Interview with John Hiebert, new owner, Café Roma

OSJ: How did you discover the Virgin Islands John?

JH: We’ve been visiting for about 18 years. My wife is from Trinidad and we’ve always loved the islands.

OSJ: Tell us a little about your background.

JH: Well, we moved to St. Thomas in August. We came to the islands from Vermont, and before that, we spent about 20 years in Florida. I was a food and beverage director for ski resorts in Vermont, and I owned some Italian restaurants in Florida.

OSJ: So, what got you interested in moving your career to the Caribbean?

JH: We’ve actually been looking for the last four years at various restaurant opportunities on different islands, and had been looking at Café Roma for about a year and a half. We liked the idea of running a business in the U.S. Virgin Islands, mostly because, as a U.S. territory, it is attractive from a business standpoint.

OSJ: From Vermont to the Virgin Islands, huh?

JH: We decided warm is better than cold.

OSJ: So why did you decide to buy Café Roma in the end?

JH: Oh, well a number of things. Mainly its reputation. We also love the atmosphere and love the kind of clients it draws.

OSJ: You’re commuting daily from St. Thomas. What’s up with that?

JH: I have two kids and my wife Michelle and I decided that, because of the big transition for them already, it would probably be easier for me to commute to work than for them to commute to school.

OSJ: You’ve been busy in the restaurant getting ready to reopen since Roma closed a few months ago.

JH: Very busy. We ripped up the dining room floor. We patched a lot of holes in the walls. We replaced some kitchen equipment and just did some painting and sprucing up.

OSJ: But you spared the mural.

JH: Oh yes. We spared the mural. And we kept all the clouds.

OSJ: What about the menu. Did you make any changes?

JH: We DID NOT change the pizza! And I took very little off the menu. I did add more dishes and made it less confining. For example, instead of Veal Parmesan, you can now choose veal or chicken or eggplant. Same with the Picatta and Marsala. I also changed the Marsala a bit. It’s a nice recipe with a nice base to it.

OSJ: What about the staff?

JH: It’s great. Almost everybody, staff wise, has returned. It is the original staff and chef.

OSJ: Will you be open only for dinner, as in the past?

JH: For now, we are open only for dinner. In the off season we will be closed Sundays. We plan to be open most Sundays during season, but I have two children and I don’t want to get caught up in the seven day a week burnout factor. We are considering lunch down the road. No firm plans yet, but we do have some ideas. My wife is from Trinidad, and we’d like to try some West Indian dishes.

OSJ: Café Roma hasn’t ever taken reservations. Would you please consider it?

JH: Well, we won’t take reservations, but we are going to do what I call “call ahead seating.” You know, call when you’re about to leave your house and we’ll put you on the list right then. That should cut down on wait times quite a bit.

OSJ: So, how do you like St. John so far?

JH: The people are incredible. I really appreciate the extremely warm response from everybody I’ve had. I lived at the St. John Inn for the entire month of July and they were great. Everybody I’ve met has been very kind. I hope I don’t let them down.

OSJ: One more thing. Joshlynn Crosley, the former owner, told us she’d give whoever bought her restaurant her secret marinara sauce as part of the deal. Did you get it?

JH: I got it! And I confess, it has a couple of unique ingredients in there.

OSJ: Gonna tell us?

JH: Nope. It’s a secret. And now it’s mine.