Jacksonville

Southern Comfort Buffet Restaurant Opening in Jacksonville

Annie Ru's Carryout and Catering opens in Jacksonville serving Southern comfort dishes and buffet-style meals.

Image from Annie Ru's Carryout and Catering on Facebook

JACKSONVILLE, FL - Annie Ru's Carryout and Catering is set to open March 11 at 5045 Soutel Dr, Suite 18, Jacksonville, FL 32208, bringing a family-run Southern comfort concept to the city’s Northside. The restaurant is owned by Clifton F. Daniels Sr. and Mrs. Ruth Daniels, with their son Clifton F. Daniels Jr. serving as general manager and helping lead day-to-day operations.

The new restaurant marks the family’s third brick-and-mortar location and continues a business rooted in Ruth Daniels’ decades-long cooking and catering background.

What to Expect

Annie Ru's Carryout and Catering will operate as a buffet-served style restaurant designed for quick service and carryout-friendly meals. Guests will move down a serving line selecting rice, sides, and a protein before checking out with their meal packaged to go.

Menu options will focus on traditional Southern comfort dishes including fried chicken, smothered pork chops, oxtails, turkey wings, chitterlings, hog maws, collard greens, green beans, and seafood dressing.

The dining room will seat about 60 guests with an additional overflow room capable of accommodating roughly 50 more guests. That space can also be used for private events such as church gatherings, birthday parties, or baby showers.

The concept reflects the upbringing of owner Ruth Daniels, who grew up in Hastings, Florida, where she helped harvest cabbage and potatoes before and after school while also cooking for her siblings at home. Those early experiences helped shape the Southern dishes that now define the Annie Ru's menu.

One of the restaurant’s signature items is the macaroni and cheese, a recipe passed down from Daniels’ mother to her and refined over time.

The business remains deeply family-driven. Daniels Jr. manages daily operations, while several of Ruth Daniels’ sons contribute to the business including Keith Daniels in the kitchen and Vernon Daniels overseeing marketing and social media. Kyral Daniels, a retired military veteran, and Caleb Daniels also support the family’s efforts.

“Now we’re all working together so she can see the fruits of her labor,” Daniels Jr. told Business Debut. “We want her to see the legacy she’s built for our family and the community.”

The new location will also introduce a new breakfast addition: coffee from Out of Coffee, a brand owned by Daniels’ niece, Zori Brown. Daniels Jr. told Business Debut the coffee offering is new and will be exclusive to the Soutel Drive location.

Opening Timeline

The team is targeting a March 11 opening, beginning service at 6 a.m. with breakfast followed by lunch offerings throughout the day.

The new restaurant comes after roughly a year of construction and represents the largest location the family has operated so far.