The Upstairs is set to open next month at the former Dog House Pub location.
Well folks, in keeping with this week’s restaurant tidbits, I am excited to share that a new bar & restaurant is coming to Cruz Bay!
For those of you who are familiar with St. John, you are probably aware that the former Dog House Pub spot in Cruz Bay has been shuttered since early 2020. The restaurant, which is located across the street from The Longboard, was sold in early 2020. There were plans to reopen it as a spot called Cocktails & Dreams, but that never came to fruition. And it’s been sitting empty ever since.
Enter Christie Register and Andy Peter, who co-own The Windmill Bar along with Ronnie Jones and his family.
I am super excited to share that Christie and Andy have taken over the spot and plan to reopen it sometime next month. They’re hoping for a mid-month opening, specifically, if all goes as planned.
Their new spot is going to be called “Upstairs Bar & Grille” and it will be located, well, upstairs. 🙂 The lower level will reopen down the road – to be determined.
I chatted with Andy earlier this week, and I am pretty excited about what they have in store. He described the Upstairs as being a very relaxed spot that will be comfortable both for residents and vacationers alike. He said the space will be designed in homage to the bars of yesteryear that used to occupy the building, including Dog House Pub, Castaways, Duffy’s, Crazy Crackers and The Backyard. They’ve even located old signage from some of those spots and plan to incorporate it in their decor. Even the wood that was used in the remodel tells a story – It’s the old wood from Maho Bay Camps, which was salvaged after they closed in 2013. Check out some pics…
The view from UpstairsAn alternate viewNo more Cocktails & Dreams here…A painting from Dog House PubWho recalls what bar this is from?Wood salvaged from Maho Bay Camps
The menu will be simple, fast and affordable, Andy said. He plans to bring back a good ‘ole classic happy hour a la Castaways, etc. No blenders, however. 🙂
And for all of the residents who are curious what happened to the roll money that was being held when Dog House closed? It was recently handed over to Andy, and he is excited to say that the roll will start at $2,200 when the Upstairs opens next month. (Not familiar with the roll, it’s essentially a game of Yahtzee. St. John residents pay a small fee to roll three times. If they get five of a kind, they win the roll money. Fun stuff!)
So many great things happening in such a small place! Have a great day everyone!
Lime Out is one of several businesses featured in the November issue of Food & Wine magazine. Image credit: Food & Wine
Hello everyone, and happy Wednesday! I didn’t intend for this to be a week of restaurant tidbits, but that’s what it’s shaping up to be! I have said for years that St. John has a pretty incredible food scene, especially for such a small island in the middle of the Caribbean. Well I’m excited to share that a pretty prominent publication has taken notice… very exciting stuff!
The November issue of Food & Wine magazine features a four-page spread on St. John. It calls what’s happening here “an island renaissance” and goes on to say that our “resilient dining scene burns bright.” And you know what, that statement could not be truer.
If you want to check out the article, but cannot grab one from a newsstand, you can sign up to receive the issue online. (There is a cost associated with this – fyi.) The article is great and written by a frequent traveler to the island.
That’s it for today, folks. Just trying to spread more love and keep a smile on all of our faces. 🙂 As always, if you want to see where these restaurants are, and where all of our restaurants are, please check out Island Tidbits’ restaurant map at www.explorestj.com/restaurantmap
High Tide is located right beside the ferry dock in Cruz Bay.
Hello, and happy Tuesday! I have some great tidbits to share with you all today. Our friends over at High Tide recently expanded, which means there is more room for you to enjoy the spectacular views!
For those of you who aren’t familiar with High Tide, it is located right beside the main ferry dock in Cruz Bay. They open daily at 8 a.m. and serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. They have a great happy hour too.
So as I mentioned, they recently expanded and their new seating area looks great. Check it out for yourselves:
High Tide’s new seating areaLooking toward the bar & main dining areaAn alternate view
Looks pretty great, right??!
So in addition to this great new seating area, High Tide has lot of bar seating and even a few Adirondack chairs on the beach, so you can enjoy the beautiful Cruz Bay views with your toes in the sand.
Not a terrible place to eat, drink & be merry. 🙂
If you want to see exactly where High Tide is located and where all of our restaurants on St. John are located, please check out our restaurant map at www.IslandTidbits.com/restaurantmap
The view from Wharfside Village – Home of High Tide, La Tapa, The Parrot Club, Joe’s Rum Hut & The Beach Bar
Here on St. John, we are super lucky to have so many amazing restaurants to choose from. We have delicious local places; fun, cool, casual spots; great fine dining restaurants; and everything in between. Food plays a big part in everyone’s vacation planning, so I created this little map to help you when planning your next St. John vacation.
Our restaurant map includes more than 70 bars and restaurants here on St. John. You can view it one of two ways:
Click the box with the arrow in the top left corner of the map. That will open a drop down menu with all of the listed restaurants. Simply click on the name of the establishment you are interested in, and its location will be highlighted on our restaurant map.
Simply zoom in, and click on the markers around the map to see where a specific restaurant is located.
Hello everyone, and happy Friday! So many of you, like me, have probably seen the not-so-good airline/airfare news that came out this week. I awoke yesterday to not one, but two, text messages about American Airlines and its decision to cease morning flights out of St. Thomas this winter season. (Morning flights were originally scheduled to resume November 4th. That is no longer happening.) Afternoon flights out of STT will continue as normal on American, thankfully. Then there was the good ‘ole inflation news. Apparently airline prices are at near record highs currently. Well guess what? If you really look ahead at the calendars, there are still many deals to be had. And that’s exactly what we’re going to chat about today. 🙂
When flying back and further between the States and STT (which is the airport you need to fly into when visiting St. John), my best piece of advice is to buy one-way tickets. This allows you to jump airlines, if necessary, and that really helps to save some cash.
Tri-State Area – New York, Connecticut & Northern New JerseyÂ
Now let’s start with our friends in the Tri-State area. You all are super lucky, because I routinely see some of the best prices out of JFK. And this winter is no exception. Here’s what I found:
One way out of JFK on Delta is only $220 (main cabin seat) on November 26th, December 31st, January 1st and December 4th. Prices drop dramatically in January. You can fly for only $155 one way on Delta on most Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays from January through March. Using miles, it gets even better! There are numerous dates through the end of March where it will only cost you 10,500 miles for a main cabin ticket. Again, these are one-way fares, but they’re pretty darn good! Don’t care about picking your seat? A Basic ticket costs just $110 one way or 6,500 miles for these same dates in January, February and March. Amazing!
Prices for basic tickets on Delta in January 2023.
Minnesota
I know we have a ton of visitors from Minnesota, and I have great news for all of you! Sun Country will resume its direct flights on Saturdays beginning December 17th. These direct, one-way fares are only $220 every Saturday from December 17th through April 1st. Sunday flights will be offered in March 2023, as well, for the low cost of only $220 one way.
Sun Country direct flight prices out of MSP in March 2023 – Info taken from Google’s ITA Matrix
Florida
If you live in or around the Orlando area, you are super lucky! JetBlue is offering daily flights from MCO to STT (with a layover in San Juan) for only $101 from November 25th through March 25th – every single day! Want to skip the layover? No problem! Spirit is offering flights starting at $138 one-way in November and December. That price increases to $188 one-way in January 2023.
We all know that New England loves St. John… and thank you for that! As you all probably know, JetBlue offers direct flights from Boston to STT on Saturdays only. Prices drop to $174 one way October 29th. That price increases to $189 one way on December 17th. Daily flights will be offered December 23rd through January 2nd, and again, for just $189 one way. That $189 is available for these Saturday, direct flights for the foreseeable future.
We’ve been getting a lot of visitors from the West Coast post-Covid, especially from the northwest corner. So thank you to all of you who don’t mind traveling super far to visit us! Now these prices are pretty unbelievable… Beginning on January 9th, you can travel from SEA to STT on Delta for just $179! Prefer to use miles? Well it will only cost you 11,500. That’s crazy! In a good way! These flights include a quick layover at JFK airport in New York.
Seattle to STT January 2023 on Delta
Texas
Now I can’t forget our friends over in Texas. I don’t have amazing news for you, but it’s also not terrible! I found a few dates in January, February and March for just $298 out of Houston. These prices are on Delta with a layover in Atlanta. Live on the Dallas area? I have bad news for you. American Airlines has clearly lost its mind. They want over $3,000 for a direct flight on December 17th. What??!! The price dips down to $1,774 for its direct Saturday flights after that. Ridiculous. Dear American Airlines, I hope you enjoy flying those empty planes. Love, America. Spirit, on the other hand, has some decent prices, but most have pretty long layovers in Ft. Lauderdale.
So as you can see, there are a good amount of deals to be had, folks. If you are looking for anything specific, please feel free to email me at jenn@explorestj.com. You can also post the question on our Facebook page here or on Instagram here. I feel like I missed my calling as a travel agent. 🙂
And when you are planning your St. John vacation, please consider taking an island tour with me. Explore STJ has an “Excellent” rating on TripAdvisor. I offer both full and half day island tours. Please email me at jenn@explorestj.com with any questions.
Thank you so much for reading Island Tidbits! Have a great weekend!
Hello everyone, and happy Thursday! Today’s story will be short, sweet and to the point. 🙂
I just wanted to let you know that I just updated the Island Tidbits Calendar to include several Halloween Happenings. This is a running list, and other events will be added, including the return of Halloween at the Parrot Club! You can check out the calendar at www.IslandTidbits.com/calendar or by clicking the Info tab at the top of this screen. On a mobile device? Click the three lines at the top of your screen to open the menu.
When you open that Info tab, you will also see that we placed information on how to get to St. John and details on the cruise ships under this tab too. This is going to be a handy spot for those of you planning a St. John vacation. Additional information will be added here in the upcoming weeks, so please check back often.
Island Tidbits navigation menu includes our calendar, info on planning a St. John vacation & more.
If you are checking out our main menu, you will also see a tab for my island tours. I’ve been offering island tours for more than six years, and I absolutely love sharing my love of St. John with all of you. If you are interested in familiarizing yourselves with the island during a first trip, this is a great way to do it. My island tours are also great for repeat visitors who want to see and do something new. I just received the 2022 Travelers’ Choice Award by TripAdvisor where I maintain an “Excellent” rating. Please email me at jenn@explorestj.com with any questions or to reserve your date.
Finally, you will see tabs for the Island Tidbits Webcams page and also our Videos page up in the menu bar. Keep these pages handy if you need to feel like you’re on the island when you’re unable to be.
Their new spot is going to be called “Upstairs Bar & Grille” and it will be located, well, upstairs. 🙂 The lower level will reopen down the road – to be determined.
