ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — Reggae Sunday at the Conch House in St. Johns County is back and police are managing the crowds both inside and out.
Susan Rathbone lives near the restaurant and said it’s a better behaved crowd than it was Memorial Day weekend, when a fight took place between bouncers and customers.
“Today they’re only (allowing) 612 people, it sounds pretty mild, the parking is not horrific. This seems pretty good,” Rathbone said.
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Since then, the city of St. Augustine uncovered that the Conch House had numerous code violations and stopped the Reggae Sunday events until changes were made.
City officials told the restaurant it can eventually have a maximum capacity of 1,075 people, when a second exit from the party barge and J-dock is built. At the time of the fight, the restaurant had one way in and out. Sunday, a city code officer walked inside and made sure the business did not go over capacity.
St. Augustine Mayor Nancy Shaver said the owner of the restaurant is complying with the fire marshal’s requests.
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“We are like most cities -- our code compliances are complaint driven.” Shaver said. “So when we have a complaint, we investigate and we resolve.”
Shaver said Conch House owner David Ponce has to apply for the various permits and come up with a solution for additional entrances and exits. The plan will then have to be approved by city council.