05/19/2026
Public Notice of Support
We want to respectfully express our support for Main Street Pizza as the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners considers the pending appeals related to its approval for limited beer and wine service in conjunction with its existing restaurant use.
To be clear, this is not a fight against any church, congregation, or community member. The churches involved have every right to participate in the public process, file an appeal, and express their concerns. Churches are important parts of every community, and their voices deserve to be heard respectfully.
Our concern is broader than one restaurant or one permit.
This is about fair and consistent application of the St. Johns County Land Development Code, the Future Land Use Map, and the long-term redevelopment vision for Hastings.
Main Street Pizza is an existing restaurant located in a commercial corridor. The property is within a Community Commercial future land use area, Commercial General zoning, and the Hastings Overlay District. The County’s own framework contemplates commercial redevelopment in this corridor, and the LDC provides a process for bona fide restaurants to seek approval for limited beer and wine service.
That matters.
If proximity to a church alone becomes the automatic basis for denial, then the practical effect could reach far beyond Main Street Pizza. In a small historic community like Hastings, where churches are located throughout and near the commercial core, that approach could discourage future restaurants and small businesses from investing in the very corridor the County has identified for commercial revitalization.
This is also not an alcohol-free commercial area today. Nearby retail and convenience businesses already sell packaged beer and wine. The issue is not whether alcohol exists in the corridor. It already does. The question is whether a small, locally owned restaurant should be allowed to serve beer and wine responsibly with food, subject to County conditions, in a commercial area where similar alcohol access already exists.
We believe the better path is to uphold the Planning and Zoning Agency’s approval, deny the appeals, and apply any reasonable conditions necessary to ensure Main Street Pizza remains a good neighbor.
This decision will set precedent. It will tell current and future small businesses whether St. Johns County will apply its adopted Code and redevelopment framework consistently, or whether a use specifically contemplated by the LDC can still be denied based primarily on proximity and generalized concern.
We respectfully support Main Street Pizza.
We also respectfully support the churches’ right to be heard.
But at the end of the day, this should be decided based on the LDC, the FLUM, competent evidence, and the future of Hastings’ commercial corridor — not animosity, fear, or division.
Hastings deserves thoughtful redevelopment, responsible small businesses, and fair rules that are applied consistently.
