Before leaving on a recent trip to the St. Augustine, Florida area, a family member gave us a tip for what was promised to be a fantastic Italian restaurant. According to this family member, the restaurant, Benito’s Pizza & Pastabilities, had Northern New Jersey and Italian roots, which was enough to convince us.
We entered the address into the rental car’s GPS system and set out to discover this oddly named eatery. When we were just a few minutes away, we entered into the strange, almost otherworldly beach town of Vilano Beach. As we drove down the main strip, we were met with an array of 1940s and 50s era buildings, all in pristine condition and all completely deserted. There wasn’t another car or pedestrian anywhere on the road. I was instantly reminded of a 1950s mock city used to test nuclear weapons and I began to wonder where in the hell we were.
Benito's, Vilano Beach, Florida
With some reservations about the apparent no man’s land we had chanced upon, we found Benito’s and were pleased to see that it was packed – the only sign of life on the entire strip. Our family member was absolutely correct in his review of this unfortunately located Italian restaurant. Scott had the veal parm and I enjoyed an amazing, homemade pizza. But the real story is the town of Vilano Beach.
I asked the server what was going on in the neighborhood, but she didn’t know much about it, only that it has never been very popular. As we left, we slowly drove up the main road marveling at the beautiful 50s era design work and at the equally vacant buildings. Why wasn’t anyone there?
Vilano Beach
When I returned home, I tried to research the area, but didn’t find a lot in the way of solid information. All of the tourist offices call Vilano Beach a “best kept secret” which is the travel way of saying there’s nothing there and no one ever visits. Further research revealed that the area was hugely popular in the 1920s and 30s when a large, luxury hotel was built. However, tremendous storms hit the area in the late thirties and destroyed the building forever. A post-war revival was attempted, hence the buildings we bore witness to, but that effort seemed to fizzle by the mid-1960s.
I would love to know more about the neighborhood and to hear some of the stories that must exist, but in the meantime I must be content with knowing very little about this North Florida enigma. Hidden amongst several popular tourist meccas, this quiet beach community is indeed a secret treasure.
Vilano Beach Motel
Vilano Beach
Who am I? I am a typical Gen-Xer and recovering cubicle-dweller who has a passion for all things travel. My site brings a unique perspective that is hard to find online. I am not a backpacker, nor am I...
Please read more about Vilano Beach at my blog: http://www.realtown.com/bjenness/blog. Or feel free to contact me via e-mail: Barbara@BarbaraJenness.com. I have been involved in the redevelopment of Vilano Beach since 1998 and am the vice-chair of North Shores Improvement Association. Vilano Beach changed in 1995 when the location of the bridge was moved. Previously all the traffic to St. Augustine from the north on Scenic & Historic A1A went through Vilano Beach. Much has been accomplished since then including getting the infrastructure in place as your photos show, changing the zoning to Town Center Mixed Use, and developing architectural guidelines. We had a Sunday Market, but will soon have a Sunset Celebration on Saturday nights. We will be getting a grocery store soon. Benito’s is a great Italian restaurant. The Vilano Beach Hampton Inn is one of the best hotels in the St. Augustine area. Twocan Terry’s has the best crabcakes in the area. Fast Boys Grill will be opening soon on the Intracoastal with an expanded deck and Sam’s Restaurant just opened for breakfast and lunch. Frugal Fashionista is a great shop for upscale resale. And I am guessing you missed our nature boardwalk over the marsh under the Vilano Bridge. For fishing, the Vilano Beach Pier is one of the best fishing spots in northeast Florida and at the other end of Vilano Road is the beach pavilion with beach access. Visit http://VilanoBeachFL.com and http://staugustine.com/northshoresnews for the latest news. I hope to see you during your next visit!
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Yikes, that IS empty!
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Wow… that is a little creepy. :X
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My parents actually live there!! What time of day were you there? It’s totally small town feel even though it’s only 30 mins. from Jacksonville and a short bridge away from St. Augustine. Since there aren’t that many people, the beaches are relaxed, peaceful and so beautiful! There isn’t much going on- even though they tried to build a Publix (local supermarket) but after the recession started that plan was put on hold- indefinitely! My parents have to go over the Vilano Bridge, into St. Augustine to get any food!! There is a gas station… where you can grab over priced milk and beer on the way home.
It’s not much- but I love going home to it compared to living in the hustle and madness of Los Angeles!! Also, the hotel rooms there are each decorated differently with a fun theme. The room we stayed in had monkeys everywhere! awesome!
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My husband & I recently moved to South Ponte Vedra Beach, and discovered Villano Beach while exploring the area. The mock city description was the most accurate one I’ve seen, to date. It could easily be mistaken for a movie set. I’ve read all the stories about the bridge being moved, etc. What I don’t understand is what’s being done by the town to turn this around? Where’s the marketing, advertising, promoting, special events? It’s such a shame because it’s one of the coolest, most eclectic beach towns I’ve ever seen. Such a great mix of fishing village with art deco style buildings and a splash of small town.
Hopefully one day, Villano Beach will create a CVB or other position so that I can work the town and change the visitor landscape!
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Matt Long Reply:
January 25th, 2011 at 1:38 pm
Thanks for the comment and I agree, it’s almost surreal. We enjoyed our brief visit there, found by chance on the way to a restaurant as I noted. Hopefully someone will take more of an organized interest and really help this place!
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Richard Moeller Reply:
January 5th, 2013 at 11:04 pm
I was born and raised on Vilano bch ,youngest son of several generations of my family to do so . MY father grew up on the beach in the 30′s and 40′s along with the Usinas and Carcabas families fishing and riding horses on the beach ,there was nothing there then but a couple of fish camps a gas station and in the late forties an old liquor bar called the “lazy sands” Our family homestead located on Surfside ave was built in the 20′s was the last house to have the luxury of elecricity on the peninsula north till getting to jax bch till well after world warII. My father often spoke of many wild times and even more wilder characters. During the 60′s and 70′s vilano was known for its more than consistent surf ,which in any era on the east coast is a novelty,but vilano was epic to say the least,sometimes maybe known for its colorful and over aggresive locals the surf scene at Vilano was legendary.
It is truly a shame what has happened to our quaint lil piece of paradise ,where the arrure of a convienant store with pinball and slushee machines have now given way to A publix as well as several other out of place commercial enities all in the name of progress and or the almighty dollar ,In my opinion Vilano should have been left to its own as it had in the past to morph into whatever it was meant to be
not a what a few greedy realestate and slumlords are forcing to be …
the old Vilano is soon to be lost all of its buildings torn down and its original inhabitants pushed out and all its character to die away
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Jane Employee Reply:
May 11th, 2013 at 10:33 pm
All this misplaced nostalgia you have and for what? a formerly blighted area full of abandoned buildings and hotels populated by vagrants? And you take it out on the poor merchants who are only trying to make a go at helping your community. People need groceries, a place to eat, basic services. Most people here don’t want to go over the bridge if they don’t have to. But people like yourself come into Publix and the other shops and are rude and nasty to the people working there. All this complaining about the economy and you take it out on someone who is just trying to do their job. If it was up to you they wouldn’t even have a job. How are any of these businesses out of place? a frozen yogurt shop a block from the beach? A sunglasses store? a Grocery Store? A Pizza Shop? A Cleaners and a Salon? Before the Town Center people were driving thirty minutes each way to get these things. You act like you are so put out, as if a giant wal-mart opened up overnight and blocked your ocean view. Shame on you.
Matt Long Reply:
May 15th, 2013 at 9:34 am
I assume you’re talking to the other commenters as I never made such statements.
haha so funny you wrote about this!
First of all, I am born and raised in New Jersey and just moved down here 2 months ago. Benito’s is definitely the ONLY place in town you can get decent north east pizza. There is one place in DT saint Augustine called Pizza Time and the owners are Italians from Brooklyn. I love going there b/c it reminds me of the pizza by the slice style places I grew up with.
… I am a pizza fanatic and am extremely picky in what I consider makes a good pizza… the crust, the cheese, the cause, the oil, the crunchiness… it must be perfect! haha
Second of all – Vilano Beach. It is seriously one of the best kept secrets! All the surfers actually come out here. But after you cross the Vilano bridge and you turn left and go for about 5 miles…it totally changes. Then you find the bigger houses and developments, and if you drive about 20 minutes you find million dollar mansions. This area is slowly changing…and hopefully it finds a happy medium between the classic nostalgia and the ritzy materialism.
Also, I wish I had known you were down here!!! I would have loved to have gotten together and done some cool adventures – hiking, exploring DT, etc.! St. Augustine is such a cool place – the downtown area is so beautiful you at times feel like you’re walking around a small quarter in the Riviera
I hope you enjoyed St. Augustine! It’s a melting pot of randomness that’s for sure
- Lauren
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Also, it is weird Vilano is empty like that. But it’s changing. What happened was a few years ago when the whole crash hit a lot of businesses pulled out of building there. RIght now it should be more of a mini downtown area with shops and restaurants and such. Then everything shut down and FL got hit really hard.
They’re actually just starting to get things going again and have started construction on some new buildings over in that Vilano DT area.
So, be sure to come back in a year… Benito’s will be packed
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Don’t change anything. Why would you want to?
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Things are quiet here, but just like the beach, they are constantly changing and eveolving. I live in Vilano not too far from Benitos, and I absolutely love it! We have a Publix and a few other stores currently under construction at the base of the Vilano bridge. While it will be nice to have a grocery store so close by, I hope it doesn’t ruin our secret little town. Fast Boys Wings came …and went. We now have a great restaurant in that spot called Beaches of Vilano. It sits on the intercoastal next to the fishing pier with a sandy beach and outdoor seating. A great place to wind down the day. You have to try the pasta with seafood dinner dish.Clams in their shells, shrimp, scallops…..yummmm! A new Cuban restaurant opened in one of those old art deco buildings you mentioned. Hopefully they make it. Our beach is known as one of the best spots for skim boarding as well as surfing and the fishing around the point is a great way to spend the day.
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Um… I live in Vilano? Yes, it’s kind of deserted but that’s the way everyone likes it here, it’s called QUIET! Now that Pubix is up it’s not going to be as quaint and relaxed as it use to be which is not good for us who like QUIET around here! The town is as normal as any back woods town you would find off of route 66, but it is full of charm and the people are great.
Everyone that posted here doesn’t understand what Vilano is all about, and that’s ok, keep thinking it’s a weird movie set and STAY AWAY! We like it QUIET!
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i think the beach is wonderful ,it reminds me of my past ,i grew up in st. augustine , not a lot has changed. we use to fish there at night we’d walk on the sands and watch the green lights glow in our foot prints (moma use to tell us it was magic) you could see the sun come up like a ball of fire or the moon go down like you could reach out and touch it. they even had two bars one daddy like because all his buddies hung out there it was called p. j. it was close to the pier. the other was this way called the lazy sands that was moma’s place daddy would take her dancing every weekend. when i get to go to st.augustine ,vilano is one of my first stops . i wish they”d open the places back up .oh yeah and that was the main place to get a smoked mullett . it was always quiant.
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Matt Long Reply:
July 20th, 2012 at 9:33 pm
Thank you Polly for sharing such beautiful memories. You paint a wonderful image, one which I think most of us would love to enjoy.
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I lived and worked in Vilano in the summer of 2011. I loved it there! I had a room at Haley’s and worked at the St. Augustine Beach House. I could walk to work. I want to move back there one day. I think the Publix will help. I know it would have helped me to have a grocery store right next door. It wasn’t finished before I left and moved back to OH. I met some very nice people there and some are most likely still in the area. I think many of the homes and rentals are too expensive for your average person. I would not want the place descended upon by boatloads of tourists either. It is a quiet, out of the way place with the beach just down the street and I can understand why the lifers would want to keep it that way. The old buildings and the art deco are just so cool.
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I live in England and will be in Vilano Beach,would like to fish, what tips can any local give me, also thinking about boat hirvyl2e so any info for boat fishing would be great.
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