Explore STJ

Updated August 6th

Off-season is right around the corner, and restaurants are starting to make plans to take some time off. Not all restaurants in St. John close for the off-season, as you will see in the list below, but several do. The dates below are tentative and can change at any time. I will do my best to keep this list updated.

If you are a restaurant owner or manager, and you would like to update your listing, please email jenn@explorestj.com.

You can also bookmark this list at www.ExploreSTJ.com/closings

• 1864: Currently open for raw bar happy hour & dinner only
• 420 to Center: Staying Open
• Amore Arowako Vegan Club: Staying Open
• Aqua Bistro: Permanently Closed
• Bajo el Sol Gallery & The Art Bar: Will close the last two weeks of September
• Banana Deck: Tentatively closing September 1st through October 16th
• Beach Bar: Staying Open
• Caneel Bay Beach Club: Likely Staying Open
• Caps Place: Staying Open
• Colombo’s Smoothies: No info yet.
• Cafe Roma: Last night is September 1st; First night is October 8th
• Caribbean Food Delights: Staying Open
• Cinnamon Bay Raintree Cafe & Food Truck: Campground & Restaurant will be closed in September and October. Details on the food truck near the beach are TBD.
• Coco Jim’s: Staying open
• Colombo’s: Closing September 9th through September 23rd
• Cool Desires: Undecided
• Coral Bay Catering: Open; Contact 340-423-6611 for possible closures in September/October.
• Coral Bay Fresh Market: Permanently Closed
• Cruz Bay Landing: Staying Open
• Dave & Jerry’s Steakhouse: Last night is September 1st; First night is October 8th
• Dazey Drive In: Closed for off-season; Reopening October-ish. Exact reopening date TBD. (Salt Deck will close August 18th – October 8th.)
• Delyvonne Breakfast Bistro: Staying Open
• Dolphin Grab & Go: Staying Open
• Downtown Sips: Staying Open
• Estela’s Sosa’s Food Truck: Staying Open
• Ekaete Pink Corner: Waiting on info.
• Every-ting Kurry: No info.
• Extra Virgin Bistro: Closed for off-season; Reopening date TBD
• Flavour’s Night Club: Staying open
• Greengo’s Caribbean Cantina: Staying open
• Gwen’s Place: Staying open
• Heading East: Staying open
• High Tide: Closing September 18-24
• Hillside Terrace: Staying open
• Irie Pops: Closing for September; Reopening October 9th
• Island Breeze: Permanently Closed.
• Joe’s Rum Hut: Closed August & September
• Johnny Lime: Last day is August 18th; Reopening October 8th (Tentative)
• La Tapa: Most likely closing September 18th through October 15-ish
• Lime Inn: Last day is August 18th; Reopening end of November (Closed Saturdays until then for summer hours)
• Lime Out: Last day is August 18th; Reopening October 8th
• Little Olive Food Truck: Undecided
• Lovango Resort & Beach Club: Last day is July 20th; Reopening mid-December.
• Lovango Rum Bar: Closing September 9th through September 23rd
• Love City Barbeque: Waiting on info.
• Live City Bites: Waiting on info.
• Love City Cafe: Closing dates TBD
• Love City Wing Spot: Staying open
• Love Supply by Reef2Peak at Maho: Staying open
• Maho Crossroads: Staying open
• Margarita Phil’s: Closing Dates TBD
• Miss Lucy’s: Closed September & October; Reopening end of November
• Morgan’s Mango: Closed starting September 6th; Reopening October 6th
• Natures Nook: Staying open
• North Shore Deli: Undecided
• Ocean 362: Closing end of August; Reopening mid-October
• Our Market Smoothies: Both Locations are staying open
• The Parrot Club: Staying Open
• P&P’s By the Sea: Waiting on info.
• Pizzabar in Paradise: Closing mid-September through mid-October
• Quiet Mon Pub: Most likely closing for September
• Rhumb Lines: Most likely closing in September; Check back for exact dates
• Ronnie’s Pizza: Closed for off-season; Reopening in September
• Salty Mongoose: Closed in September
• Sam & Jack’s: Most likely closing mid-September; Exact dates TBD
• Shaibu’s Grab & Go: Closing August 26th through October 1st
• Shambles: Closing August 14-21
• Skinny Legs: Last day is now August 10th; Reopening on Halloween
• St. John Catering & Mathayom Private Chefs: Staying open
• St. John Scoops: Staying open
• St. John Provisions: Closed for September
• Sun Dog Cafe: Staying open
• Surf Club Cantina: Staying open
• Tamarind Court: Closing two weeks in September; Exact dates TBD
• The Tap & Still: Staying open
• The Longboard: Staying Open
• The Tap Room: Staying Open
• The Refinery: Staying open
• The Roti King: Staying open
• The Terrace: Closed August 10-October 10
• Tony’s Kitchen Food Truck: Staying Open
• Trunk Bay Concessions: Staying Open
• Uncle Joe’s BBQ: Staying open
• Upstairs Bar & Grill: Staying open
• Surf Club Cantina: Staying Open
• Woody’s: Closing the end of September through the beginning of October; Exact Dates TBD
• Windmill Bar: Staying Open
• Wine Shop VI: Closed for off-season; Reopening date TBD
• ZoZo’s: Closed for off-season; Reopening mid-December

Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with us!

Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.

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Tag: St. John restaurant closings

If you told me on Sept. 7, 2017 – the day I learned Hurricane Irma destroyed Caneel Bay – that its future would remain in limbo nearly six years later, I wouldn’t have believed you. But that’s precisely where we stand today. And if nothing changes this summer, the future of Caneel Bay will be determined at a federal trial this fall.

I’m sure you all know the story by now. Hurricane Irma barrelled through St. John on Sept. 6, 2017, with sustained winds of 185 miles per hour. The island was decimated, Caneel Bay included. Two weeks later, Hurricane Maria, another Category 5 storm, hit us.

Caneel Bay was a jewel of the Caribbean. The 166-room resort boasted seven pristine beaches enhanced by the island’s dazzling turquoise waters. The resort was luxurious, yet understated. Donkeys and deer roamed freely among its perfectly manicured lawns.

Laurance Rockefeller opened the Caneel Bay Resort on Dec. 1, 1956. The Virgin Islands National Park opened the same day, thanks to Rockefeller’s generous donation of land.

The land that Caneel Bay sits on today is not National Park land. That, however, is supposed to change in September when the property’s current Retained Use Estate (RUE) agreement expires. The RUE allows a private business, currently CBI/EHI Acquisitions, to operate a hotel on the property. Rockefeller, himself, oversaw the establishment of the RUE, which expires on September 30th. At that time, the land is supposed to become part of the Virgin Islands National Park, and CBI/EHI’s affiliation with the property is supposed to end. This is where the current federal lawsuit comes into play.

EHI Acquisitions filed a federal lawsuit against the United States of America in June 2022. In the lawsuit, EHI requested that the court issue a “quiet title in the Property and issue an order declaring the United States has no legal interest in the Property and that Plaintiff EHI Acquisitions, LLC owns all right, title, and interest to the Property.” The United States said absolutely not, and wrote in its opposition that this request “defies logic and common sense.”

(A quiet title action is a special legal proceeding to determine ownership of real property.)

There is a document called the 1983 Indenture that lays out the terms of the RUE, including what is expected to happen upon its expiration on September 30th. The United States thinks, according to its federal filings, that the issue is pretty cut and dry. It believes that Rockefeller’s wishes were clear in that he intended to donate not only the land but the buildings as well, to the National Park. EHI, however, believes the buildings, docks, facilities, and improvements belong to them. Keep in mind, the majority of these buildings remain damaged from the hurricanes.

Making matters more complicated is something called a reverter clause. There is a section of the 1983 Indenture that allows the RUE holder to terminate the RUE provided they give the United States one year’s notice, and the property is mortgage and lien-free, among other parameters. This is the crux of the federal case.

(Click here to read the 1983 Indenture in its entirety.)

EHI presented an offer to terminate the RUE in 2019. They notified the United States and said they would walk away for $70 million, and the release and indemnification of EHI “from all environmental liabilities related to the RUE and related to the Caneel Bay land and Improvements.” (Hazardous waste has been found on the property.) EHI believes, according to court filings, that if the United States said no to their $70 million offer that Caneel Bay, the land and the buildings, would automatically be given to EHI, a private, commercial entity, and the Virgin Islands National Park would no longer have any involvement, ever. They believed this is outlined in the 1983 Indenture. The attorneys representing the United States disagree.

Here is EHI’s argument per the court documents:

Plaintiff EHI Acquisitions, LLC and its affiliate CBI Acquisitions, LLC (collectively “Caneel Bay”) made an offer to the United States in 2019 to transfer its title to the buildings and other improvements in the Caneel Bay Resort (“Resort”) to the United States. The United States declined to accept that offer. As a result, title to the land automatically reverted to EHI Acquisitions, LLC (“EHI Acquisitions”). The United States, however, has refused to recognize that EHI Acquisitions has title to the property, and the United States continues to dispute that ownership. Plaintiff EHI Acquisitions brings this action to quiet title to the property.

The United States does not see it this way. They believe that the only way the RUE could be terminated is by way of gift (donation), not a $70 million payout. And this, my friends, is where we stand today.

EHI is arguing that Caneel Bay is theirs and that the government should “quiet title” the property to them. The United States says absolutely not and is demanding that the court dismiss the case and rule in their favor. In the meantime, Caneel Bay sits in shambles.

The two sides entered into mediation in April and asked for a continuance. In the event that the two sides do not come to a mutual agreement, a trial is scheduled for October 16th, per court documents.

And if the United States does prevail and the land and its buildings are awarded to the Virgin Islands National Park, we still do not know what the Park intends to do with the property. Earlier this year, it offered two proposals, basically an all-or-nothing scenario. Option A calls for no development, while Option B calls to redevelop the property. And while the Park has stated it is leaning toward rebuilding a hotel, it has not released any definitive plans.

If you would like to learn more about the National Park’s two proposals, you can click this link to read a story we posted earlier this year. That story also includes more history on the Caneel Bay property.

And now, we wait. This is messy folks. I will keep you posted.

Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with us!

Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.

Follow Explore STJ on Social Media

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Is anyone in the market for a private island? All you need is a mere $25 million and a beautiful one right near Cruz Bay can be yours!

I had an impromptu boat trip with Flyaway Charters yesterday afternoon, and we were cruising around the cays north of St. John. When we passed Thatch Cay, I mentioned how it’s listed for $25 million. Leah, the owner of Flyaway Charters, was surprised and hadn’t heard that, so I figured many of you probably haven’t either. So here are the details…

Thatch Cay is located northwest of Cruz Bay. It is 230 acres and is one of the last private islands in the US Virgin Islands. It is completely undeveloped but has dramatic views and a beautiful rugged coastline.

The island is dotted with Tyre Palms throughout, which is the island’s namesake. The Tyre Palm, also known as a thatch palm, is the only remaining native palm tree in the US Virgin Islands.

(Fun fact: Leah’s son is named Thatch. He will enter preschool at Gifft Hill in the fall.)

The island is currently zoned for residential development, which allows up to six dwellings across three parcels.

I took a little video for you all yesterday. Please check it out:

Maybe if we all chipped in about $1,000, we could buy this together! What do you think??!! 🙂

For those of you who are truly interested or simply want to learn more about the available real estate here on St. John, please check out Explore STJ’s Business page at www.explorestj.com/businesses. Scroll down to see a few realtors that we recommend.

In the meantime, have a wonderful day everyone!

Looking to take a St. John island tour?

Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.

Follow Explore STJ on Social Media

–> www.facebook.com/explorestj

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Tag: Private island for sale