Boardwalks
& Tiki Huts
Conch House Marina Resort:
Written by Jessica Giraldo
Videography by Sebastain Reece
Photographed by Chloee Blair
Videography by Sebastain Reece
Written by Jeliel Brown
Photographed by Chloee Blair
Salt air moves through Conch House Marina Resort before all else. It drifts across the docks, through the lounge and into nostrils. Guests gather before seafood, drinks and entertainment in the form of live musical bands. Boats shift into their slips nearby, all while the property carries the easy motion of generations shaped by life on the water.
The story begins with Dustin Ponce’s grandparents, Jimmy and Jackie, who purchased the former Coast Guard Gunnery in 1946. Its original name was Ponce’s By The Sea, which was then a four-room motel with only three rooms available for rent because the family lived in one.
Ponce grew up around the resort; as a teenager, he decided that he would one day run it. For a brief time, he considered becoming a physical therapist, but his attention kept returning to the family business. Even in high school and community college, his grades suffered a bit because he could only think about working at Conch House.
Ponce’s attachment to the property was shaped partly by family and partly by place. He describes his grandfather, James Ponce Sr., known as “Big Jimmy,” as a rambunctious, one-of-a-kind figure with an appeal that seemed to fill whatever room or place he entered. His gift was in his ability to make the city feel more alive to others.
“He was the ambassador of St. Augustine,” Ponce said. “He would dress up like Ponce DeLeón and just go around talking about the city.”
The original old Coast Guard Gunnery still appears in small details, such as the old-style wall heaters that remain on the property. But the Conch House has changed dramatically since its early days, beginning in the 1980s when the restaurant started to develop more fully. Before then, it was called the Oyster Shop and drew lines out the door for seafood boils. Ponce said his great-grandfather was the original designer behind much of the property’s look.
By the time he was born in 1987, some of the establishment’s biggest changes had already taken place. The marina, Ponce said, was the most startling transformation, whereas the lounge retained most of the property’s former identity.
“The pier used to end right where the lounge is,” he said. “Now, it’s a 200-slip marina.”
When asked about the details of managing the property, Ponce said he sees it as one unified whole with several moving parts. The restaurant, marina, motel and lounge each require different operations, but together they form what he describes as an all-encompassing resort.
The marina brings in all kinds of boaters as well as long-term slip holders and transient visitors. The lounge, however, is where Ponce feels the resort’s strongest sense of community.
“We have a very great and loyal base, especially at the lounge,” he said. “I love our lounge regulars. They’re some of the funnest people I’ve ever met.”
He also hopes to restore that close-knit local feeling throughout the area. Much of the Conch House community is surrounded by tourism, and while visitors do remain central to the business, he much prefers the warmth of a place in which people know one another. He’s become well-acquainted with captains, sailors, transient boaters, fishermen, local charter companies and regulars throughout the city.
Food is a central part of his effort to emphasize the atmosphere of closeness and community. Ponce speaks with particular admiration for chef Chris Baldwin, whom he called the best chef in St. Augustine. Their connection goes back years, starting with Ponce who worked as a sous chef and kitchen manager during his teens and twenties. Interestingly, Baldwin’s brother and sister once also worked for Ponce. Baldwin, however, later left for another local restaurant, where Ponce said he blossomed and refined his skills, before returning to Conch House last year.
Impressively, Baldwin has since won four local cooking competitions and remains very involved in the St. Augustine food scene. His connection to the property is personal, and he even met his wife at Conch House when she was a server and he was a cook.
“We all love Baldwin around here,” Ponce said.
Music is another indelible part of Conch House’s existence. Ponce doesn’t know exactly when live music began at the property, only that “bands have always been a thing.” His father cared deeply about having the right bands play at the business, though Ponce said he understood this objective only through intuition rather than technicality.
Ponce has developed his own measure of when a band is right for Conch House. “I like energy,” he said. “I like to see people dance and sweat.”
For years, Reggae Sundays was among the most recognizable events to occur at the property. The outdoor concert series ran for four hours at a time and sometimes brought in nationally renowned bands. The event grew well beyond its intended bounds, but later came to an end during the COVID pandemic.
Ponce does not speak of this ending with nostalgia. Once the event was gone, he said, both the neighborhood and the business felt some relief. Reggae Sundays had become difficult to manage, and often left a mess of the surroundings.
The Ponce family continues to shape Conch House. Ponce’s cousin Trey, who grew up playing on the beach and sailing around with him, now serves as his right hand and secondary operations manager. His brother was once more hands-off from the business after working there as a teenager and later touring the world as a drummer. That changed after a health scare which caused him to take a more active role in the family business. He now assists in managing the restaurant on busy weekends, taking some of the weight off Ponce’s shoulders. “He does a great job,” Ponce said. “I’m very glad he’s here.”
Ponce said his journey from new business owner to running a St. Augustine staple hasn’t been easy. Conch House is a thriving destination, and he must constantly adjust to ever-shifting priorities He’s also tasked with trying to honor the resort’s history while bringing back a stronger local identity.
Despite those challenges, Conch House Marina Resort refuses to remain frozen in place. Every variation of the property has left behind an indelible trace. Ponce’s focus now is on bringing back the warmth of people, which is often lost in the modern day.
“I’m trying to get that local business back,” Ponce said. “Especially one that feels really strong.”
Any visitor can feel the energy and history around them as they tour the property. It’s found in the regulars, musicians, boaters and Ponce family members alike. Keeping Conch House alive is a responsibility the Ponce family inherited and one they’re determined to carry well into the future.
