Parker's Kitchen Opens Its First Florida Store in Yulee: 5,175 Square Feet, 16 Fuel Positions and 12 Florida Stores Planned by 2027

YULEE, Fla. - Parker's Kitchen, the Savannah, Georgia-based convenience store and fried chicken chain, now has its first Florida store, a 5,175-square-foot location at 75970 William Burgess Blvd. in the Crossings at Wildlight shopping center in Yulee. The company said the store would open at 5 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11, a store associate told the Jacksonville Daily Record on Nov. 6, and the paper reported the date Nov. 9. The opening came later than planned: Parker's had announced a late October debut when it unveiled its Florida plans Sept. 22.

The store sits near the interchange of Interstate 95 and State Road 200, also signed as A1A, in the fast-growing Wildlight development, and the shopping center is anchored by a Publix, the Daily Record reported Feb. 4. Plans call for eight gas pumps with 16 fueling positions. Kimley-Horn and Associates of Jacksonville handled the civil engineering, and the Nassau County Development Review Committee granted technical approval to the site engineering plan on Feb. 3.

What's inside

Parker's Kitchen bills itself as a competitor to supermarket deli counters as much as to other gas stations. Each store carries a Southern-inspired menu of freshly prepared food, with hot bars serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, indoor dining and electronic ordering kiosks, according to the company's Sept. 22 announcement. Menu highlights include breakfast biscuits, the Spicy Chicken Sandwich and hand-breaded chicken tenders the company says are never frozen and antibiotic-free.

The store also sells fuel, dispensed beverages, grab-and-go food, the chain's Chewy Ice and standard convenience items. Parker's describes its buildings as Low Country-inspired, with gas-lit lanterns, high-end fixtures, designer lighting and upgraded restrooms, according to the Daily Record. The company's website lists the Yulee store as open 24 hours a day, with the kitchen running 4 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, the Daily Record reported.

By the numbers

12 Florida stores by the end of 2027

The Yulee store is the first step in a Florida expansion that Parker's Kitchen says will produce a record number of openings in 2027. The company expects six Florida sites to be under construction in the first quarter of 2027 and aims to have 12 stores open in the state by the end of that year, including one truck stop, according to its Sept. 22 announcement. Parker's operates 18 truck stops today and plans five or six more, trade publication C-Store Dive reported Sept. 23.

"Entering Florida represents an important step in Parker's Kitchen's long-term growth strategy," CEO John Rudolfs said in the announcement, adding that North Florida is a natural extension of the company's footprint. Founder and Executive Chairman Greg Parker said the company is eager to speed up its growth by entering new markets across the Southeast. The chain, which is marking its 50th anniversary this year, has said it is pursuing a network of more than 200 stores through 2030.

Florida is not the only new territory. Parker's opened its first North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, store in early July and its first store in the Columbia, South Carolina, market in Lexington in early September, with more planned in both areas, The Shelby Report said. The company returned to a single-CEO structure after co-CEO Brandon Hofmann left Sept. 4, according to C-Store Dive.

10 more Northeast Florida sites

Most of the next wave is aimed at the Jacksonville area. The Daily Record reported Nov. 9 that Parker's has at least 10 other potential Northeast Florida locations, five in Duval County, three in Clay County and two in St. Johns County. The newspaper has tracked the company's land deals for more than two years.

Sites the Daily Record has identified include 7481 Wilson Blvd. at Old Middleburg Road North on the Westside, 11205 Alta Drive north of I-295 in North Jacksonville, and 1201 Blanding Blvd. at Tanglewood Boulevard in Orange Park. In June the paper reported that Parker's paid $5.75 million for two Baymeadows Road parcels at 8761 and 8771 Baymeadows Road, a former KFC and a former car wash, and $4 million for a 2.04-acre site at 222 Blanding Blvd. in Clay County. The two St. Johns County locations had not been publicly identified as of June.

What it means for Nassau County

The Yulee corner already has competition. Circle K, Wawa and RaceWay stations are nearby, C-Store Dive reported, citing Google Maps, and the Crossings at Wildlight has a Publix next door. Parker's is betting that its kitchen, rather than its pumps, will set it apart.

The store is the chain's northernmost in Florida and its closest to its Georgia base, which the Daily Record noted in February. Yulee is about 25 miles north of downtown Jacksonville, according to C-Store Dive. For Nassau County residents, the store adds a 24-hour food and fuel stop at an interchange that serves both I-95 travelers and the subdivisions filling in along State Road 200.