7 Popular Jacksonville Names That Aren't Around Anymore
Several businesses and major chains have come and gone over the course of Jacksonville's 182 years of existence. Here's a couple of names older generations of Jaxsons will vividly remember.
1. Barnett Bank
Barnett Bank was founded in 1877 by William Boyd Barnett.
Barnett and his family relocated to Jacksonville in 1877, and opened the Bank of Jacksonville in May of the same year. William was president and his son acted as bookkeeper. Because most banks were private and unregulated at this time, the Bank of Jacksonville got a slow start—only totaling $11,000 deposits in the first year. However, Barnett would soon make his son, Bion, a partner—changing the fate of the bank immediately.
Bion struck a conversation with Henry L’Engle, the Duval County Tax Collector. Bion would ultimately convince L’Engle to deposit the county’s funds into their funds at the Bank of Jacksonville. Within the year, L’Engle would become Treasurer of the State of Florida, adding even more funds to the Bank of Jacksonville. Within a few years, Barnett and his son’s bank became the National Bank of Jacksonville, exceeding over $1 million in deposits in 1893.
Barnett Bank would eventually become the name of the bank. This bank would survive many local and national mishaps and would become Florida's largest commercial bank and a Fortune 500 company in 1995, with over 600 branches, $3.10 billion in revenue and 6,800 local employees.
Eventually, in 1997, NationsBank would buy out Barnett Bank. In 1998, NationsBank acquired BankAmerica to become Bank of America.
2. Setzer's Supermarkets
Tallahassee's Setzer's during its mid 1950's grand opening. This Setzer's anchored the first shopping center built in Florida's capitol city.
Benjamin and Abraham Setzer immigrated to Jacksonville in 1910. The brothers started out in the ice business, but would end up establishing their own lumber company in 1918. This wouldn’t last long—as Benjamin Setzer quickly found himself in the butchering business just a few years later.
Benjamin was working for Emmett and Wesley Peacock's Peacock Brothers in Springfield. Within a year, Benjamin would take over the operations.
Thus, the first Setzer’s location was opened. Setzer’s would manage through the Great Depression, but would rapidly expand thereafter—becoming one of Jacksonville’s earliest grocery chains. Setzer’s would continue to expand through World War II, creating a distribution hub and corporate office in Springfield's Warehouse District. By the ‘50’s, Setzer’s was a forty unit chain with stores all over the state of Florida.
In 1958 however, Benjamin Setzer would sell his franchise to Food Fair Stores. Food Fair would grow to be a successful, billion dollar company.
As the saying goes, though, all good things must come to an end. Food Fair would come on financial hardships in the late ‘70’s. The 456+ locations were either closed or sold by 2000.
Click Here for more information.
3. McDuff Electronics & Appliances
McDuff Electronics & Appliances was established by Randolph Thomas and brothers. The first store opened in 1944 at the intersection of McDuff and Edison Avenues in Lackawanna. By the time McDuff was acquired by Fort Worth-based Tandy Corporation in 1985 the chain had grown to 235 stores. Tandy shut down the McDuff Avenue store and the entire chain in 1997, citing a competitive retail market and a lack of hot, new electronics products to drive the market.
View of interior of McDuff Appliances on North Monroe in Tallahassee on June 25, 1962. Image courtesy of the State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, https://floridamemory.com/items/show/61934.
4. Pic ‘N Save
The Longwood, FL Pic N' Save store in 1983.
Pic ‘N Save was another business that was founded and owned by Benjamin Setzer. After Setzer sold Setzer’s to Food Fair in 1958, he dedicated all his energies to his new drug store business. Pic ‘N Save was designed to be a self-service store—a new retail concept at this time.
The first Pic ‘N Save opened in Arlignton's Town & Country Shopping Center in 1955. Between the 1955 and 1957, the company would expand and would build over 200,000 square feet of warehouse space near Imeson Airport off North Main Street. By 1969, the chain had grown to 25 stores.
That same year, Benjamin Setzer passed away. The store’s new leader would be Setzer’s son, Leonard. Leonard Setzer would prove to be successful—bringing the store to over 3,000 employees and 40 locations by the mid-1980’s. While at its peak, it was averaged that 6 out of every 10 locals shopped at Pic ‘N Save.
This wouldn’t last though, as new competition such as K-Mart and Walmart started to pop up and flourish. Additionally, there were internal disputes on the company’s workings. Pic ‘N Save filed for bankruptcy in 1995.
Click Here for more information.
5. Lil’ Champ
In 1971, Lil’ Champ was started by owner Julian Jackson. Prior to this, the Jackson family had owned the Jacksonville Meat Company, as well as Jackson’s Minute Markets. The store was named after Jackson's boxing days, with a logo dominated by a small muscular boxer.
While the first Lil’ Champ would open in Gainesville, the company would quickly spread to 230 stores, as Jackson sold his share of the company in 1985. Docks de France would purchase these shares and by 1991 would own the entire company along with Jiffy stores. The Docks de France headquarters was set up in Jacksonville.
In 2001 however, The Pantry Company would take over ownership of the 489-store chain and move the headquarters to North Carolina.
6. Milligan's Beefy Burgers
Milligan’s opened in 1942, doing over 450,000 burgers-worth of business in the first year alone. Despite the continuing fast food “boom,” call box technology, and large competitors like McDonalds, Milligan’s remained a highly successful, popular location.
By 1950, owner Elmer Milligan was operating two branches—Milligan’s Grill in Springfield and Milligan’s Hamburger Hut in downtown. By 1964, Miligan’s would have over 16 locations, all over the city of Jacksonville. They would serve over 5 million burgers annually—which wasn’t a difficult number to get to, considering you could get a sack (a dozen burgers) for a dollar!
At the height of Milligan’s, there were restaurants all over Northeast and Central Florida. Unfortunately, in 1971, Elmer Milligan would pass away. Elmer’s son, Richard, would take over the family business for a few years, before Milligan’s finally succumbed to heightened chain-food competition.
Click Here for more information.
7. Charter Company
The Charter Company began in 1949 and grew to become a Fortune 500 conglomerate with of over 180 subsidiaries. Raymond Knight Mason was the founder of The Character Company, who was rooted in North Riverside's Mason Lumber Company and had just graduated from college. Mason was an apprentice, and friend, of Edward Ball, too, who was an extremely powerful and important figure in business and politics.
The Charter Company began with a group of Florida mortgage, banking, and land development firms. The company bought 60 small gas stations. Mason would then buy a petroleum operation in 1970. The company would also purchase the a portion of the Florida National Bank group, and would also come to own a portion of the St. Joe Paper Company.
The Charter Company would continue to expand through the 70s, with purchases including: Redbook, Downe Communications, Ladies’ Home Journal, and the Carey Energy Corporation. In 1980, Charter purchased Commonwealth Oil Refining Company.
In the 1980s, trouble ensued. A tragic helicopter accident killed four senior executives of the company. The Charter Company was then slammed with a $1.8 billion lawsuit. The company would end up filing for bankruptcy. Entertainment giant Viacom purchased Charter's last remaining assets in 1999.
Article by Kristen Pickrell
Barnett Bank was founded in 1877 by William Boyd Barnett.
Barnett and his family relocated to Jacksonville in 1877, and opened the Bank of Jacksonville in May of the same year. William was president and his son acted as bookkeeper. Because most banks were private and unregulated at this time, the Bank of Jacksonville got a slow start—only totaling $11,000 deposits in the first year. However, Barnett would soon make his son, Bion, a partner—changing the fate of the bank immediately.
Bion struck a conversation with Henry L’Engle, the Duval County Tax Collector. Bion would ultimately convince L’Engle to deposit the county’s funds into their funds at the Bank of Jacksonville. Within the year, L’Engle would become Treasurer of the State of Florida, adding even more funds to the Bank of Jacksonville. Within a few years, Barnett and his son’s bank became the National Bank of Jacksonville, exceeding over $1 million in deposits in 1893.
Barnett Bank would eventually become the name of the bank. This bank would survive many local and national mishaps and would become Florida's largest commercial bank and a Fortune 500 company in 1995, with over 600 branches, $3.10 billion in revenue and 6,800 local employees.
Eventually, in 1997, NationsBank would buy out Barnett Bank. In 1998, NationsBank acquired BankAmerica to become Bank of America.
2. Setzer's Supermarkets
Tallahassee's Setzer's during its mid 1950's grand opening. This Setzer's anchored the first shopping center built in Florida's capitol city.
Benjamin and Abraham Setzer immigrated to Jacksonville in 1910. The brothers started out in the ice business, but would end up establishing their own lumber company in 1918. This wouldn’t last long—as Benjamin Setzer quickly found himself in the butchering business just a few years later.
Benjamin was working for Emmett and Wesley Peacock's Peacock Brothers in Springfield. Within a year, Benjamin would take over the operations.
Thus, the first Setzer’s location was opened. Setzer’s would manage through the Great Depression, but would rapidly expand thereafter—becoming one of Jacksonville’s earliest grocery chains. Setzer’s would continue to expand through World War II, creating a distribution hub and corporate office in Springfield's Warehouse District. By the ‘50’s, Setzer’s was a forty unit chain with stores all over the state of Florida.
In 1958 however, Benjamin Setzer would sell his franchise to Food Fair Stores. Food Fair would grow to be a successful, billion dollar company.
As the saying goes, though, all good things must come to an end. Food Fair would come on financial hardships in the late ‘70’s. The 456+ locations were either closed or sold by 2000.
Click Here for more information.
3. McDuff Electronics & Appliances
McDuff Electronics & Appliances was established by Randolph Thomas and brothers. The first store opened in 1944 at the intersection of McDuff and Edison Avenues in Lackawanna. By the time McDuff was acquired by Fort Worth-based Tandy Corporation in 1985 the chain had grown to 235 stores. Tandy shut down the McDuff Avenue store and the entire chain in 1997, citing a competitive retail market and a lack of hot, new electronics products to drive the market.
View of interior of McDuff Appliances on North Monroe in Tallahassee on June 25, 1962. Image courtesy of the State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, https://floridamemory.com/items/show/61934.
4. Pic ‘N Save
The Longwood, FL Pic N' Save store in 1983.
Pic ‘N Save was another business that was founded and owned by Benjamin Setzer. After Setzer sold Setzer’s to Food Fair in 1958, he dedicated all his energies to his new drug store business. Pic ‘N Save was designed to be a self-service store—a new retail concept at this time.
The first Pic ‘N Save opened in Arlignton's Town & Country Shopping Center in 1955. Between the 1955 and 1957, the company would expand and would build over 200,000 square feet of warehouse space near Imeson Airport off North Main Street. By 1969, the chain had grown to 25 stores.
That same year, Benjamin Setzer passed away. The store’s new leader would be Setzer’s son, Leonard. Leonard Setzer would prove to be successful—bringing the store to over 3,000 employees and 40 locations by the mid-1980’s. While at its peak, it was averaged that 6 out of every 10 locals shopped at Pic ‘N Save.
This wouldn’t last though, as new competition such as K-Mart and Walmart started to pop up and flourish. Additionally, there were internal disputes on the company’s workings. Pic ‘N Save filed for bankruptcy in 1995.
Click Here for more information.
5. Lil’ Champ
In 1971, Lil’ Champ was started by owner Julian Jackson. Prior to this, the Jackson family had owned the Jacksonville Meat Company, as well as Jackson’s Minute Markets. The store was named after Jackson's boxing days, with a logo dominated by a small muscular boxer.
While the first Lil’ Champ would open in Gainesville, the company would quickly spread to 230 stores, as Jackson sold his share of the company in 1985. Docks de France would purchase these shares and by 1991 would own the entire company along with Jiffy stores. The Docks de France headquarters was set up in Jacksonville.
In 2001 however, The Pantry Company would take over ownership of the 489-store chain and move the headquarters to North Carolina.
6. Milligan's Beefy Burgers
Milligan’s opened in 1942, doing over 450,000 burgers-worth of business in the first year alone. Despite the continuing fast food “boom,” call box technology, and large competitors like McDonalds, Milligan’s remained a highly successful, popular location.
By 1950, owner Elmer Milligan was operating two branches—Milligan’s Grill in Springfield and Milligan’s Hamburger Hut in downtown. By 1964, Miligan’s would have over 16 locations, all over the city of Jacksonville. They would serve over 5 million burgers annually—which wasn’t a difficult number to get to, considering you could get a sack (a dozen burgers) for a dollar!
At the height of Milligan’s, there were restaurants all over Northeast and Central Florida. Unfortunately, in 1971, Elmer Milligan would pass away. Elmer’s son, Richard, would take over the family business for a few years, before Milligan’s finally succumbed to heightened chain-food competition.
Click Here for more information.
7. Charter Company
The Charter Company began in 1949 and grew to become a Fortune 500 conglomerate with of over 180 subsidiaries. Raymond Knight Mason was the founder of The Character Company, who was rooted in North Riverside's Mason Lumber Company and had just graduated from college. Mason was an apprentice, and friend, of Edward Ball, too, who was an extremely powerful and important figure in business and politics.
The Charter Company began with a group of Florida mortgage, banking, and land development firms. The company bought 60 small gas stations. Mason would then buy a petroleum operation in 1970. The company would also purchase the a portion of the Florida National Bank group, and would also come to own a portion of the St. Joe Paper Company.
The Charter Company would continue to expand through the 70s, with purchases including: Redbook, Downe Communications, Ladies’ Home Journal, and the Carey Energy Corporation. In 1980, Charter purchased Commonwealth Oil Refining Company.
In the 1980s, trouble ensued. A tragic helicopter accident killed four senior executives of the company. The Charter Company was then slammed with a $1.8 billion lawsuit. The company would end up filing for bankruptcy. Entertainment giant Viacom purchased Charter's last remaining assets in 1999.
Article by Kristen Pickrell