
Meet Joe Cirigliano and sisters Karena and Nikki Kefalas, the new owners of the Beach Bar.
Finding a place to reinvent themselves as bar and restaurant owners became a full-time job. But after looking at places all over the world, including in Belize, Spain, Greece and the U.K., they couldn’t find what they really wanted…namely a bar on a beach.
A beach bar.
Web searches based on their wish lists kept leading them to one particular place: St. John.
Joe says they heard through a connection that the Beach Bar might be for sale, so they contacted the owner.
“Allan hung up on me five times in a row,” says Joe. “On the sixth call, he said if you really want to buy it, come down here and talk about it.”
The three came down and spent some time incognito to see if St. John and the Beach Bar would be a good fit, then signed the papers and got the keys.
“Allan’s advice to us was clear,” Joe tells us. “He told us you have two audiences – visitors and locals. They’re both equally loyal and both equally important. Don’t forget that.”
The new owners aren’t messing with the menu, other than adding some daily specials, but they plan to step up the live music and to try to stage more events on the beach.
