Panini Beach says arrivederci
You’ve got 16 days left to get a good, Italian-inspired meal at Panini Beach restaurant. After almost 10 years on the beach, the owners are shutting down their restaurant and leaving the island. A dispute over terms with the landlord led to their decision. (It is none of our business, but this isn’t the first time we’ve heard about disgruntled Wharfside tenants.)“It’s a very emotional time,” says co-owner Janet Kleiner, who says they’re being forced out. “We have a cute lake house in Chicago that has gone unused for the last ten years, and we’ll probably go back there, chill out, and figure out what to do next,” she tells us.
This is really too bad. This was a great restaurant. The food was good, and the owners always went from table to table chatting with the crowd. Janet, a restaurateur who has cooked with the likes of Julia Child, and partner Joe Guarise bought the restaurant in 1998, after seeing an ad for it in the Chicago Tribune.
Panini Beach’s last day is August 17. (Today’s special: Seafood pasta with scallops, thyme and dill.)
August 2nd, 2007 00:12
Well I’m sad I didn’t eat there on my trip. I walked/stumbled by it many times. to bad they will be closed when I get back in a few weeks.
August 2nd, 2007 06:04
Their lobster club sandwich is amazing. It’s such a great seaside location, let’s hope it doesn’t turn into another bar.
August 2nd, 2007 06:13
what is going on at Wharfside? Larry’s Landing had a run in with lease terms as well and a couple other shops have left recently too.
August 2nd, 2007 06:28
Joe told me back in March there might be ‘problems’ with the landlord when the lease came up for removal. This is SAD - Janet and Joe are two really nice people and they’ve put their hearts and souls into Panini Beach. It will be a lose for Cruz Bay when they’re gone… SIDENOTE: The guy who owns Wharfside now makes Paul Sabers and Moe Pulon look like angels. He even threw his own brother-in-law out as a tenant!
August 2nd, 2007 07:58
this is too bad. great memories of our first trip and sitting at the bar waiting for friends to arrive. many wonderful dinners as well. STJ’s LOSS.
August 2nd, 2007 08:12
What is going on?? If I wanted to visit Cancun, I’d go to Mexico. All the high rises, forcing good tennants out, paradise is Lost. I think maybe the wrong people are being asked to leave……the owners should be the ones to go and chill out for a while.
We ate at Panini’s when we were there in June, and it was absolutley wonderful…food, service, everything. A rare commodity these days, to be sure! They will be missed!!
-Bert
August 2nd, 2007 08:59
This is sad news, especially because the restaurant owners are being forced to leave. We “found” Panini during our last trip in Feb. We remember it as being one of our most pleasant dining nights out…drinking wine, listening to the waves lapping up on shore, sitting under a big old tree on their terrace….And the food was quite good too. I was hoping that it would be opened for at least part of our visit in Sept…guess I can stop hoping.
August 2nd, 2007 09:13
I remember when they opened, I was working at Shady Days - which is long gone. Best of luck to Joe & Janet.
August 2nd, 2007 09:25
To echo CariBert…they’re not thinking of bringing in a chain-type place, are they?
Chains = BAD
August 2nd, 2007 09:46
Panini was one of the first restaurants my husband and I went to on our first trip to STJ together in 1997. We are from Chicago, too and I remember talking to the owners many times about the windy city. They are such nice people and Panini will be missed.
August 2nd, 2007 10:05
Too bad… this was a great place. I used to like to have their martinis that were made with a half dozen different Cruzan Rums for desert.
My better half and I ate here on our honeymoon which was our first trip to STJ. In fact I can see the table we sat at in the picture. Joe and Janet were great… and one of the reasons that make STJ such a great place.
Hopefully this landlord will get a good dose of “karma” and quickly realize that wharfside, or STJ for that matter, was never meant for any of those big resort chain bars, etc…
Otherwise, to quote Bert, it will be “paradise lost…”
- Kevin
August 2nd, 2007 10:42
Sad news!
We need some cheery news….how about a Wade the Shark update?
August 2nd, 2007 18:53
This is such a loss for the neighborhood. Panini Beach is A Class Act.
Joe and Janet put their hearts and souls into Panini Beach. They have a great product and they are great people. I will really miss them as business neighbors and as friends.
Joe and Janet, in case you read this, my favorite memories are Karaoke, Grenada and singing Christmas Carols at Olive’r Twist. I can’t believe Dave D’Alberto didn’t throw us all out that night.(Any readers who happened to be there that night have probably been wondering the same thing for years.) I still think we sounded great, though.
Look out any window. It’s beautiful here and Joe and Janet will be missed.
-Ruth
St. John Spice and St. John Kids
Dockside Mall, St. John
August 2nd, 2007 22:13
We also had a great evening at Panini. The food was excellent, but it was talking with the owner, Joe, that really made it memorable. Sorry to hear they’ll be leaving. Best wishes Joe and Janet!
PS - we also met the owners of Rhumblines on a different trip. Our 5-year old twins met their 6-year old daughter at Maho Beach. We ended up having lunch with them at Skinny’s, and a few days later had dinner at Rhumblines. It’s a fun place run by really nice people.
August 3rd, 2007 15:04
This is so sad. I’ll never forget the time we went to dinner there and reached the end of the meal only to find that we had left our wallets back at the villa! Janet was so nice about it! John raced back to the house and I sat up at the bar with Janet and the bartender, they gave me free drinks, and treated John too when he came back with the money! We made a point of going there at least once every trip after that.
Good luck in your next endeavour, guys. You’ll be missed.
August 3rd, 2007 19:02
I will miss seeing Joe everyday asking me how my day is going.best of luck to Joe and Jsnet you will be missed in cruz bay.
the hammer
August 5th, 2007 21:06
Dear Joe & Janet
we have been coming to ST. John for the past 20 years.
Making friends with you both during our visits has many wonderful memories.We wish you both only the best.
What is St. John and out visit going to be like without you.
Please keep us posted on what your next plan is.
Miss you already
Lynda and Stanley
August 7th, 2007 10:53
Janet and Joe,
I am so so sad to see the beach go! It will forever be my home away from home when i lived in the islands. You need to get me a number where i can contact you after you leave. I love and miss you both very much. tell my beautiful Peter i miss him as well!
Alway in my heart!
August 7th, 2007 21:00
I am just heartbroken that the Panini is closing. I worked for Janet and Joe in 2002-2003 as a waitress. They were so kind to me, treating me like I was family. I was alone and in St. John to “find myself” and they were an integral part of my experience. In a sea of crazy, strange, and irresponsible business owners, they really were a haven of normalcy. St. John will be the worse for losing them and for losing some of the best food that island has to offer.
In addition to their generosity and kindness, Joe and Janet helped me through their thorough wine training and attention to detail in the restauarant. After leaving the island, I got an MBA and now work for a Winery, doing national restaurant marketing and wine training…I owe them more than I can say.
I guess St. John has changed enough so that it no longer deserves these great people. Maybe they should head to the BVI? Panini Jost?
xoxo, Janet and Joe. I hope I can come visit you in Chicago.
Elizabeth S.
August 8th, 2007 18:52
Hi Elizabeth! Glad to hear you’re doing well. We’re still here!
-Ruth
August 14th, 2007 14:59
My wife and I still remember our time at Panini Beach more than 8 years ago. We were talking with Joe, as he had come out to wander around the restaurant and meet all the guests, and we struck up a conversation, which went something like this:
Where are you from?
The Chicago Area.
WHERE in Chicago?
Oh, up North, near the Wisconsin Border?
WHERE up there?
Oh, a little town you’ve probably never heard of near Fox Lake.
WHERE near Fox Lake?
Oh, on Long Lake.
Our other house is only a mile or so away!!!
We really enjoyed meeting Janet and Joe, went back a few years later. The INSISTED on buying us dinner! Since then, Joe has been out sailing with us a couple times in Chicago, and we hope they’ll come out as a couple with us when they get back to Chicago.
Yep, it will sure be a loss for St. John!
We wish them well on their next adventure.
Bruce & Romelle Whitmore
August 20th, 2007 17:24
Janet and Joe,
We met you nine years ago on our honeymoon and from then on whenever we were on the island we were regulars at the bar. We always had the best intentions of going elsewhere for dinner but that never would happen. You and your staff were always so welcoming and gracious. Best of luck returning to Chicago.
Liz and Sean Cochrane
Boston, MA
August 22nd, 2007 13:43
My wife and I, along with another couple, have been coming to St. John for the past 15 years. We were happy to find Panini Beach, and ate there at least twice during our short stays. It was, and will remain our favorite. I too am sad to see the Island take this turn for the worse. We’ll be down again in December and only hope that other great places won’t feel the hammer. If possible, will Janet and Joe be posting any new resturant venture they might decide upon in the Chicago area. Living in Kansas City we make regular trips to Chicago and would love to see them again, and sample their “Island” fares.
Please keep us posted.
Phil & Kathy Chaney