An Ormond-by-the-Sea restaurant says a Florida Department of Transportation road project has nearly closed it off from the public — and workers are now turning to News 6 for help getting answers from the state.
Employees at Lagerheads Bar and Grill say that while a major construction project is underway, not only are temporary barricades surrounding the property, but FDOT has also installed a permanent curb that blocks off their main parking lot entirely.
“People just ride past because they think we’re closed,” said Shannon Gutierrez, an employee at Lagerheads.
Despite appearances, Lagerheads employees Shannon Gutierrez and Bri Brannan say the restaurant is open. But the perception of being cut off has already taken a financial toll on their 30 employees and 20 musicians.
“Having to be cut back from 30 to 40 hours a week, people are now getting 18 to 25 a week, and some of our employees are single moms,” Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez says the restaurant has lost significant parking throughout the project. “We’ve lost probably 30 parking spaces throughout this whole project,” she said.
The restaurant still has about 10 spots in a back parking lot down the hill, but the main lot is gone.
The pedestrian safety project runs along A1A from north of Roberta Road to the Flagler County Line. It started in April and is expected to run through 2027.
News 6 emailed FDOT with several questions about the project and the curb installation. A spokesperson confirmed that Lagerheads’ parking spots are in FDOT’s right-of-way and that parking there “is no longer available.”
But Gutierrez says the outcome was not what the restaurant was led to expect. “They told us a different type of curb — they told us we were going to get a Miami Valley curb where we could still drive over in order for us to still get our parking,” she said.
FDOT said it was in contact with the property owner before construction began, but Gutierrez says this is not what they anticipated.
“We are still open for business, we still want our locals to come but, in the meantime, can we kind of get it revised,” she said.
FDOT said it “will continue to work closely with our contractor and the residents and businesses in this area to maintain access and safety during construction,” but did not indicate it would consider any revision to the curb. In the meantime, employees hope to get the word out that Lagerheads is still open.