St. Augustine restaurateurs to open two new eateries this summer

By Noah Hertz / JAXToday

With their main restaurant’s new location soon to be under construction in St. Augustine Beach, nestled beside St. Augustine Automotive, the French Bakery and Ocean Breeze Clothing, restaurant owners Genie and Jeff McNally are launching two new experimental eateries, testing out some new ideas ahead of The Floridian’s grand reopening next year.

Bea’s Fine Foods + All Day Café and Jefe’s Fish Wagon are both scheduled to open this summer.

“Jeff and I had all of these fun ideas that didn’t quite fit into The Floridian, but we couldn’t let them go,” Genie McNally said. “That’s how Bea’s and Jefe’s were born. It’s going to be a really fun way for us to experiment with new ingredients and flavor profiles on a smaller, more intimate scale.”

The couple are billing Bea’s as The Floridian’s “little sister.”

The cafe, which will open at 9 Anastasia Blvd., will offer different menus throughout the day, with pastries on offer in the morning, pizzas in the afternoon and sandwich options throughout most of the day. Like the McNally’s flagship restaurant, Bea’s offers options for vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free diners. 

The McNally’s second new project is a food truck: Jefe’s Fish Wagon. 

With a smaller menu on offer, the focus of Jefe’s is on having your seafood of choice (or tofu) any which way, whether it be on a sandwich, in a burrito, over chips or in a salad. 

Jefe’s will be parked at Hornski’s Brewing Co. — just down the road from Bea’s — at 100 Anastasia Blvd.

The two eateries are scheduled to open later this summer, while the McNallys are hoping to reopen The Floridian at its new location next spring.