Wahoo Seafood Grill sat on land Alachua County had zoned for "highway-oriented business," with a "tourist/entertainment" land-use label. Both names describe a parcel meant to serve people coming off I-75. In May 2026, a year after the restaurant closed, the county commission changed both labels. The land use is now commercial, and the zoning is retail/sales and service business.
That vote is the clearest sign of something happening all around the NW 39th Avenue interchange. The corner where Meadowbrook and Fort Clarke meet the interstate is slowly being rebuilt, and relabeled, around the people who live near it rather than the people driving past. Most of the evidence is already in the county's records and the area's storefronts. Some of it has been approved but hasn't opened yet.
Where Each Spot Stands in Early October 2026
Here is what changed at each site, and what is confirmed versus still on paper.
| Site | Address | What was there | Status as of early October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magnolia Parke endcap | 4780 NW 39th Ave., Suite 9 | Starbucks, moved out in fall 2025 | The Paper Bag Deli, open since January 2026 |
| Former Wahoo Seafood Grill | 3833 NW 97th Blvd. | Wahoo, closure announced May 27, 2025 | Rezoned May 2026; no new tenant announced |
| Parcel next to former Wahoo | NW 39th Ave., entrance from NW 98th St. | Undeveloped commercial parcel | Ellianos Coffee drive-thru approved September 2025; not yet on Ellianos' store locator |
| Former Ichiban Sushi | 4928 NW 39th Ave. | Ichiban, closed after more than 25 years | Sohao Cafe announced a second location here in June 2025; Sohao's online ordering still lists only its SW 34th St. store |
| Southeast quadrant of the interchange | Behind the Burger King, Wendy's and Sonny's BBQ | Undeveloped | Final plan approved January 2024 for 352 apartments, a clubhouse and a hotel |
Two of these five sites have changed in ways you can see from the road. The other three are approvals and announcements that haven't turned into open doors yet. Taken together, they point the same way.
The Endcap That Changed Hands
When Starbucks left the Magnolia Parke endcap in fall 2025 and a leasing sign went up, The Paper Bag Deli's founder, Richard Sterck, moved quickly. He told Mainstreet Daily News that opening in Magnolia Parke, with its "good vibes and high traffic," had been a goal since he started the deli in 2022. His other Gainesville locations are downtown, on Tower Road and in Newell Hall on the UF campus.
Sterck gives each location something of its own:
"I try to do a little something different in all spots. Downtown's got the lobster roll, Tower Road's got all the fresh-baked pastries and deli items my mom makes, and then campus has the smoothie bar."
The Magnolia Parke take-out menu includes a sandwich called the Veganator, along with the deli's standard French Toastwich and Field of Fruit Dreams salad.
The hours show the clearest change. In December 2025, Sterck planned a 6 a.m. opening for the morning traffic, Monday through Saturday, and said he would add a Sunday crew within a year. The deli's location page now lists 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. Weekday hours run two hours past the original 3 p.m. plan, and Sunday service started well before the one-year mark. That's a local operator growing its hours based on business from the surrounding area.
The Labels on the Land Are Being Rewritten
Back at the Wahoo parcel, the new retail/sales and service zoning is, in Mainstreet's words, "a broad category that offers flexibility for future development." No tenant has been named, so anything you hear about what's going in there is speculation for now. The zoning does settle one thing. The parcel is no longer formally tied to tourism and highway trade.
The approved Ellianos Coffee next door follows the same pattern. The drive-thru is planned for NW 39th Avenue next to the closed Wahoo, but cars will enter from NW 98th Street. The county noted that the parcel sits within the Springhills Activity Center, which already allows this kind of use. Ellianos' current store locator still lists only one Gainesville shop, at 1521 SW 74th Dr. Until that changes, treat the NW 98th Street drive-thru as approved but not yet open.
Springhills is the larger framework behind all of this. In 2022 the county approved the overall plan for the 390-acre Springhills Community Development District, which covers three of the four corners where NW 39th Avenue crosses I-75 and mixes residential and commercial development. The southeast quadrant's final plan, approved in January 2024, places 352 apartments, a clubhouse and a hotel on 24.6 acres behind the Burger King, Wendy's and Sonny's BBQ along 39th Avenue. When that's built, hundreds more households will live within walking distance of the same interchange the fast-food row was built to serve.
The Ichiban Space Is Still in Between
Ichiban Sushi had served 4928 NW 39th Ave. for more than 25 years when Mainstreet reported its closing in June 2025. Sohao Cafe announced a second location in the space the same month, with a preview menu of Asian soups, baos, fried rice, noodles, mao cai, bento and seafood. More than a year later, Sohao's online ordering lists only its original store at 3045 SW 34th St. An opening announcement on Sohao's own channels is the thing to watch for, since it's the confirmation the old reports don't give.
The Places Already Built Around a Weekly Schedule
The parts of Magnolia Parke that don't change much have a lot in common with the newcomers. They're local, and they run on repeating weekly calendars. One Love Café at 4989 NW 40th Pl. calls itself a Magnolia Parke café. Crafty Bastards Restaurant & Pub is at 4860 NW 39th Ave. #39, and Arashi Yama Sushi & Hibachi Lounge is at 4780 NW 39th Ave. #1, in the same building as The Paper Bag.
Put their posted schedules together and you get a week that looks like this:
- Weekday mornings: The Paper Bag Deli opens at 6 a.m.
- Tuesday: Karaoke at One Love Café; trivia at Crafty Bastards.
- Wednesday: "Jazz in the Parke" at One Love, part of its 6 to 9 p.m. live music; trivia again at Crafty Bastards.
- Thursday and Friday: Live music at One Love, 6 to 9 p.m.
- Saturday: The Paper Bag from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.; brunch and live music at One Love from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with more music from 6 to 9 p.m.
- Sunday: The Paper Bag from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; brunch at One Love from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with live music from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
One Love also lists rock painting on select Sundays, plus free festivals and pop-up markets during the year. It hasn't posted 2026 dates for those, so check its calendar before you go.
The Road Money Follows the Same Corner
Alachua County's fiscal year 2026 third-quarter road report, released in August, puts three nearby roads in different stages. Northwest 23rd Avenue, an $11.6 million project, was completed during the quarter. Fort Clarke Boulevard is under construction at $2 million. Northwest 39th Avenue, at $2.9 million, is listed in pre-construction. The county's own quarterly infographic puts NW 39th Avenue under construction instead, and neither document gives a completion date. For now, the best way to describe the 39th Avenue work is "funded and coming," with no schedule to plan around.
The funding comes from the county's 10-year, $250 million Transportation Capital Improvement Program, supported by the Wild Spaces & Public Places surtax. The result is that the streets leading into the Magnolia Parke and NW 98th Street area are being rebuilt while the parcels along them are being rezoned.
If you'd like to know what the next rezoning or opening near the NW 39th Avenue exit means for your street, Anna Olcese follows these county decisions as they happen and is glad to walk you through them. Let's find your place. Schedule a consultation.
