What were Pensacola’s top stories this week? Take a look

Here's a roundup of our top stories from the past week that are available only to our subscribers.

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Medical Examiner's Office, funeral homes dissect autopsy complaints

The Medical Examiner's Office recently sat down with administrators from several Pensacola funeral homes to address complaints about the care of bodies.

The owners and directors of several Pensacola funeral homes sent letters to Escambia County listing a number of complaints about the Medical Examiner's Office including the condition of bodies after autopsy being “butchered,” unclean and placed in bags that leak, as well as delays with filing paperwork or listing misleading or inaccurate causes of death.

Dan Schebler, director of operations for the District One Medical Examiner’s Office, said he had a two-hour meeting with two of the three funeral directors, those with Waters and Hibbert and Trahan Family Funeral Home, to discuss their complaints. He believes that they’re making some progress to resolve them.

Full story: Medical examiner's office says complaints 'not substantiated,' funeral homes to wait and see

Stunning $4.4M Pensacola Beach home breaks record for most expensive price-per-square-foot

A Pensacola Beach home just smashed an area record as the most expensive price-per-square-foot home when it closed in mid-April for $4,400,000 — about $1,206 per square foot.

The 3,648-square-foot home, located on Ariola Drive on Pensacola Beach, showcases the pinnacle in beachfront luxury living, which Levin Rinke Realty Realtor Gary Michaels says is finally being discovered after flying under the radar for years.

Full story: Stunning $4.4M Pensacola Beach home breaks record for most expensive price-per-square-foot

Pensacola is getting another Chipotle. Where is this one headed?

It’s no secret that Pensacola has a thing for Chipotle.

More than a decade ago, a group of Chipotle diehards created a Facebook page dedicated to bringing the restaurant to Pensacola. Now, their wish is coming true for the fourth time.

Full story: Can't get enough Chipotle? Good news. Another one is making its way to Pensacola.

See 5 new foodie experiences that came to the Pensacola area in April

April was a slow month for new restaurants opening in the Pensacola area but not for new food and drink experiences as a whole.

An authentic German biergarten, Greek bakery and New York-style pizza joint are a few of the new tastes local foodies can now enjoy.

Here are the new options added to Pensacola's menu this month:

Full story: 5 new Pensacola foodie options for April: biergarten, Greek bakery, beach pizzeria and more

Panera Bread to add new Pensacola location. Find out where:

Panera Bread has been praised by dietitians for its fresh salads and grain bowls, while still holding a reputation for its cozy comfort foods, like the classic broccoli cheddar bread bowl.

The new restaurant is headed by Engineering Design Group out of Foley, Alabama, which is in the early stages of developing the 3,500-square-foot-building, with only a site plan submitted at this point.

Full story: One broccoli cheddar bread bowl, please! A new Panera may come to Pensacola. Here's where:

From historic home to hot hotel: This Pensacola B&B was built on love

When Cornelia Robinson Edwards flipped the former 19th century home on 514 N. Baylen St. into a bustling bed and breakfast with her brother, Gerald Robinson — she was doing more than bringing a new boutique lodging option straight out of a magazine to Pensacola. She was becoming a proud storyteller of Pensacola history.

To her, hospitality is more than an industry, it’s a character trait. Specifically, one that her great-grandmother, Celestine Toliver Harrison, exuded effortlessly. Born in Pensacola in 1908, the home she created was always a door unlocked, dinner’s ready for anyone who wants it, kind of place. She truly knew no strangers.

A close-look at the intricately hand-sketched wallpaper in the bed and breakfast’s entryway will show tiny drawings that Cornelia uses as storytelling aids to transport her guests back in time − both to personal milestones, and the old Pensacola landmarks that anyone who has lived in the area long enough remembers fondly.

Full story: Pensacola's Celestine Bed and Breakfast delivers on history, décor and delicious biscuits

Escambia County homeless live in Brent woods after moving from I-110

Stacey Stoudemire lives in a tent on Beggs Lane, a vacant area off the 3000 block of N. Palafox, across from the Escambia Wood Treating Company superfund site. She and a friend moved here about a week ago because they had nowhere else to go and knew other people were camping here.

“I want to stay here until I’m able to get back on my feet,” said Stoudemire, as she repaired her bicycle, her primary means of getting around. “It’s all right, but it takes a toll. There’s so much stuff that goes on out here.”

Full story: Hundreds of homeless find refuge in Brent. Many of the 200 campsites came from I-110 camp.

The wide swath of wooded property is owned by Escambia County and over the last several years it has become home to hundreds of homeless campers. The county last counted about 130 individual campsites. Many moved here after the city of Pensacola shut down a camp for the homeless under Interstate-110, in early 2022.

The city had temporarily opened the area to them in 2021, on the heels of economic and housing issues exacerbated by COVID-19 and Hurricane Sally. However, they were under the interstate for over a year and in that time the camp ballooned into a tent city sheltering hundreds of homeless. The city eventually moved them out, working with homeless outreach organizations to offer campers temporary and permanent housing options.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola news this week: Here's a recap of the top stories