Parker's Kitchen Picked Yulee to Introduce Itself to Jacksonville

In its September announcement, Parker's Kitchen said its first Florida store would serve "the fast-growing Jacksonville, Fla. market." The address in the same release is 75970 William Burgess Blvd. in Yulee, near what the company called "the high-traffic intersection of I-95 and Hwy. 200."

The company is based in Savannah and runs 111 stores across Georgia and South Carolina. It set a late-October opening for the Yulee store, which makes Nassau County its first stop in Florida, ahead of every Jacksonville site it has been working on. The chain has spent 50 years growing along the coast from Georgia, so it makes sense that its Florida opening landed at the first big interchange it reached.

Kingsland used to be as far south as it went

Before Yulee, the nearest Parker's Kitchen to Jacksonville was in Kingsland, Georgia, about 32 miles north of the city, according to the Jax Daily Record. That Kingsland store opened in fall 2024 as the company's largest. It covers 7,122 square feet and was described as the chain's southernmost store on Interstate 95 and its first in Camden County. The 6.84-acre site has parking for big commercial trucks, ethanol-free fuel, diesel and high-flow diesel.

So if you've made a Kingsland stop for biscuits or Chewy Ice on the way back from a Georgia drive, the Yulee store moves that same stop south to your own I-95 exit. Parker's Kitchen CEO John Rudolfs explained the move in geographic terms in the company's release:

"North Florida is a natural extension of our footprint, and we look forward to introducing Parker's Kitchen to a new group of customers while delivering the quality, service and value that have driven our success for five decades."

The company's growth so far has followed that kind of footprint, moving outward along roads it already uses. It was founded in Midway, Georgia, in 1976. Today it employs nearly 2,000 people in Georgia and South Carolina and handles more than 1.2 million transactions a week. On the I-95 corridor, the next step past Kingsland was Nassau County.

Nassau has one Florida site, and it opens first

Here is where the Northeast Florida plan stood in September 2026, according to the Jax Daily Record:

The two Duval projects show how far behind the Jacksonville sites are. At 11355 Beach Blvd., on the northwest corner of Beach Boulevard and St. Johns Bluff Road, Parker's Kitchen wants to build a 5,204-square-foot store on 1.59 acres. As of Sept. 21, 2026, the city was reviewing a permit there with a listed project cost of $2.2 million. In the Regency area, the city was reviewing site work for a 6,344-square-foot store on almost 2.13 acres at 9100 Atlantic Blvd. That lot is a closed CVS Pharmacy at the southwest corner of Atlantic and Southside boulevards.

The Yulee project started earlier. The Nassau County Development Committee signed off on it Feb. 4. In November 2024, Parker's Kitchen said it would open at least four Northeast Florida stores by the third quarter of 2026. As of September 2026, the company expected six Florida sites under construction in the first quarter of 2027 and a total of 12 Florida stores, including one truck stop, by the end of 2027. Until those open, a Jacksonville driver who wants the chain's chicken tenders in Florida has to come to Yulee.

What the Georgia stores are known for

The Florida Times-Union called Parker's Kitchen a chain "known for its freshly made, down-home Southern-style comfort food." According to the chain's own menu, the food breaks down like this:

• Biscuits: baked in-house every morning, including sausage, egg and cheese and chicken-tender versions.
• Chicken tenders: fresh, never frozen, and hand-breaded twice. The company's release also calls them antibiotic-free.
• Spicy Chicken Sandwich: made with Carolina Reaper cheese, pickles and Parker's sauce.
• Sides: the signature Mac & Cheese, baked fresh, and Potato Logs, hand-cut daily.
• Drinks: Parker's Fancy Lemonade and Signature Chewy Ice.

The longer menu goes past fast food. The Jax Daily Record listed catfish, grits, hash browns, sausage patties and gravy, pork chops, pulled pork sandwiches, fried okra and breakfast burritos. The paper reported that the Yulee store will offer the chain's prepared food, including breakfast biscuits, the spicy chicken sandwich and hand-breaded chicken tenders. Exactly which items each store carries can vary, so it's best to treat the longer list as a description of the chain overall.

The company has industry recognition too. Convenience Store Decisions named it Convenience Store Chain of the Year, and it was on the Inc. 5000 list of fast-growing companies for the ninth time in August. On the 2026 Inc. 5000, it ranked No. 4,693 with three-year growth of 31%.

Yulee gets the newest store layout

Yulee is getting the same store design the company just opened in two new South Carolina markets. The North Myrtle Beach store at 4530 Hwy. 17 S. opened in early July. The Lexington store at 1367 N. Lake Dr., near Lake Murray State Park, opened in early September and is the chain's first in the Columbia area.

According to the company, all three stores have indoor dining, electronic ordering kiosks, a hot bar that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, and grab-and-go items. Outside, the newer stores use what the company calls Lowcountry-inspired architecture, with gas-lit lanterns and designer lighting. Inside, the release mentions high-end fixtures and upgraded restrooms. The Savannah Morning News described the same features for all three new locations.

The hot bar runs through dinner, so the store can also work as a weeknight takeout option for anyone already passing through the I-95 and SR-200 interchange.

The app and the pump

Two programs tie the food and the fuel together.

1. Parker's Rewards is the loyalty app. Members earn 10 points for each dollar spent in the store, double points on mobile orders, and can redeem points for fuel discounts or for items in the store. Tobacco, lottery, gift card and fuel purchases earn no points, and liquor earns 5 points per dollar. The current Rewards page doesn't list a fixed number of cents per gallon for points.
2. PumpPal Debit is separate from the app. Members link a checking account and get at least 10 cents off every gallon, every day, according to the PumpPal page.

PumpPal draws payments from a bank account, so read the company's current terms before you sign up. This is general information, not financial advice, and your bank can tell you how a linked debit program works with your account.

The company also highlights its giving. It says it has donated more than $30 million to causes covering education, hunger relief, healthcare access and local veterans.

Finding it

The store is at 75970 William Burgess Blvd., near the I-95 and SR-200 interchange, with a late-October opening date. Before you go, check parkerskitchen.com for current hours and any opening-week events.

New businesses near the I-95 and SR-200 interchange affect daily errands and commutes in the Yulee neighborhoods around them, and that holds whether you live nearby or are thinking about a move. If you want to talk through what's being built along that stretch, or just want a local opinion on which exit to use on your way home, Chad Feuerhahn is glad to talk. Let's Connect.