ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The double-decker that once stood outside the now-closed Kings Head British Pub is getting a new home after the pub’s owners put out a free offer to have the bus removed before it faced a scrapped-metal fate.
The owners of the pub that closed in September said they were told the St. Augustine landmark would need to be removed by Friday or it was headed for a “doomed” and “unfortunate end.”
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They put out a message on Facebook and interest immediately started to pour in to save the bus. Now, the owner of Jacksonville’s Alhambra Theatre and Dining and St. Johns Food Services Craig Smith was up for the task of getting the bus moved and restored to life.
Marshal Adkison, owner of Adkison’s Towing, joined Smith to get the bus hauled away.
“I have probably passed this bus 10,000 times in my travels down Phillips Highway, ever since I was a kid, and even more so since I bought St Johns Food Service,” Smith said. “When I saw the news about the bus being taken to the junkyard, I knew I had to save it. So, here we are.”
Smith said they are still finalizing plans for the bus’s permanent home and future.
“Like the orange dinosaur on Beach Boulevard, we want to preserve these iconic pieces of Jacksonville’s history, even as our city grows and changes,” Smith said.