Here's a look back at our top stories of the week
Here's a roundup of our top stories from the past week.
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Neighbors upset new 'home' with 3,620 SF garage and 880 SF of living space is anything but
Picture a typical single-family home. The image that comes to mind probably isn't the building at 517 Chadwick Street in the Woodland Heights neighborhood of Pensacola, but the city permitted its construction last year as a single-family home.
Residents of the Woodland Heights neighborhood, especially those who live on Chadwick Street, feel the city allowed the owner to get around the city's zoning laws.
The new building, which was granted a certificate of occupancy in March, looks more like a private fire station or car-repair shop than the 1950s-style ranch homes that predominate the Woodland Heights area. The building has three large garage bay doors and a single regular-sized door along its front.
The episode highlights the limits protection zoning offers residential neighborhoods as the city is undertaking a comprehensive review of its entire zoning code later this year.
Full story: Neighbors upset new 'home' with 3,620 SF garage and 880 SF of living space is anything but
Baked oysters, nautical cocktails and live music abound at this Pensacola hidden gem
The flow of the Escambia River points the way to DeLuna’s Hideout Oyster Bar & Grill, a lowkey angler's respite with food so good it's putting this tucked away restaurant on Pensacola’s map.
On weekdays, regulars load up on crispy shrimp po’boys, smoked pulled sandwiches and fried seafood platters at 10421 Mills Swamp House Road. The customers are always quick to thank owner Brittany Snyder on their way out the door, or one of her sons, who likely either cooked or served the food they enjoyed. On weekends, the sounds of songwriters’ tunes fill the room with acoustic performances and trays of freshly shucked oysters and nautically inspired cocktails flow amongst friends.
The DeLuna's on-site sister business, The Swamp House, attracts diners who arrive by water and take advantage of services like their 24-hour boat launch and wet slips.
While the restaurant is under a mile away from the busy University of West Florida campus, it has managed to stay one of Pensacola’s many local hidden gems for almost two years with its delicious food, friendly atmosphere and a patio right on the water.
Full story: Baked oysters, nautical cocktails and live music abound at this Pensacola hidden gem
Nightmare unfolds as woman finds Milton family home overrun by squatters
Carrie Black-Phillips was wearing a handgun on her hip Tuesday morning as she maneuvered around mounds of trash, including drug paraphernalia, that squatters had left behind in her family's home over the course of months of unauthorized residency.
She said she had been sorely tempted once to pull the weapon when the people who had chosen to shack up at her Tom Sawyer Road property taunted her as she tried to build a privacy fence to keep them out, even unplugging the power tools she was attempting to use.
She thought better of reaching for the gun, though, figuring she'd ultimately regret the decision.
"It's been a nightmare trying to deal with all this," she said. "It's very disheartening."
Full story: Nightmare unfolds as woman finds Milton family home overrun by squatters
New Orleans turned 50 acres of blight to homes and opportunity. Can Pensacola do the same?
NEW ORLEANS – Three buildings are all the remains of one of New Orleans' most dangerous public housing projects, and today those buildings are now interconnected with a modern building as the Educare New Orleans early learning school.
The 1940s buildings were "ungodly expensive" to rehabilitate, Bayou District Foundation Executive Director Jacob Peters told a group of more than 15 Pensacola community leaders Friday in the school lobby.
"These buildings were known for bad things and had a stigma, now have amazing things coming out of them," Peters said.
Reeves wants Columbia Parc and similar developments in other cities to serve as the model for what can be done if Pensacola takes control of the old Baptist Hospital property on the city's westside.
Full story: New Orleans turned 50 acres of blight to homes and opportunity. Can Pensacola do the same?
Pensacola has a new breakfast restaurant featuring favorites from Mexico
Husband-and-wife duo Reina Medina and Gerardo Zentle have been setting the bar high for traditional Mexican fare since they opened Xiscali Mexican Taqueria in Pensacola, which has been operating at 1400 Barrancas Ave. since 2018.
Now, the two have relocated Xiscali to a former IHOP at 19 N. Navy Blvd. They have split the expansive restaurant into a fast-casual taqueria on one half, and daytime café, Egg N Eggs, on the other.
The Egg N Eggs menu expands on what the two started at Xiscali, with homemade breakfast plates in a sit-down restaurant setting. While Egg N Eggs offers classic American plates, such as omelets, waffles and benedicts, it also offers flavorful Mexican-inspired dishes that make the menu shine. Egg N Eggs is now open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily.
Full story: Pensacola has a new breakfast restaurant featuring favorites from Mexico
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola top news stories: March 4-8 Deluna's Hideout and more
