Daytona Beach city commissioners delay buying Cruisin’ Cafe property

DAYTONA BEACH — City commissioners have put the brakes on a $4.33 million property purchase that includes the Cruisin’ Cafe on the southwest corner of Main Street and State Road A1A.

The purchase proposed by city staff could give the city control of a key site, but the sale would also wipe out more than a third of the $11.8 million in the Main Street Community Redevelopment Area fund.

The price to buy the Cruisin’ Cafe and two nearby properties wasn’t the only thing that gave the mayor and a few commissioners pause when they saw it on the agenda for the Wednesday, Jan. 21, City Commission meeting.

Some city commissioners said they were blindsided by the deal city staff had been quietly working on behind the scenes for two years, and the mayor said he was especially dismayed by the Main Street Redevelopment Board never having a chance to weigh in on the proposed sale.

Commissioners decided to table the property purchase decision at least until early March to have more time to discuss it. They also want to do another appraisal on the Cruisin’ Cafe property and the two other parcels that are part of the $4.33 million sale offer.

City staff said a recent appraisal came in at $4.4 million, but City Commissioner Stacy Cantu noted the owner pays taxes on $1.8 million worth of property.

City staff have maintained the land offers a chance to revitalize a corner of A1A and Main Street with a new restaurant or retail use, and to provide dozens of parking spots on an empty lot that would be part of the sale.

Also at stake could be the purchase and overhaul of the large city-owned building at 777 Main St., which has an interested investor who has struggled to meet the parking requirements for his vision. For a few years the city has been talking to a South Carolina man who’s interested in buying 777 Main St. for $2 million and sinking another $3 million into transforming it into a new restaurant, bar, event space and music venue.

Daytona commissioners questioning if city should spend millions on properties

City commissioners have to decide whether they want to use more than $4 million of community redevelopment area funds to buy 2 S. Atlantic Ave., 16 S. Coates St. and a third parcel on South Coates. The final price would rise to $4.36 million figuring in closing costs and an environmental report.

City staff, who suggest tearing down the 9,954-square-foot restaurant building, say it’s an opportunity to remove blighted property, create 100 parking spaces right off Main Street, and add a new restaurant or shops in the core tourist area.

“Change costs money. It doesn’t just happen because you want change,” said City Commissioner Ken Strickland. “The money is there to create change in the community redevelopment area.”

Mayor Derrick Henry questioned if it was too much money since the city already spent $3.1 million acquiring 777 Main St. Like Cantu, Henry also believes commissioners should have been notified of the sale offer over the past month.

City staff members have been negotiating the multi-property acquisition on and off for more than two years. City records show the seller is Myara Properties, and the managing member is Daniel Myara.

The original asking price was $6.5 million for four parcels. Staff sent an offer letter for $3.25 million that was rejected by the seller in October 2024.

In November 2025, the property owner agreed to sell three parcels if the purchase price was $4.33 million. The seller also wanted to keep 20 S. Atlantic Ave., which is home to Sicily Pizza and Daytona Hardcore Tattoo, and was originally included in the $6.5 million package.

If city commissioners approve the purchases, city staff is proposing to demolish the Crusin’ Cafe building and have an interim use for that corner property. Staff has suggested using the land for a small version of Boxi-Park in Lake Nona to provide food, drinks and entertainment and activate the space while finding a developer for a restaurant or retail use.

The city’s plans don’t feel solid enough for City Commissioner Monica Paris. She said she doesn’t “see a justification” to buy the properties “in a buyers’ market.”

“There’s not enough to do this on spec or a hunch,” Paris said.

What do Cruisin’ Cafe officials have to say about the sale?

Bo Bofamy, a local Broker Associate with Coldwell Banker Commercial Benchmark in Ormond Beach, has been involved with the Cruisin’ Cafe sale the last two years. Some people at the Wednesday City Commission meeting said the property had been listed for sale for 12 years, but Bofamy said that’s not true.

In an interview Thursday, Jan. 22, Bofamy said the original $6.5 million deal Myara offered expired early last year, and it was the city who came back to the owner last fall and suggested the lower-cost, three-parcel deal.

He said there was a letter of intent and deadlines attached to the most recent deal, and Myara had wanted to close the sale by the end of last year. Bofamy said that’s why the proposed sale was presented to commissioners at a pace some might have perceived as rushed.

The deadlines were set by the seller, not the city, Bofamy said.

Bofamy noted that he doesn’t expect the owner to lower the price now that things have slowed down a little.

Bofamy maintains there were several inaccurate things said at the Wednesday meeting. A few people who spoke insinuated the Cruisin’ Cafe has code violations that it hasn’t been held accountable for, but he said that’s not true.

An official involved in the restaurant who didn’t want to be named also said in a Thursday interview that there have not been any code problems.

It was suggested at the Wednesday meeting that the Cruisin’ Cafe was trying to bend the rules for this year’s Bike Week, but the restaurant official said the business has never tried to get some of the extra privileges during Bike Week, such as outdoor bands and vendors on the property, and has no plans to do that this year, either.

The restaurant official said the only reason the Cruisin’ Cafe is for sale now is because the owner wants to retire after 30 years of holding the properties. She said he has passed up previous offers to buy the property because the plans of those interested could have left the corner vacant for years.

What do Main Street business owners and residents think about the sale?

There were mixed feelings about the sale among the 12 local residents and business owners who shared their opinions at the Wednesday meeting.

“This proposal isn’t just a bad idea, it’s an insult to everyone in Volusia County,” said Gabe Wozniak, chair of the Libertarian Party of Volusia County. “Why does the city think it can succeed where the free market did not? You’re wasting tax dollars, current and future.”

Wozniak said he thinks this is a terrible time for the city to spend $4 million since the state is about to conduct a sweeping operational audit of Daytona Beach because of questions raised about the city’s handling of its money.

“Until the house is clean, not one more dime should be spent on visionary projects,” Wozniak said.

Tom Caffrey, a member of the city’s Beachside Redevelopment Board, said “it was quite shocking” to see the proposed sale on the City Commission agenda. The redevelopment board wasn’t briefed on the sale or given a chance to discuss it.

Caffrey, owner of the World’s Most Famous Brewery on Main Street, said the city’s plan will create parking he maintains isn’t needed. City ownership would also take the property off the tax roll, he said, and he thinks the sale price is too high.

Amy Pyle, chairperson of the Beachside Redevelopment Board, also said $4.3 million is too much for the properties. And like Caffrey, she thinks the sale proposal should have been brought to the redevelopment board.

Beachside resident Jenny Nazak said if the city buys the properties and levels the restaurant building, that will remove a place small businesses can use to get established. She also thinks the man interested in buying 777 Main St. shouldn’t get city help with his parking dilemma.

Gary Koliopoulos, who has owned the Beach Express souvenir shop on the corner of South Atlantic and Harvey avenues for more than 30 years, said the beachside “could definitely” use the extra parking the deal would provide. But Koliopoulos, another member of the Beachside Redevelopment Board, doesn’t want to see the Cruisin’ Cafe torn down and replaced by nothing other than an empty lot for years.

Beachside Daytona resident Sandy Murphy said she sees it “as an investment” and a chance to get rid of a restaurant that’s “a shabby mess.”

“I think it’s a great idea, but you need a long-range plan,” said local resident Tom Russell.

You can reach Eileen at Eileen.Zaffiro@news-jrnl.com