Grafton & Fleck's, an upscale steakhouse replacing Ragtime Tavern, broke ground Sept. 30 at 299 Atlantic Blvd. in Atlantic Beach.

River Restaurant Group plans to open the steakhouse and rooftop lounge in early 2027, as first reported by theJacksonville Daily Record.

The 1927 building sits at The Corner, where Atlantic Beach and Neptune Beach meet along Atlantic Boulevard. Ragtime Tavern operated there for more than 40 years before closing in January 2025, one month after former owner SPB Hospitality sold the property to Kelly Cos. of Southern California.

What the plans show

Permit applications submitted in January 2026 call for a first-floor dining room with 158 seats and a 20-seat private dining area, according to permit plans reported by theJacksonville Daily Recordin March 2026. A second-story addition would add rooftop dining with 42 open-air seats and 44 covered seats, bringing total capacity to 264.

The building is owned by Rad Lovett of Southcoast Capital Partnership Ltd., according to the Jacksonville Property Appraiser.

The team behind it

Grafton & Fleck's takes its name from its founders. Jeffrey Grafton McCusker and Robert Fleckenstein launched River Restaurant Group in 2017, according to the company's website. McCusker's middle name is Grafton.

The group also operates River & Post in Jacksonville, River & Fort in St. Augustine and SAINT, an Italian restaurant in downtown St. Augustine.

The project team listed on permit plans includes Cronk Duch Architecture of Jacksonville and RDID of Jacksonville for interior design. Alexander Grace Consulting Inc. of Jacksonville Beach is the structural engineer, with Trusted Engineering of Jacksonville Beach and RLH of Oviedo as general contractor.

What's next

Cost estimates and a construction timeline were not included in the permit plans reviewed in March 2026. The groundbreaking proceeding suggests the city approved the permits, though no public record confirming that approval was available as of Sept. 30.