An agriculture-themed mural adorns the side of a building along Hastings' historic Main Street. The mural was painted by artist Kelsey Montague in 2025. | Noah Hertz, Jacksonville Today
Published on May 19, 2026 at 1:33 pm
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Customers at Main St. Pizza & Ice Cream in Hastings won’t be able to have a beer or glass of wine with their slice after all.
Reversing a decision made by the county’s Planning and Zoning Board, the Board of County Commissioners ruled Tuesday that Main St. Pizza would not be eligible for a license to serve alcohol to guests dining in.
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The county’s land development regulations state that alcohol cannot be served at any establishment within 1,000 feet of a school or church, but restaurants can apply for exemptions.
The county’s Planning and Zoning Board previously ruled that owner Matthew Glass was eligible for that exemption, but First Baptist Church of Hastings, just across the street from the restaurant, challenged the decision.
The church’s pastor, along with a group of congregants, urged county commissioners to uphold their challenge, citing concerns about drunken drivers leaving the restaurant, moral degradation in the community and setting a bad example for children who attend the church.
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Commenting that the situation reminded him of the movie Footloose, the restaurant’s owner made the case that approving his beer and wine license would help keep business in Hastings as it grows and changes.
Main St. Pizza, after all, is the only restaurant in the small unincorporated community’s downtown that stays open after dark.
“Every customer who comes to our restaurant spends money in Hastings,” Glass told county commissioners. “Not in Palatka, not outside of our community. We support local employment and the local tax base.”
Glass and others who supported his request argued that Hastings is a community with many churches and business owners would be hard-pressed to find a site that is more than 1,000 feet from a place of worship.
The County Commission ultimately sided unanimously with the church’s challenge.
Commissioner Christian Whitehurst, a business owner himself, said he supports small businesses but thought exemptions should be limited.
“If you don’t have the idea that this could be coming down the pike because there’s an ordinance in place that you think protects you from some of these uses, it’s hard to plan your life,” Whitehurst said. “It’s hard to plan the kind of community you want to have if the ordinances are waived for anything and everything.”
County Commissioner Sarah Arnold agreed.
“The church has been there for over a century,” she said. “The pizza place is a much more recent addition.”
Speaking with Jacksonville Today after the meeting, Glass said he appreciated the opportunity to make his case and he looks forward to camaraderie between himself and the church going forward.
“I’m a good neighbor,” Glass says. “We had our opportunity. I would have liked a better outcome, but we’re going to work together.”
