Local Folks

Local Folks: Sam and Kiley Efron

Local Folks: Sam and Kiley Efron

Sam and Kiley Efron are the owners of San Marco’s multi-award-winning Italian restaurant, Taverna. Sam serves as executive chef, and Kiley as wine director. But these local folks aren’t only business owners and residents of the area; they are fervent fans. Sam is a native of Jacksonville, a Mandarin High School graduate. He met Kiley […]

Local Folks: The York Family

Local Folks: The York Family

Andria and Tom York are no strangers to the residents of Jacksonville. Andria works for the mother company of TIAA. Tom is the president of CastleWise Realty and Insurance located in the One Call building in San Marco. Before that, he was with Citizens Property Insurance. Some might even know that when Andria and Tom […]

Local Folks: Lauren Carlucci

Local Folks: Lauren Carlucci

As of May, Lauren Carlucci is the newly elected president of the San Marco Preservation Society, this role following her one-year stint as vice president. She’s a natural fit for the organization, folks agree, and some are curious to know how she got there. As a Jacksonville University student, Carlucci changed her major seven times […]

Local Folks: Susan Painter and Rick Pariani

Local Folks: Susan Painter and Rick Pariani

Susan Painter and Rick Pariani have been married for 45 years. She is a retired teacher who had taught art in St. Johns County schools for many years. How apt that she retained her maiden name, Painter. Pariani is a landscape architect retired from Davidson Companies. They bought their Avondale home five years ago, commencing […]

Local Folks: Friends, Ginny and Ward

Local Folks: Friends, Ginny and Ward

Amid five decades of change, Ginny Stine Romano and R. Ward Lariscy have managed to maintain a consistent friendship. Living and working close by, shopping and socializing in the same circles, and even traveling together—sometimes a state or two away, and sometimes abroad. These two friends have been doing life side by side for the […]

Local Folks: Ed Hall

Local Folks: Ed Hall

Despite his social interactions being limited for the past couple of years by personal health issues and pandemic restrictions, San Marco resident Ed Hall’s voice and visual commentary have been seen and heard in publications in the U.S. and around the world. Hall’s profound and wickedly hilarious political and editorial cartoons and award-winning illustrations deliver […]

Local Folks: Dori & Christian Thomsen

Local Folks: Dori & Christian Thomsen

Meet the Thomsens: Dori, a Floridian from Pensacola Beach, and Christian, a New Orleans native. They are the Riverside couple who founded Saluna Yoga + Spa in 5 Points in 2014 and who recently celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary. They met in 2004 in Jacksonville at the University of North Florida while Dori was completing […]

Local Folks: Kelly & Clint Ross

Local Folks: Kelly & Clint Ross

Kelly and Clint Ross are opticians who own Davalt Optical, a longstanding eyewear boutique in Riverside. There they fill prescription lenses, repair broken eyeglasses, take custom orders, and so much more. In addition to eyes, the Rosses have a passion for history and collectibles. So, when they’re not dressing the windows of people’s souls, they […]