Top stories this week include Beachbilly Lifestyle, new hotel

Here's a roundup of our top stories from the past week.

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Santa Rosa Zoning Board nixes bold sports complex plans for remote Allentown

Kevin Costner's "Field of Dreams" character never had to deal with a county zoning board.

Jana Williamson, an Allentown resident, saw her concept of 'If I build it the kids will come' shot down Thursday by Santa Rosa County's Zoning Board, whose members wanted more than the imprecise plans for a sports complex they were presented.

"I'm very concerned," Board Member Alan Isaacson said, "with a conceptual plan that was shown to us with just squiggly lines on a thing. I'm not saying she doesn't have a heart for this, I'm just saying I don't have a plan before me that's thought out."

Williamson, who professed to have been born and raised in the rural farming community of Allentown, came before the board looking for approval to use 24 acres of agricultural land off State Road 89 for a park.

Full story: Santa Rosa Zoning Board nixes one woman's dream to build a sports complex in remote Allentown

Pensacola hotel to replace New World Landing gets a redesign

A hotel group that plans to replace New World Landing with a new building is scaling back their plans for the South Palafox property.

3H Group Hotels of Chattanooga, Tennessee, had previously won approval from the Pensacola Architectural Review Board to build an eight-story hotel, but are now scaling back their proposal to a seven-story, 220-room hotel.

The new plans, which will have to be approved by the ARB on Thursday, remove the planned roof-top bar and pool and add a second-floor patio overlooking Palafox and Cedar streets.

Full story: Group replacing New World Landing scales back plans for new downtown Pensacola hotel

Beachbilly Lifestyle on Amazon Prime started in Perdido Key

Josh Brown was once in a boy band. Now, the long-haired, bearded fella with the easy going, but energetic nature, is a Beachbilly. Part beach bum, part hillbilly. Hey, it's a living. Seriously, Brown is a professional beachbilly.

He's also made it a lifestyle.

Brown, 44, is the founder/creator of Beachbilly Lifestyle, a lifestyle brand born on Perdido Key that has transformed in a bigtime business with lots of merchandise and even a high-production show, "Beachbilly Lifestyle," that is available for streaming on Amazon Prime.

Full story: 'Beachbilly Lifestyle' born on Perdido Key, now a national brand and Amazon Prime show

Hot Spot Barbecue in Pensacola is under construction. Here's why

Pensacola’s family-owned and operated Hot Spot Barbecue has been a long-time favorite for Southern-style barbecue, sweet tea and icebox lemon pie.

Now for the first time in over a decade, the famous pig statue stationed outside the restaurant at 901 E. La Rua St. is clothed in a construction hard hat indicating that an expansion is underway. Even through weeks of upcoming construction, the restaurant will remain open.

Full story: Pensacola's Hot Spot Barbecue is under construction until Memorial Day. Here's why

Where to find dessert in Pensacola: 8 treats sure to blow you away

“Would you like to see a dessert menu?” a server will usually politely prod after a satisfying meal.

And whether dessert is a rare indulgence for birthdays and anniversaries, or you've secretly been waiting to satisfy your sweet tooth the whole meal, there’s nothing that can disappoint like a dessert that is only an after-thought. Something that doesn’t match the same level of creativity and precision that the restaurant takes pride in.

That’s why we did they dirty work and found eight of the most interesting, indulgent and excellent desserts hiding on Pensacola’s restaurant menus.

Here are eight items worth making the reservation for and skipping straight to dessert:

Full story: Skip dinner, go straight for dessert. 8 Pensacola treats that steal the show

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola's top stories include Beachbilly Lifestyle, new hotel