The new owner of the Kings Head Pub in St. Johns County is seeking to rezone the property under a new name: Wobbly Whale Public House.
The county issued a building permit to First Pub LLC on Feb. 11 for interior and exterior renovations, including a new roof, at a project cost of $70,000.
The LLC is managed by Sean M. Hassan, who state records show is the president of Safepoint Occupational Health Services in Jacksonville.
Kings Head Pub at 6460 U.S. 1 N. closed Sept. 15 after 32 years. Hassan bought it Jan. 16 for $1.728 million.
The pub announced the name change on its Instagram account.
According to Hassan’s application, he is seeking to rezone the property from Planned Special Development/Open Rural to Commercial to further develop the 0.98-acre site.
A survey provided by Boatwright Land Surveyors of Jacksonville shows two new buildings east of the pub along with associated parking and retention ponds that will serve as a buffer for nearby homes.
The plan shows Hassan intends to convert an existing building north of Wobbly Whale to a coffee shop. The existing beer garden will remain.
“Currently the property bordering the property immediately is commercial, and the majority of the property on the other side of Venetian Boulevard to the south is commercial with the exception of two or three homes towards the southeast of the restaurant across Venetian Boulevard, and on the direct east border,” First Pub LLC’s application says.
The county’s Development Review Committee will discuss the rezoning application March 12.
Ann Dyke, through Kings Head British Pub Inc., sold Kings Head Pub.
First Pub LLC then took out a $1.428 million mortgage with Kings Head British Pub Inc.
“It’s with mixed emotions that we are closing the Pub, at 5.00pm on Sunday, 15th September,” the pub said in a Sept. 13 Facebook post.