"With kids, young kids, if I go to a restaurant, it's like, all right, we've got to get in. We've got to order right away," Daniel Moffatt, founder and co-owner of The Block Jax, told News4JAX when the venue opened in March. He described the problem that led to it this way: "I know they're not staying seated for more than like 15 or 20 minutes."

He built the place as an answer to that dinner. This Saturday it also answers a bigger question for the Southside: where to watch Georgia-Florida when the game isn't in Jacksonville.

Atlanta Gets the Cocktail Party, and EverBank Is Short on Seats

The 2026 Georgia-Florida game kicks off Saturday, October 31, at 3:30 p.m. at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, and ABC has the broadcast, according to Georgia Athletics. The two schools agreed to play in Atlanta this year and in Tampa in 2027 while EverBank Stadium is renovated. The game comes back to Jacksonville for the 2028 through 2031 seasons, Florida Athletics announced.

The Jaguars are still playing at home this season, just in a smaller building. The team's February 2026 stadium update put 2026 capacity at about 42,500, with more than 27,000 seats offline during construction. In August, News4JAX reported that the city was reviewing a $2.12 million plan for temporary seats in the East and West Club areas.

So this fall, Jacksonville's biggest annual party is about 350 miles away, and the stadium is short tens of thousands of seats. That's the gap The Block Jax is marketing itself into. Its Jaguars watch-party listing says it plainly: "We're bringing The Bank to The Block Jax!"

What the Venue Was Built For

The Block Jax sits at 7520 Quarter Mill Drive, just off Gate Parkway in Deerwood. It opened March 20 and calls itself Jacksonville's first outdoor food hall. The main space is a 10,000-square-foot covered pavilion with a stage, a kids' play area, a dog park and a 30-foot-wide LED wall. Co-owner Ryan Irish told News4JAX the idea started as an expansion of Kanine Social, the dog park bar in Riverside, and grew from there.

Eight kitchens opened with the venue: Chancho King, The Bearded Piglet, Darkside Tacos, Hungry Owl, the Mediterranean spot Just Kitchen, the smash burger stand Stacks, Slingin Weiners and Dairy Joy ice cream. The Block's own blog has since featured Southern Swells as one of its newer vendors, so the lineup has changed since spring. Ordering is cashless. You scan a QR code at your table and pick up at the window when your food is ready.

That setup suits a three-and-a-half-hour football broadcast better than a restaurant booth does. Nobody has to stay seated, kids have room to run, and food doesn't depend on flagging down a server in the fourth quarter.

Halloween Saturday, Hour by Hour

The Georgia-Florida watch party on October 31 runs from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and general admission is free. Here's the schedule from the event listing:

1. 11 a.m. Doors open and VIP check-in starts. DJ Easy E and DJ Capone play until 3 p.m.
2. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. $3 domestic drafts and $6 house vodka and whiskey cocktails.
3. 1 p.m. Valet opens for general admission. VIP valet starts at 11 a.m.
4. 3:30 p.m. Kickoff on the big screen.
5. 7 p.m. The Party Cartel plays live after the game.

Since it's Halloween, families with trick-or-treat plans should look at that 7 p.m. set. The game should end around dusk, and the band starts right after.

VIP pricing for this game runs higher than for Jaguars games. Single seats are $30 and come with a beer. A 4-stool high top is $180 with a pitcher. A lawn table for six is $300 and comes with a beer bucket and a Slingin Weiners "Wiener Tower." The patio sectional is $375. There are only 48 single VIP seats, 18 high tops, 12 lawn tables and 2 sectionals. Everyone else gets first-come seating outside the reserved section.

The Jaguars Calendar Through December

The Block lists every remaining Jaguars regular-season game on its watch-party page, and the venue says general admission is free. Three of those games fall outside the usual Sunday afternoon slot, so hours matter.

VIP for Jaguars games starts at $25 a seat, with the same 48-seat limit. High tops are $160 for four. Every VIP ticket includes free valet starting two hours before kickoff. Children under 12 with a parent don't need a VIP ticket, but they aren't guaranteed a seat.

The Monday, December 14 game is the one to plan around, because the venue doesn't open until 6 p.m. on Mondays. The Tuesday of Thanksgiving week has something else on the calendar: "STUFFED: Bobby Brown Jr. & Friends," a comedy night on November 24 at 6:30 p.m.

If the Dog Is Coming Too

Leashed dogs can go almost anywhere outdoors at The Block. Off-leash play happens only inside Kanine Social's private park, which has its own entry rules.

• Entry: You need a membership or day pass, a Kanine account, and vaccination records uploaded before your visit. Owners have to supervise their dogs.
• Vaccines: Rabies, Bordetella and distemper, with Bordetella updated within the last six months. Dogs must be at least four months old, and dogs over six months must be spayed or neutered.
• Ages: Nobody under 18 is allowed in the private park, so a parent with kids and a dog has to split up.
• Hours: Closed Mondays and members-only on Tuesdays, so the Monday night Steelers game is a leash-only night. Friday hours are listed differently on The Block's FAQ and Kanine's Gate Parkway page, so check before a Friday visit.

Game-day general admission is free, but the off-leash park isn't. Set up a Kanine Social account and upload your dog's records before Sunday, so you aren't doing it at the gate during kickoff.

Next Fall Is the Bigger Test

This year Southside is missing one big event and a lot of stadium seats. Next year it's missing both events entirely. The NFL approved Camping World Stadium in Orlando as the Jaguars' temporary home for 2027, and the team expects to be back in Jacksonville in 2028. The Georgia-Florida game goes to Tampa that same season. The renovated stadium's grand opening is set for August 2028, according to the team's stadium FAQ.

That makes 2026 a trial run for The Block. A Gate Parkway venue that builds a game-day routine this fall heads into 2027 with neither the Jaguars nor Georgia-Florida playing in Jacksonville.

Football season on the Southside is something our team plans around too, whether that's a showing that has to finish before kickoff or a client who wants to know which neighborhoods are within walking distance of a Sunday watch party. If you'd like to talk about where your weekends fit in Jacksonville, reach out to Dana Hancock and let's find a time that doesn't conflict with the Jags.