New Marshtackie Florida Cafe puts St. Johns farm bounty on the menu
A St. Augustine restaurateur celebrates fresh, locally sourced seasonal fare in the heart of St. Johns County farm country with a new restaurant named for a rare Florida horse breed. Marshtackie Florida Cafe will open Friday, Nov. 6, open at 420 N. Main St., in downtown Hastings amid the community's annual Fall Harvest Festival. The cafe is the second restaurant from Jennifer Ashton, owner of the popular Juniper Market at 48 San Marco Ave. in St. Augustine's historic Uptown neighborhood. “Hastings’ passionate growers and the abundance of fresh, seasonal produce are incredibly inspiring to me. I love using what’s in season to create something delicious,” Ashton said in a news release announcing the Marshtackie's opening. “Marshtackie is a place where the community can come together to enjoy good food and good company. We’re here to serve our locals and be part of the neighborhood," she said of opening in the community also known as the “Potato Capital of Florida." The new cafe comes roughly 14 years after Ashton open Juniper Market intially tucked into a corner of furniture import retailer Coastal Traders. Juniper Market subsequently relocated to its current Uptown home. Ashton bought a then-vacant 3,600-square-foot Hastings building in August
