Pub’s iconic double-decker bus finds a new home

An earlier version of this story was updated after the bus was moved.

The big old red bus that marked an iconic British pub near St. Augustine has a new home.

The 26-foot-long double-decker bus appeared destinated for the scrapyard after the Kings Head British Pub on U.S. 1 closed. The owners said the bus was too tall and fragile to move, but a collector hauled it off for restoration early Thursday afternoon.

The pub, run by founder Ann Dyke and daughter/pastry chef Elaine Hartley-Frew, closed its doors in September after 32 years of operation. The family held auctions just before Christmas to sell off the memorabilia that decorated the pub, like a suit of armor and a cast iron phone booth. But no one adopted the 1972 British Leyland bus.

The “unanimous expert advice” was that the old bus was structurally fragile, too close to power lines, and too tall to move, Hartley-Frew posted early Thursday.

Although social media was filled with angst about that fate, the family hoped the “tremendous outpouring of dismay and grief from the whole community” would persuade the property’s new owners to relent and allow the bus to remain where it was.

Then events turned late Thursday afternoon. Craig Smith, managing partner of St. Johns Food Service, agreed to take the bus.

Smith, who also owns the Alhambra Dinner Theatre, said he learned early Thursday that some were saying the old bus was too tall and fragile to move. Joking that he “loves old things,” he decided to secure it.

“There was such a hue and cry from the community that didn’t want it to go away and wanted it to be saved,” he said. “They just didn’t want it to be torn apart and put in the trash heap, and least of all Elaine and her Mum — that was their reality. When I talked to her and realized how heartbroken she was, I jumped into action.”

Smith said he needs to find someone to restore the bus and does not know whether they can get it running again. But it will be restored, he said.

Smith envisions displaying the bus in front of one of the restaurants he owns. Or it could be used as a fish and chips food truck, even a bed and breakfast, he said.

“If somebody steps up and says, ‘Hey we can restore it’ for whatever that amount of money is, I certainly wouldn’t be opposed,” he said.

The bus will stay in St. Augustine, “where all know and love it,” he said.

The pub’s history

Dyke and then-husband Michael began building the Tudor-style building in 1990 on a then-empty patch of U.S. 1 about 8 miles north of Downtown St. Augustine. It was soon joined by the 14-foot-tall double-decker London bus, its route listed as London and Piccadilly Circus above its tiny driver’s cab. Dyke actually drove the 10-ton bus to its spot next to the pub.

The family chose the site on U.S. 1 at Venetian Boulevard because it is on a main route to St. Augustine’s tourist spots. But after 32 years, Dyke said it was time to close the pub due to rising costs and staffing issues.

The closure saddened many customers, some wondering what would happen to the old bus. Damage was still visible from when someone ran off the road and hit it years ago.

On Tuesday, the family posted that the pub’s new owners, First Pub LLC group, wanted the double-decker moved or it would be scrapped.

That generated dozens of responses, some saying they had the equipment to move the bus. Hartley-Frew wrote that “both me and Mum are heartbroken that the bus is doomed to such a grizzly and unfortunate end.“

Sean Hassan, part of the First Pub LLC group, also posted, saying that the new owners group is made up of locals, including himself. He said they love their community and “want to do something special with the pub and property.”

He was pleased Thursday that the bus had new life. It’s going to the right person, he said.

“Glad it’s being restored,” Hassan said. “It will cost them a lot, but would be really cool in the end if they can do it.”

Just after noon Thursday, a crew brought a big car hauler to the scene and winched the bus safely aboard for transport. The move was captured in photos by Rick Ambrose, director and CEO of the St. Augustine Film Office.

“It is completely wonderful when it had the sword of Damocles hanging over it with the threat of scrapping,” Hartley-Frew said. “But it is absolutely wonderful that it will have a new lease on life.”

Now First Pub LLC is turning its attention to bring the new restaurant to life. This will be its first restaurant, and it will be a pub, Hassan said.

“We will be bringing in a manager and working with other restaurant owners we know in the area for advice,” he said. “Hopefully, we have something up and running in three to four months, but there is plenty of work to do on the building.

“We plan on having a beer garden, area for kids and more. All the owners live and work in the community; my wife and I were born and raised here. We want to create something for everyone in the growing area.”