Silly signs: No cutlet
Friday, April 20th, 2007
We got no cutlet, but we got plenty of chops. A sign along Fish Bay Road. Sent in by On-StJohn reader Joe Jackson.
Archive for April, 2007
Butts out in Charlotte
Thursday, April 19th, 2007
Charlotte Douglas Int’l Airport, one of the few remaining “smoke ‘em if you got ‘em” airports, is now officially smoke free as of earlier this month. Your reaction to this news depends of course on basically one fact. You smoke or you don’t. One thing is clear. Places like the good old Stock Car Café are a lot less busy. Except for the stream of jittery smokers coming in and going out after discovering they’ll have to wait a few more hours for a smoke. So if you smoke, slap on a couple of extra patches before you head toward the airport.
Chilly Billy’s too?
Thursday, April 19th, 2007
Man, the restaurant scene seems to really be in flux these days. Chefs moving from here to there. Places opening and then closing. Now Chilly Billy’s is listed for sale. And that’s after just bringing back evening dinner service with all this huge fanfare. It can be yours for $299,000. (That’s reduced from the original asking price of $375K.) For that, you get to keep the name, the kitchen equipment, whatever’s left in the cooler and whatever staff you convince to stay…and you get the right to keep paying rent. Chilly Billy’s rent is about $5K a month. Chilly Billy’s grossed $300K last year with a net profit of $32K. Those numbers work for you? If they do, make a call. We’ll eat your waffles. Promise.
You buy a business, you’re almost always buying not much more than a leasehold. But you do get a business. Dreaming about moving down and running a business? See what’s on the market right now here.
Beach Break: Drunk Bay
Wednesday, April 18th, 2007Drunk Bay is really a must-see. Maybe not on your first trip. But definitely when you’re looking for a new St. John vista. The topography here is different from what you’re used to seeing and it is beautiful. Grassy, cactus-dotted knolls, rocky cliffs and crashing waves. The surf is rough but the water is clear and the snorkeling is probably great. Pack a lunch and lots of water and spend an hour or so here. You very likely will be all alone. Drunk Bay is also where people…um, I mean aliens…um, I mean Jumbies make funny figures out of the endless supply of rocks and coral. Sometimes the figures are quite elaborate (not so much this day). Go to Drunk Bay for a couple of minutes below!
Silly signs: That’s no exaggeration
Wednesday, April 18th, 2007
Who needs guard rails when you have good signage? Along the East End Road. Submitted by East End artist Sloop Jones.
Lizard’s Landing shuts down
Tuesday, April 17th, 2007
Lizard’s Landing, whose lease had recently been listed for sale, has just completely shut down. No farewell party. Nothing. Just closed its doors. The business is also no longer listed for sale. The woman who moved down from the states to take over the former Duffy’s Love Shack less than a year and a half ago paid more than $600K for that leasehold. That’s a big investment to walk away from. Duffy’s was the very first place we went to the first time we visited St. John seven years ago. A great place back then. We went there with a bunch of people and sat upstairs drinking these huge drinks with long straws called “Shark Tanks!”
Parking enforcement out of control!
Tuesday, April 17th, 2007
This is outrageous! Have we no civil rights? Now they’re threatening to booth us! Tow me. Fine me. But please don’t make me sit in a booth! (Posted in front of the Subway across from Woody’s. Picture from St. John resident, and longtime table-only diner, Margie.)
Welcome our newest advertiser: St. John’s House
Monday, April 16th, 2007
This beautiful villa is located on St. John’s East End in Hansen Bay, and the new owners admit the name is just a working title right now. It is scheduled to host its first guests this summer. This villa includes four master bedroom suites and big, open views of the Ocean and Coral Bay from every room. The Boston-based owners (here’s one of them calling home to see how much snow is on the ground) know what they’re doing. They own vacation homes in Vermont, New Hampshire and St. Maarten… seven properties in all. And they like St. John so much that they just bought a couple of lots in Coral Bay to add to their empire. St. John’s House is two structures, each with two suites and their own great rooms, connected by a pool and gardens. And damn! Look at that view! It also has access to the homeowners association’s own beach. (No video of this place, so feel free to suggest to them they hire us.) Check out St. John’s Villa, and all of their properties, here!
Nice ass!
Sunday, April 15th, 2007
What a great picture, courtesy of John Gallagher in Boston. (John is in Boston, not the donkey.) The picture was taken somewhere on the East End. St. John donkeys aren’t always so nice. There’ve been stories about donkeys kicking people and biting people. But people love to have their pictures taken with them. These are WILD donkeys. They aren’t looking for friends. They’re looking for food. Here’s a cool Website where you can read about St. John donkeys, and birds and bugs and iguanas and more.
Nature’s Nook
Saturday, April 14th, 2007
Don’t ya just love this place? When the car barges used to dock across the road, it was the perfect place to get a smoothie for the ride back to St. Thomas. It’s still a perfect place to stop for a smoothie on your way to the North Shore. This stretch of road has been mentioned as a site for a new post office, a site for parking and a new shopping complex, and most recently, moving the taxi stand from next to the ferry dock to the open lot next to Nature’s Nook. (Some guys would be at the ferry dock with walkie talkies and call for cabs as needed.) If anything ever happens to this area, Nature’s Nook better get to stay. It’s kinda shabby and rough and it just looks like it belongs right where it is. (By the way, the place sells more than just smoothies. You can get everything from canned beans to mysterious root vegetables here.)
Villa Vittles: chocolate coffee steak
Friday, April 13th, 2007What do coffee, chocolate and steak have in common? This great recipe. A spice rub that On-StJohn reader Alana Doran submitted. Alana says it works great on burgers or anything else on the grill too. And you know what? This was really good! Caffeine with your protein. Check it out below.
High season winding down
Thursday, April 12th, 2007
Villas get lots cheaper next week. Most villas switch to low season rates in mid-April. Low season generally runs through mid-December. What kind of high season was it this year? Depends on who you ask. There were plenty of folks around this high season. Villa management companies say it was busy. But we hear a lot of restaurants, especially the high-end ones, saw a noticeable slowdown this high season. Maybe that means more staying in at the villa, or just fewer nights out. And after a slow season for Realtors, there have been some pretty expensive properties that have gone under contract in recent weeks.
Summer is great on St. John. It is hotter, but the water is warmer and the popular spots a little less crowded. So what are you waiting for? You’ll probably find some good air fares this summer.
