Chicago Pizza, site of the August 26, 2018, deadly mass shooting at The Jacksonville Landing, has been leveled as the overall demolition of the former Downtown festival marketplace continues.
David Katz, a 24-year-old professional gamer from Baltimore, left the Good Luck Have Fun Game Bar inside Chicago Pizza after losing in a preliminary round of a national video game tournament.
He returned, armed with two handguns, and began shooting, killing two people, wounding 10 others and then turning a gun on himself. The restaurant eventually reopened – but briefly – as a flurry of lawsuits hit.
Related: Archived coverage of the shooting and its aftermath
The shooting may have hastened the Landing’s demise. The food court closed just two months later in October of 2018. Long time tenant Benny’s Steak and Seafood would close in January along with Cinco De Mayo as the Landing’s long decline accelerated.
The city and former the former owners of the Landing were also suing each other.
By February, owner Toney Sleiman reached a deal with Mayor Lenny Curry to sell the Landing back to the city.
Jacksonville City Council members voted 15-1 in March to approve a measure that included a $15 million buyout of Jacksonville Landing Investments LLC’s long-term lease, an additional $1.5 million to help relocate tenants and $1.5 million to demolish the 32-year-old shopping center.
The demolition is scheduled to be completed by May 28, 2020.
Bill Bortzfield can be reached at bbortzfield@wjct.org, 904-358-6349 or on Twitter at @BortzInJax.
