chef, attended, representing KoBu Sushi and Omakase. KoBu opened in San Marco last month, bringing a chef-driven high-end Japanese dining concept centered on sushi, omakase, and dry-aged fish techniques.
Bearded Chef Brunch
Aaron Vargo, Owner, and Matt Smith, Manager, attended, representing Bearded Chef Brunch. The Jacksonville-based food truck serves Southern brunch classics with a fresh twist, including loaded hash rounds, burgers, burritos, and wraps, and is planning a new brick-and-mortar restaurant at 1629 University Blvd. N.
Royal Princess
Owner Lezlee Peterzell-Bellanich and coworker Jacqi Riveria attended on behalf of Royal Princess. The business is part of Jacksonville’s yacht and event-experience market, and is currently looking for food vendors to participate in its service efforts.
Clean Eatz
Jerry Mosiello, Franchise Owner, attended on behalf of Clean Eatz. A health-focused fast-casual restaurant franchise centered on balanced eating and nutrition-conscious meals, the brand is growing in the area with Mosiello’s help.
BagelsRUs
Abhi Somaiya, Owner, attended, representing BagelsRUs, a Jacksonville-based bagel shop founded in 1998. The locally owned business specializes in New York-style bagels that are kettle-boiled and scratch-baked daily, along with breakfast sandwiches, lunch items, coffee, and catering.
Strings!
Meghan Brennan, Catering and Event Coordinator, attended and represented Strings! Sports Brewery. The family-owned brewery and restaurant operates its original Springfield location at 1850 N. Main St. and a second location in Jacksonville Beach at 1618 Penman Rd.
Vicious Biscuit
Lu Veg, Founder and Owner, attended on behalf of Vicious Biscuit. Vicious Biscuit is a breakfast and brunch-focused restaurant concept known for oversized biscuit-centered dishes and a broad brunch menu.
Gaa Café
Owner Kelly Lei attended, representing Gaa Café. A women-owned, Hong Kong-inspired coffee and tea shop in the Baymeadows area, it serves specialty coffee and tea, Hong Kong-style pastries, light meals, and baked goods.
Partner Attendees
JJ’s Waste & Recycling
Jason Doig, General Manager, and Wendy Edwards, Sales Manager, attended on behalf of JJ’s Waste & Recycling, which provides waste management for businesses in Florida and Texas. Its services include dumpster rentals, trash-cart services, commercial trash collection, cardboard recycling, mixed recycling, and roll-off dumpsters.
Auris
Brenna Delony, Manager; Marie Moon, PCA; and Al Moon, PCA, attended on behalf of Auris. Auris provides payroll and human-resources services for more than 50,000 small and midsized businesses, combining payroll, time, benefits, compliance, and HR support in one platform.
Broward Nelson
Tim Andre, Sales Manager, attended on behalf of Broward Nelson. The company provides beverage gas and carbonation solutions for restaurants, bars, breweries, and other businesses, with more than 30 trucks serving Florida, offering emergency and same-day service.
Easy Ice
Sam Holmes, Sales Account Manager, attended on behalf of Easy Ice. The brand specializes in commercial ice-machine rental and subscription solutions for restaurants and other businesses.
Global Payments – Genius Point of Sale
Jose SaintEsteben, District Manager, attended representing Global Payments and its Genius point-of-sale platform. Global Payments provides payment technology and merchant services, while its Genius platform is designed to bring payment acceptance and point-of-sale functionality together for businesses.
Human Interest
Jennifer Lowstuter, PAM, attended on behalf of Human Interest, which specializes in employer-sponsored retirement plans. Its 401(k) services, from plan administration, compliance, employee support, and payroll integrations, are utilized by more than 47,000 businesses.
Liquid Environmental Solutions Corporation
Michael Ferrante, Account Executive, attended and represented Liquid Environmental Solutions. The company provides non-hazardous liquid-waste services to businesses across the country, including grease-trap and interceptor cleaning, drain-line cleaning, used cooking-oil collection, wastewater disposal, and other environmental services.
SpotOn
Brian Binniker, Sales Executive, and James Rocabado, Hospitality Specialist, attended and represented SpotOn. SpotOn provides technology and payment solutions for restaurants and other businesses, including point-of-sale systems, online ordering, labor management, loyalty programs, reservations, marketing, reporting, and inventory integrations.
What Now Media Group shares restaurant opening news in 33 cities across North America, breaking news, and provides timely insight into yet-to-open brick-and-mortar businesses. The platform shares news of thousands of openings across all 33 cities annually.
Stay tuned for future Accelerate events from What Now Media Group in 2026. For more details, see the Accelerate page here.
Click here for a complete list of our partners. To learn more about becoming a preferred partner, click here.
