Jacksonville's Mandarin Info Blog

Have you noticed that most places, other than bars, close around 9:00pm here in Mandarin.  I mean if you are a night-owl and really want to go out for a bite or need something from the stores there are not a lot of places you can go.  Thankfully, our Walmart  on San Jose Boulevard is usually opened 24/7 and you can get pretty much anything you want from there but sometimes it would be nice to be able to go somewhere else in the middle of the night.

I am a night-owl.  I work the midnight shift at one of our hospitals in the Emergency Room.  I have to pretty much keep to that schedule even on my off days or else I will mess up my sleeping patterns.  So, when I get restless on my days off I usually go for a drive.  It’s pretty nice out there for the most part with hardly no one else on the road but if I want to get a burger or a decent cup of coffee then my choices are limited.  The people at the Gate Store on St Augustine Road just before the I-95 overpass almost never disappoints.  They keep the coffee fresh and the flavored coffee creamers cool at almost all times of the night. Their store is also very clean and the prices for other stuff is not too outrageous.

Of course as far as the great burger or pizza is concerned I am out of luck after 10:00pm or 11:00pm during the week except for McDonalds down by I-295 on St Augustine Road.  But just remember their menu is limited after 11:00pm and I found out that all the 24 hour McDonalds closes between 3:00am and 4:00am for computer updates.

So, for those magic hours after 2:00am when the bars close and before 5:00am when the fast food places open for breakfast there are not too many choices in the Mandarin Area for a night-owl to go.   If you know of any businesses opened after 11:00pm during the week or even the weekend in the Mandarin Area please post that information here and what they offer!   I must find another place to go when I can’t sleep and don’t want to wander the aisles at Walmart!

Cheers!