A familiar spot on St. Augustine’s State Road 207 corridor could soon smell less like coffee and more like hops. A Kookaburra-backed brewery called Bushrangers is headed to the St. Johns County Planning and Zoning Agency on Thursday, July 9, with a plan to convert part of the existing coffee-roastery compound at 470 State Road 207 into a microbrewery, taproom, warehouse and kitchen. One potential sticking point is already off the table: Colonial Church has filed a letter saying it has no objections, clearing an early neighborhood hurdle ahead of the hearing.
What’s proposed
The team is asking the county for a Special Use Permit to allow a microbrewery on land currently zoned Industrial Warehousing, listing the project under the working name "Bushrangers Brewery." According to the St. Johns County application record, the submission is SUPMAJ-2025000030 and identifies Bushrangers LLC as the owner of 470 State Road 207. County records show the application was first routed in December 2025 and that staff returned comments during the spring review as applicants continued to revise project plans.
Local partners and the taproom plan
The proposal pairs The Kookaburra Coffee with local brewer Matt Hooker of Old Coast Ales, who told the Jax Daily Record the concept will center on lower- to mid-alcohol British-style ales. Site plans reviewed by local outlets show the project would plug brewing equipment, a taproom and a kitchen with a pizza oven into the existing roasting compound, expanding the footprint just enough to handle production and limited on-site service. The pitch is a neighborhood-focused taproom that can also support local distribution, not a sprawling party palace.
Neighbors and approvals
Nearby institutions are already weighing in. The Jacksonville Business Journal reports that Colonial Church has submitted a formal letter saying it has no objections to Bushrangers. That kind of on-the-record support is never a bad thing heading into a public hearing, but the project still has a gantlet to run. The county application record shows multiple staff comments and technical questions that the applicants have been addressing during the review process, and the brewery must still secure a recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Agency before it can move forward.
What happens next
The Planning and Zoning Agency does not have the final say, but it sets the tone. Serving as an advisory board on land-use and zoning issues, it reviews proposals and makes recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners, according to the St. Johns County Planning and Zoning Agency page. On July 9, the PZA is scheduled to take up the Bushrangers request, weighing whether the brewery fits the county’s comprehensive plan and local code and hearing from anyone who shows up to speak for or against it. If members recommend approval, the proposal then advances to the County Commission for a final decision, with any technical conditions hashed out through staff reports and permit requirements.
Why it matters for the 207 corridor
Bushrangers is not arriving in a vacuum. It joins a wave of beverage-production and hospitality projects working their way through county review along State Road 207, signaling that developers clearly like the look of this corridor. Recent proposals include a multi-acre Madi Rum distillery and destination complex that won a PZA recommendation earlier this spring, part of a pattern of production-plus-tasting-room concepts pitching economic and tourism benefits to the county, as reported by St. Johns Citizen. For residents and planners alike the pressure points are familiar: traffic, stormwater and neighborhood compatibility, all of which are likely to shape any conditions tied to Bushrangers if it ultimately wins approval.
