“Big Baby” is back with breakfast, brunch and brinner.
According to the Jax Daily Record, legendary former Jaguars defensive lineman Marcus Stroud has been recommended an incentive from a Downtown Investment Authority committee to open an all-day restaurant, Baby Got Brunch, in Jacksonville.
The seven-year Jaguar from 2001-07 owns the single-story, 5,000-square-foot structure at 610 N. Julia St. downtown, operating in the Residences at City Place condominium building at 311 W. Ashley St, per the DIA staff report.
Stroud bought the space in 2022 for $295,000, according to the Daily Record. It’s in the area of the proposed “Pearl Street District” development project. A $96,620 Retail Enhancement Program grant was recommended by the DIA committee by a 3-0 vote.
The proposed restaurant will carry his nickname, which he received in college and maintained in the pros. A proposed menu included breakfast dishes including multiple waffle specials, burgers, salads, cocktails and mimosas.
“I’m a big fella with a handsome, baby face. That’s how I take it,” Stroud said, per the Daily Record.
Stroud intends to restore the establishment and open the restaurant at a projected cost of $763,485, not accounting for necessities such as furniture and equipment.
The news of Stroud’s restaurant being approved comes in the wake of an agreement on the framework of a deal for renovations to EverBank Stadium, proposed by the Jaguars and negotiated with Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan and her executive team.
The Jaguars have also pitched a sports and entertainment district around the stadium to accompany the renovations.
“Downtown is renovating, Jacksonville is up and coming and plus I have a tie to the community from playing football here,” said Stroud.
The Jaguars made Stroud their first-round selection in the 2001 NFL draft. He operated alongside 2002 first-round pick, John Henderson, to form one of the fiercest defensive lines in the league during the 2000s.
Stroud compiled 279 tackles including 43 for loss, 22 sacks, six forced fumbles and 23 defended passes over 100 games with Jacksonville, en route to three Pro Bowl nods and two All-Pro Second-Team appearances, before finishing his career in Buffalo via trade.
Stroud recently relocated his family to Jacksonville from Atlanta, he told the Daily Record.
