The County Line Bar in Daytona North, or the Mondex, went up in flames Monday morning just after 11 a.m. for unknown reasons. Fire crews from the Bunnell Volunteer Fire Department and Flagler County Fire Rescue are at the scene, as is the Palm Coast Fire Department.
The bar is located on County Road 305, just south of the intersection with County Road 302.
The fire was still burning an hour later, when most of the building has been consumed by flames. “It was heavy fire when we got on scene,” Bunnell Fire Chief Derek Fraser said. “County and city crews worked quickly to knock it down.”
County Road 305 is closed, and may remain closed for a while, south of 302, and to Mahogany Boulevard.
The 1,700-square-foot building is owned by Ronald Jaffe of Palm Coast, according to Flagler County Property Appraiser records. Bunnell developer Mark Langello used to own the building where the bar is located, which he’d used for mobile home sales, and as a photo studio, before he sold it. Neighboring business owners say that the bar had its busy days and not-so busy days.
As of 5 p.m., the cause of the fire had not been determined. We’ve got the state fire marshal still on scene conducting their investigation,” Fraser said. The location of the fire’s origin had also not yet been determined. But County Road 305 had reopened.
Thea Mathen says
What a shame, I know they put a lot of time, money and sweat into that business.
Justin says
Good thing we don’t have many house or bussniees fires around here.
Maryjoe says
Just because they haven’t determined the cause yet because it’s still going or they are still investigating doesn’t make it “mysterious”, lol.
Gerald Fred Jacobs says
a very sad day for us mondexings, USA God bless.
gator says
so happy it;s gone, the weekends you could not go out side and enjoy it cause of the noise it caused, sorry the owener lost every thing, but not sorry to see it go.you could not go by their with out a drunk pulling out in front of you,:D
Clint says
Last words spoken before the tragedy by the local patrons……….” One Bourbon, one Scotch, and one Beer “!
Gerald Jacobs says
It’s a very sad day for most of us mondexians. We lost a wonderful establishment, and the owners worked very hard to make all their customers feel at home. I hope it can rebuild.
305 resident says
So sorry for the employees who will now be looking for jobs this close to the holidays!
Ben Blakely says
Imagine that! A fire in a failing bar.
Anonymous says
redneck remodeling
NortonSmitty says
Ben, this one was not failing. My buddy Pete was a partner in it. He put his heart into it and despite an uphill climb to success due to management and other problems, any of the many patrons he made into friends there will tell you despite the struggle to make his nut every month, the place was not a “failing bar” in any sense.
We all have a certain picture in mind of the Mondex, a stereotype shared by residents as well as the rest of the County. I myself tried to talk some sense into him before he committed to sinking his money into this loser. I told him that from what the conventional wisdom said, those folks won’t have a dime to spend on booze after they blow their pay and WIC money on Oxycontin’s and Meth. And if they do, you want to put whiskey on top of that? You will have constant fights and the Sheriffs will park at the end of your driveway for the trouble you cause them. I mean I know Daytona North has been voted “One of the Ten Best Places to Live in the Country” by Meth Lab Monthly, but don’t do it!
All wise-ass aside, I couldn’t have been more wrong. The folks that wandered in were skeptical at first, but after they saw that Pete was giving them a fair deal and more, they became like family. The helped with any problems, told him “You don’t want to let that asshat in here” and were always right. Pete cooked the best Barbeque for free, had charity benefits when anyone got hurt, and in general gave back something to the community. And the good local folks appreciated him for it. The joint was an asset to the area, not a problem.
For example, after six months of operation, a drunken wife went home and came back with a pit bull that she insisted on sicking on her husband inside the bar. After 20 minutes of begging her to go home and take the dog out of the joint to no avail, the Sheriffs were called. When they got there, Pete apologized for bothering them. The Deputy said “Are you kidding? This is the first call we have had in six months from this place. We can’t believe it! That’s less than we get from the Hardware store!”
In short, I found out there are a lot of good folks out there. They found out not every business was out to rob them. It was becoming a hub for a bunch of houses, trailers and dirt roads that never had one in forty years. And if it would have lasted longer, I bet it would have made it into more of a community.
As in any group, there are going to be some nay-Sayers, but not many. All of you who appreciated the joint and Pete, please speak up here so the idea of another joint there isn’t poisoned by the miserable Old Fart Brigade.
R.I.P. County Line Bar. Or maybe not.
gator says
I’m sure the dunks and the under age drinkers, and the pill people will miss the bar. but some of use out here work are butts off . not for a bar be next door.
rocket says
Glad no one was injured, BUT we certainly didn’t need a bar on a busy road either. It would have been a better place for a diner or pizza / restaurant establishment. Just not a drinking hole..
Local says
Norton Smitty what a crock. Pete could not even pay the mortgage payment. The place was a dive and got what it deserved.
CHECK PLEASE says
Shame this happened. They had just paved the entrance and drive last time I was in there. Maybe a month ago or so. Hope they rebuild!
BobbyD says
Do they plan to rebuid?
rthomp11 says
Personally, I’m of the opinion that anyone who degrades Mondex or any part of Flagler County is not originally from this county and therefore doesn’t have a natural affinity or fondness for anything to do with this county, including it’s defense. As with any place, there are drugs. My family and I moved to a very rural farming community a few years back, even more rural than West Bunnell area. It was so rural that I thought there was no way my kids could get any drugs here! But low and behold, they did. So you see drugs are everywhere. Not just Mondex. So please stop degrading Mondex because you think every house is a meth lab or a drug den or has a drug dealer in it. There are drugs everywhere.
I love my Mondex. There are very nice people here. I have wonderful neighbors. Great farmers. I love the dirt roads. I love my chickens. I love my pigs. I love my animals. I love the quiet mornings. There is nothing better.
Devrie says
I’ve only been there once, as we don’t venture out very often, but I had a great time there. It was a folksy place with great, hard-working people enjoying the end of their day. I thought it was a really neat place with a lot of promise. I’m really sorry that this happened to the place.
Many of us were pretty excited about having our own little place to go to meet and greet other folks from our neck of the woods (and perhaps beyond our neck of the woods).
I know some people have some concerns about drunk people; however, I’m more concerned that those people will be venturing out further.
The loss of this establishment means that bartenders have lost work, the owners have lost a business (or at least incurred a big expense), and residents have lost a gathering place.
To the people who didn’t like the bar being where it was: you had a big concern that is valid. I didn’t live near enough to it to notice it being a noisy place. It didn’t seem like it to me, but then again, I didn’t live by it. At least you’ll have some peace for a spell. I hate to say this, but I kind of hope they had enough insurance to rebuild. I’m so sorry to those who didn’t like it being there. :( Perhaps if they rebuild, they can ensure proper sound barriers or something and maybe they can be more proactive if people go outside and cause a raucuos.
Gerald Jacobs says
Gator, re- county line bar. When the city of Bunnell annexed that part of 305 with the bar included at that time all citizens were notified and were asked to address their elected officials concerning the rezoning of said partial. All tax payers and registered voters have this right to appeal any decision on zoning matters. Were your remarks made on deaf ears? If that was the case vote them out. You still have that right. Or else you can start your petition drive to have said partial rezoned and again that is a legal matter in which it is avised you retained an attorney to have this done. All Im saying is everyone should be involved and pay attention when it comes to zoning matters in our area. Best of wishes to you in your endevor.
Mondex says
NortonSmitty you should really get your story right about that dog, it wasn’t even a pitbull and the wife didn’t come to sick the dog on her husband she was using the dog for her protection,because of an earlier incident she came back to look for her husbands glasses, because he was jumped by a bunch of kids upon false accusations of hitting someone’s car a previous day. In which the bartender verified he didn’t even drive the vehicle there in which was accused. You should really get you story straight and quit trying to make a good cover-up for an insurance scam because they can’t make their mortgage payment. Good luck karma always prevails. Sorry for all the girls who lost their job before the holidays . Hopefully Pete will give some of that insurance scam money to the girls family’s for the holidays. Keep lying your doing good.
BobbyD says
I didn’t realize that side of the street was in the city of Bunnell.