- April 19, 2024
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Dozens of people headed out to Bings Landing the afternoon of Sunday, Nov. 25, to protest the proposed expansion of Captain’s BBQ. The restaurant is now housed in a modest, oak-shaded building in the south of the county park, but its owners plan to demolish the current building and construct a new, larger one nearer the center of the park. The plan has also prompted opponents to circulate a petition, which organizers say now has more than 600 signatures.
“It went really well; we had a lot of people show up,” said Hammock resident Shari Gray, who organized the protest. “We got a lot of people who stopped off the street and signed the petition. “A lot of people realized they’re not the only one who wants to save Bings Landing.”
“I’m taking people’s comments, definitely, into consideration. You know, there’s no making everybody happy, but I try my best to lend an ear, and if there’s something I can do, I’ll try to do it.”
— CHRIS HERRERA, Captain’s BBQ co-owner
Chris Herrera, who co-owns the restaurant with Mike Goodman and is also a local fishing guide, walked out to speak with the protestors.
“I wanted to hear what the major concerns were,” he said. “I’m taking people’s comments, definitely, into consideration. You know, there’s no making everybody happy, but I try my best to lend an ear, and if there’s something I can do, I’ll try to do it.”
The County Commission, after hearing dozens of citizens comment for and against the proposal, had voted 3-2 during a Nov. 19 commission meeting to OK it. The vote was held at the final meeting before Commissioner Nate McLaughlin — who voted in favor of the proposal — was to be replaced by incoming Commissioner Joe Mullins, who attended the meeting as an audience member and said the county had loaded the agenda to push things through before he took office. The commission had not workshopped the proposal before the meeting, and many community members urged the commission to delay a vote.
That concern over the process that led to the proposal’s approval was echoed by protestors.
“We had all gone to the meeting, the commissioners’ meeting, the Monday before, and they didn’t listen to us; they just pushed it right on through,” Gray said.
The restaurant and county administration say they’re in a bind: The county owns the current building, and Captain’s leases it for $750 per month. Under the terms of the lease, the county is responsible for the maintenance of the building. But, according to county officials, it’s falling apart because of water seepage undermining the foundation — a toilet once fell through the floor — and fixing it isn’t feasible.
The county administration does not want to break the lease with Captain’s by letting the building become unusable, but also does not want to dump money into a building that can not be saved, County Administrator Craig Coffey said at the meeting.
So the county administration and the restaurant worked out a deal: The restaurant would pay up to $1 million to build a new, approximately 4,500-foot main building, with up to 5,200 square feet of use overall, to replace the current one. The county would own the new building. The restaurant would move in and pay $1,000 a month to the county instead of the current $750. That rate would continue for five years, then increase 3% annually.
The county government would demolish the current building, add additional parking for the restaurant, undertake septic system upgrades, and potentially add four boat slips for use by Captain’s patrons.
“Why do we have to sacrifice our park? It’s a county park. I don’t want it to be a restaurant with a little county park; I want it to be a county park with a little restaurant.”
— SHARI GRAY, protest organizer
By relocating to another spot in Bings Landing, rather than demolishing the current building and constructing a new structure in the same spot, Captain’s would be able to remain open rather than closing for months for construction. The expansion proposed would also give the restaurant 150 seats — enough to allow it to get a liquor license, which concerned locals who thought restaurant patrons’ drinking could endanger children using the park.
Hammock resident Dennis Clark, who attended the protest, wasn’t convinced by the county’s assertion that the current building can’t be saved.
“It seems more like an excuse to build a bigger restaurant and a bar,” he said. “Most people are fine with having a restaurant there, as long as they don’t change the location.”
If the county adds new parking for the expanded restaurant, he said, “Basically, the beautiful little historic park becomes a parking lot for the restaurant.”
Gray said she understood that the current lease obligates the county to maintain the building. But if the building isn’t fixable, she said, “Well, then, it’s time [for Captain’s BBQ] to go. Why do we have to sacrifice our park? It’s a county park. I don’t want it to be a restaurant with a little county park; I want it to be a county park with a little restaurant. Really, there shouldn’t be anything there. ... The county bought that land with our money: It’s a sensitive piece of property; there’s artifacts there.”
Now that the restaurant is there, she said, it shouldn’t expand in ways that impact the public’s use of the park. She said she would have fewer objections if Captain’s built a replacement building of the same size and in the same location as the current one.
“We just want to save the park. We don’t want to run his business off. We like the quaintness of the park; we like the quaintness of the Hammock. Yes, I know we can’t stop he development of the Hammock itself, but that’s a county park.”
Herrera said he was hearing varying concerns from people who’d opposed the proposal. Some seemed to object primarily to the process the county had used to approve it, which Herrera said he’d had no part in.
“I try to explain to people — I’m not a politician; I’m a fisherman who runs a restaurant,” he said. “The issue is, what is the major concern from the locals? Is it they don’t want a business there? Is it they don’t want growth? Is it that they’re losing green space, even thought they’re gaining it where the old restaurant is?”
Some people, he said, were opposed to any expansion in the area.
“Some of the concerns I get are from people who’ve been here a long time, like myself, and they feel like growth shouldn’t be coming to the Hammock,” he said. “They don’t want any new gas stations; they don’t want any new business — just nobody coming — and they were pretty dead set on it. I tried to explain to them ... growth is inevitable, and there’s not anything you or I can do to stop growth.”
He noted that the proposal had gone before the Scenic A1A Pride board and the county’s planning board, and hadn’t drawn much public interest there.
“When nobody goes to previous meetings and expresses their opinions, I’m left in the dark,” he said. “And now it’s passed and voted on, and people are coming out and saying they don’t support the project. At this point, I don’t know what it is I can do, other than listen and forward the information.”
NOTE: This story has been clarified to reflect the fact that the planned expansion of Captain's BBQ includes up to 5,200 square feet of use.
