Patrick McKinney, owner of Cajun Beach Boil and Sushi, has been denied an outdoor entertainment permit from the Flagler Beach Commission for the second time. But he doesn’t give up.
The commission voted 4-0 to deny the restaurant’s request at its Jan. 9 meeting. (Commission Chairman Scott Spradley recused himself from the discussion and vote). The next day, McKinney said he met with an architect to redesign his stage with better soundproofing.
“We have an architect who designs the scene. We have a general contractor that’s going to build it, and we have a sound engineer that’s going to certify the sound when it’s finished,” he said.
His goal is to quickly restart the application process and return to the commission’s agenda in February.
Commissioners appeared willing to table McKinney’s nomination if he agreed to meet certain criteria, including that the speakers be placed at the back of the small outdoor stage and that the stage’s soundproofing be certified. McKinney generally agreed to the terms. He said he only wanted to have a two-piece acoustic band with no drums and cut off the live music at 9:30 p.m.
He would not accept open mic nights or a strict limit of two musicians, in case the musicians had a friend present who could join them on stage for a song or two. It could be considered an open mic, McKinney said.
“If someone who is opposed to us having live music comes here and goes to town and says, ‘Oh, he had an open mic, I could lose my license.’ So, I didn’t want to have that as a stipulation,” he said.
Cajun Beach, at 1112 S. Oceanshore Blvd., is on the corner of South 12th Street and A1A with a bar and outdoor seating and stunning ocean views. It is near a residential area and next to the Golden Magnolia Resort & Spa. Residents complain about noise during events.
There have been three reports of incidents since August 2, 2024. On August 2, a Flagler Beach police officer ordered them to stop playing music outdoors because their license had not been transferred to the new owner majority – McKinney. On September 20, area resident Brenda Wotherspoon, who is on the Flagler Beach Planning and Architectural Review (PAR) board, called the police, but no bands were playing when officers arrived.
And on October 17, a live radio station broadcast music remotely to the ocean. McKinney had a hearing with the commission that night, which had been delayed by Hurricane Milton. In the report, McKinney said he reserved the radio station months in advance, thinking he would have his license then. He told the commission at the Jan. 9 meeting that he didn’t know the radio station would have a “boom box.” He thought the show would only be broadcast on radio.
The restaurant did not receive any citations.
Cajun Beach Boil and Sushi opened in August 2023. But McKinney and his former partner, Linda MacDonald, who owned 51% of the business, found themselves in litigation in which the restaurant was closed for three months of May to July 2024. McKinney now has a new partner and is the majority owner. But the outdoor entertainment permit that was in MacDonald’s name was no longer valid.
McKinney was denied a permit in October. Commissioner Jane Mealy’s motion was based on the fifth criterion out of 14: inadequate parking for a large crowd attending an event. On Jan. 7, the PAR board added three additional criteria in recommending that the commission not approve the permit: The event would adversely affect or infringe on the rights of landowners within 200 feet of the property line of the restaurant; the applicant has violated a condition of the license in the past; and the comments and recommendations of the PAR Board of Directors were not taken into account.
But at the Jan. 7 meeting, Commissioner Eric Cooley said the main sticking point seemed to be noise complaints. He asked McKinney if he would be willing to make certain guarantees specifically regarding soundproofing the stage, and the commission would file the request until next month. But McKinney and his attorney, Hunter Bedard, said McKinney wanted commissioners to vote that evening.
“My lawyer said, ‘They’re not going to approve us tonight. We don’t need to wait for them to say no next month,” McKinney said the next day. “I agree with everything they said except the open mic. We always go back. It’s just that we have to start the process again.