Discussion: Restaurant closings and villa dining

[Xislandgirl]

I was thinking this weekend about the Happy Fish closing and the possibility of Gastro Grub closing.

So...for the purposes of a discussion (I will reveal my thoughts on the issue later)

Do you think that tourists are spending their money to eat at the villa instead of going out and this is affecting restaurants on island?

[waterguy]

Yes I do when you spend that kind of money to get a vila with a great view and you spend all day at the beach you want to enjoy the view.

[byado18]

I agree but also think that some locations aren't as good as others.

We certainly took more food for breakfast and lunch this past trip but did eat dinner out every night!

[shoemak38]

I believe it's a combination of maximizing your enjoyment of the Villa and driving after a few drinks.

Now, if you're looking for new business proposition what I've noticed at a couple ski resorts. It's also a concept here in my town - premade meals that you take back and cook in the comforts of your own home.
To make this idea work in a business, and convenience level. I would have a set menu of 3 to 5 items nightly rotating this list during the course of the week. If you've ever been to Costco's along that operational model

[Need2GetAway]

Not us. After the beach we'll go to the villa for drinks, maybe some cheese and crackers, a little hot tub time, etc., and then we'll get cleaned up and head out to eat. I'm not cooking on vacation!

[liamsaunt]

Maybe. I think there are a lot of factors that play in to the situation: overall convenience, such as how comfortable said tourist is driving in the dark on unfamiliar roads, how far the villa is from the restaurants, and how willing a group member is to act as a designated driver, for example. Another factor is how rich the food can be and how large the portions are at restaurants--it can be overwhelming. And, of course, cost.

In my personal opinion, when you pay big bucks for a killer villa view, it can be silly not to take advantage. When my group stayed on Gifft Hill last August, we only went out to dinner once. We had outstanding views, my sister and I both like to cook, my nephew has food allergies, etc. etc. We brought two coolers of food with us, but we also spent a couple thousand dollars at Starfish Market, Starfish Gourmet, St. John Market, and Pine Peace over the course of our vacation. Plus we paid $600 to provision the villa. And we ate lunch out at a restaurant or via takeout from Deli Grotto or Sam and Jacks most days. We definitely contributed to the St. John economy. I don't feel at all badly for eating breakfast and dinner at our villa.

Next month, when John and I are coming alone, we are planning to eat dinner out every night because I don't like creating strong food odors where we are staying. We have sunset views so will go out to eat after the sun goes down.

One final thought: I think restaurants should be doing everything that they can to bring in and maintain a steady business from year round residents. Priority for locals when it comes to reservations and prime tables in season...discounts if possible, whatever it takes.

[Teresa_Rae]

Regarding those closings, I think the Marketplace is a terrible location for a restaurant. I'd estimate that we've eaten out at a restaurant on STJ somewhere around 60 to 75 times and only one of those times was at the Marketplace. And it was only because we were already there for something else, the restaurant was not our original destination.

La Plancha del Mar is a perfect example, we've never made it to the Marketplace location because even though it was on my list, we would always end up choosing a restaurant with a better location.

There are 3 restaurants on STJ that we absolutely love, and no matter how nice our villa's amenities are, we will always visit each of those restaurants once, if not twice during a trip.

For us, there are only two reasons we will eat at the villa...1) to take advantage of a beautiful villa that we paid big bucks for and 2) to save money.

[iowaguy]

We eat out most nights in STJ and the restaurants we have been to seem pretty busy. Zozo's, for example, always seems busy, as does Morgan's Mango. Lime Inn and Rhumb Lines seem to do a brisk business as well.

I am not a fan of the Markeplace location, except for takeout like Sam and Jack's. When I am on vacation in the Caribbean for a fairly short amount of time, I prefer a restaurant with a water view, or at least one with an attractive open-air setting that feels like I am in the Caribbean. For example, I never got to La Plancha in the Marketplace location, but enjoy their new location.

[P-600]

We normally make breakfast at our villa and either pack a lunch or grab Deli Grotto. We will try Sam and Jacks on this trip since they were closed in September when we were on STJ last and can't wait to try it.. Gastrogrub is awesome! We went in September when they first opened on a recommendation from Betty. We met her at her villa and she couldn't say enough about it. Saying that I have never had a meal at the Marketplace other than grabbing a sandwich from Baked in the Sun.. I don't like Sushi which is mainly what Happy Fish was.. I plan on going to the GG at least two times on our next trip.. The place is that good!!
I think WAPA is the problem with all of these restaurants closing. IMHO.

[Pia]

Gastro Grub might be closing very very soon - as in this week or next unless a miracle happens I love GG and am praying for a miracle.

Pia

[Lindy]

Oh no!! Happy Fish is closed??? That was one of my favorites, view or no view.

[PA Girl]

Interesting topic.

I can only speak for our own family. We eat out nearly every lunch and dinner when on STJ.

There are several reasons for this, the main one being I want to live differently on vacation. I plan, shop and cook for our family at home and I don't want to do it on vacation. I want to go to the Lime Inn and get a whole grilled snapper or a lobster, food I can't (easily) get at home, cooked by someone else.

I think the type of eater you are plays into the villa cooking versus going out choice.

Some people, like my mother and her husband, eat half an apple, two crackers and a piece of cheese and consider that dinner. They think going into Cruz Bay at night a waste of time, why leave a perfectly lovely house? When they travel with us, they stay in every night except for a visit to the Lime Inn.

My husband and our friends, on the other hand, really enjoy going to town for dinner, walking around, grabbing a drink, shopping, etc. No joke, we spent more than 2 hours on Sunday planning where we wanted to eat and on what night. We have more restaurants we want to visit than nights on the island and this caused a great debate on which to pick.

[lazylane]

When there is a group of us, we normally cook at least half our meals at the villa. But, in my opinion most restaurants are WAY over priced on St. John for "gourmet" portions.

[PA Girl]

But, in my opinion most restaurants are WAY over priced on St. John for "gourmet" portions.

I am normally tolerant when it comes to prices on STJ but last year Zozo's pushed me over the edge with a $38 (or maybe it was $42) entree consisting of three, small pieces of shrimp and a tablespoon of polenta. It was like I got the last bits and pieces leftover from everyone else's meal. My son's duck breast and pasta appetizer was 4x the size for under $20.

[54b]

Gastro Grub might be closing very very soon - as in this week or next unless a miracle happens I love GG and am praying for a miracle.

Pia

Okay, I'm no Tim Tebow and the only Miracle I can give Gasto Grub is probably Miracle Whip, but this might help...

54b's Top 10 Secrets To Operating a Successful STJ Restaurant

10) First, create a signature rum drink (use Everclear instead of rum...cheaper, more potent) and name it after a particularly virulent wild animal found on STJ or just make a pun out of a popular island landmark like everybody else…Examples: Donkey Punch, Pete's Hard Waterlemonade or Chocolate Hole Milk of Amnesia

9) Make sure your food tastes better than your restaurant looks…I can’t stress this enough...In retail, exceeding expectations is typically more important than creating them. Just ask Larry at The Tourist Trap...if he's awake.

8. Develop t-shirts, hats and bumper stickers waxing poetic about your signature appetizer or entrée…people are basically superficial elitists and can’t hardly wait to make all their friends jealous with tangible proof that they “ate the infamous Reef Bay Gut Buster at the Beached Bum Café on St. John.”

7) Hire a friendly, attractive wait staff with questionable morals and emotionally unavailable fathers…and start a rumor that your hostess was an extra in the last Kenny Chesney video too.

6) Hang 8x10" glossies of B-List celebrities on your walls and forge barely legible notes from them about the time they got drunk and played strip poker at your restaurant ‘til sunrise with Erik Estrada, Maureen McCormick, and Gary Coleman.

5) Two words: Drink Specials…because when you’re drinking, every hour is happy hour, even 9am. I don't care if it’s the same high price you always charge, make me feel “special” damn it! I'm on vacation.

4) Allow patrons to prove they “were here” at your restaurant by encouraging them to write stupid non-sequiturs on your tables and bathroom walls…true, you may not want Ed and Bev from Cuyahoga Falls to carve their love into the load bearing beam holding up your cistern, but it will give them something to do if the service is slow and trust me, it will be.

3) Whenever possible, challenge your customers’ manhood…all-you-can-eat Jell-o shots congealing small fish, mosquitoes, and no-see-ums, etc. If it works on a frat boy, it’ll work on a tourist. Same basic mental dynamic.

2) Bribe locals to eat dinner at your bar, get drunk, and tell any tourist who will listen about how your restaurant is the only thing that reminds them of the way St. John was before those damn greedy developers showed up. Nostalgia is basically emotional blackmail in the retail industry. Write that down.

1) And finally...don’t open on Monday, tell people your commodes are eco-friendly, and whatever you do, don’t piss off the Vegans. Just put some tree bark on a plate with a sprig of mint and a watercress and call it a Salade with an "e."

BONUS: Develop a signature hot sauce. On my last trip to STJ, I noticed everybody had a hot sauce. If you can't do that, just mix up some Tobasco with some mango chutney. Tourists won't know the difference until the next morning when they crap lava.