A little more than three months after opening, Maria Ferra’s “Live Bakery” in Downtown Jacksonville has closed. The door is locked and the sign has been removed.
Our Jacksonville Daily Record news partner reports the bakery-restaurant, located at 327 E. Bay St., offered Mediterranean-style made-from-scratch dishes. Ferra had more than 25 years of experience in baking and selling her goods in and around Duval County. She formerly owned Maria’s Bakery at 5770 Florida Mining Blvd. She turned that bakery over to her older son to run.
Ferra and her youngest son, Klodian “John” Ferra, opened Live Bakery together on April 10, 2018, with the Live Bar nightclub next door at 331 E. Bay St. Both businesses, under the organization Family Entertainment LLC, were connected and shared facilities.
A Facebook post from Live Bakery & Bar on July 27 states the “Bakery will be close temporarily to reorganize.” Attempts to contact John Ferra have been unsuccessful.
The Live Bar & Bakery received approval in 2017 for a Retail Enhancement Program Forgivable Loan in the amount of $79,295 to aid with building code and tenant build-out costs. However, according to Aundra Wallace, CEO of the Downtown Investment Authority, “they never executed any documents with the DIA for the funding. Therefore, no funds have been disbursed by the DIA....nor are any funds due to the business.” Wallace also stated “there are a series of procedural steps the business owners would need to adhere and none have been met to date.”
