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An Update On Our Currently Closed Restaurants

Cruz Bay overlook - January 6, 2018

Hello everyone and happy Monday! We’ve been telling you a lot about the restaurants that are open, so today we’d like to give you a quick update about some the restaurants that are currently closed.

Joe’s Rum Hut – The owner of the Rum Hut had to tear down the main bar due to damage sustained during Hurricane Irma. That, coupled with the ongoing repairs happening at Wharfside Village, has prohibited the bar from reopening thus far. We have great news though! The new bar (or perhaps bars … stay tuned!) will be rebuilt soon, and the Rum Hut will reopen by March 1st. Hello Happy Hour!!

The Beach Bar – The Beach Bar was essentially “power washed” by Irma, according to its owners, so there is also still some work that needs to happen over there. We spoke to the owners recently who said that they hope to reopen sooner than March 1st (the estimated reopening date of their next door neighbor, the Rum Hut). Great news because I’m sure many of you are missing their delicious Bushwackers!

Waterfront Bistro – There are still two sailboats onshore directly in front of Waterfront Bistro. The two vessels appear to be abandoned, as their owners were never located. It is unclear when the vessels will be removed or what the future of this space holds.

High Tide – High Tide was unable to reopen initially due to the fact that the parcel did not have electricity or water. Both fortunately have been restored, paving the way for a reopening. We’ve seen staff over there working at the place, however a reopening date has yet to be announced. But we believe it will be within the next month or so… And we can’t wait!

The Longboard – Great news for fans of The Longboard… They’re reopening this Friday! As you may know, The Longboard worked with the Red Cross (and Cruz Bay Landing) to provide free meals for residents and relief workers following hurricanes Irma and Maria. They closed down in November for some much-needed rest. Since then, the place has undergone some renovations which we are eager to see. The Longboard will unveil a new menu and some new decor this Friday, and we are excited to check it out.

UMAMI – The future of UMAMI remains uncertain, according to its owners. We will have more on this soon…

Jake’s – Sadly, Jake’s is closed for good. 🙁 The restaurant did not sustain too much damage, but the Lumberyard complex did as a whole. The owners of Jake’s desperately wanted to keep the restaurant open, but the owners of the Lumberyard complex deemed all of the buildings a loss. The owners of Jake’s have since left island, and we are all very saddened about that.

Barefoot Cowboy – Barefoot Cowboy sustained an extreme amount of damage, losing its roof during the first few hours of Irma. While the owners wanted to rebuild and keep it alive, the Lumberyard owners, again, deemed it all a loss. Therefore we do not believe that Barefoot will be reopening again. 🙁

Morgan’s Mango – Morgan’s Mango was heavily damaged during Irma, however they’ve been working tirelessly to reopen ever since. The owners are hoping to reopen by February 1, which makes us very happy!

The Tamarind – The Tamarind sustained a great deal of damage during Irma. Work has been happening on the property, and we are certain it will reopen as soon as they can.

ZoZo’s – Located at Caneel Bay, ZoZo’s is closed for the foreseeable future. The owner has sold a good deal of its kitchen equipment to local restaurants, signaling that it has no interest in currently opening elsewhere. My guess is that ZoZo’s will reopen when Caneel does, although that it’s simply a guess.

Knox & Ollie’s – Located at the Westin, Knox & Ollie’s is closed at least through January 2019 when the Westin reopens.

Asolare – Asolare was destroyed during Irma, and from what we can can see, no work has been done toward a rebuild since. The future of Asolare remains unclear.

Aqua Bistro – Great news for fans of Aqua Bistro… we hear that it’s reopening in the next few weeks!

Shipwreck Landing – Sadly, Shipwreck was also destroyed during Hurricane Irma. We’ve heard that the restaurant will rebuild, but that it will not be Shipwreck sadly. We reached out to the owners, but haven’t heard back yet.

Miss Lucy’s – The building itself appears to have survived, although we can see some visible damage. We have also seen people on property working to spruce the place up. We haven’t heard anything definitive, but we believe it will reopen this season.

49 thoughts on “An Update On Our Currently Closed Restaurants”

  1. RIP Shipwreck. We met the lovely Donna Stamford on our first flight to St. John, and she converted her boarding pass in to a voucher for drinks on her at Shipwreck by writing a note on it to the bartender. It was at Shipwreck we had our first Painkillers and began to fall in love with the island. The aforementioned boarding pass voucher is now framed and hanging above a picture of Trunk in our hallway. We’ll miss our visit to Shipwreck on our upcoming trip in February, but look forward to returning to the island.

  2. We took a pic of the view from ship wreck (along with the ship wreck sign!) and had it made into a 3 section canvas! So happy to have that view to look at everyday ! Ship wreck has been one of our favorite places !! We will miss this place !!!

  3. Thanks oncce again for update!!
    See everyone on the 17th cannot wait to visit all the Establishment that have reopened.
    Connie & Bill

  5. I am so sorry to hear that Jake’s is gone. Their breakfasts, bloody’s and especially all the staff will be greatly missed.
    Beth and Buddy

  7. Terrible news about Jakes… best bloody mary and breakfast on the island. Will be there in February and appreciate the update on the other businesses!

  8. So sad about Shipwreck! Have been going there for so long….never a visit to STJ without stopping at Shipwreck several times! We have many pics of the views & sign! One hangs in my office!

  9. sure will miss Zozo’s, the food and service was the best on island.
    glad to hear aqua bistro will be opening again. see you in may.

  13. I’m organizing a family vacation for next winter. I really want to go to St Johns. Are there particular parts of the island I should be looking at? I’m not planning on staying at a resort. Rather, renting a home.
    Thanks for any info!

    • Mike,
      Post your question on the TripAdvisor forum for St.John. To get to it go to tripadvisor.com, then you will see options like hotel, restaurants, etc. After “Things to Do” you will see three dots. Click on the dots and the forum links are hidden under there. The St. John forum is a wealth of information and you can post questions or just browse for info. You will get lots of responses if you post a question. It’s is a great place to get information on St. John from visitors and people who reside on the island or own property on St. John.
      Also, no “s” after the word John (St. Johns is in Antigua)

  14. Jenn, thanks as always for your updates. We’ll be down on Jan. 20th. Any news on Margarita Phil’s? Has always been our first night out on the island so it’s a tradition. So glad to hear that Morgan’s will reopen soon–another tradition for us.

  17. Hi Jen!
    My husband and I are headed to St John on Jan 17th for 10 days. We would like to do some volunteer work while we are there but the few contacts we have are leading to dead ends. We’re thinking there HAS to be somewhere on the island our help would be needed. Please email me with any information/contacts you may have.
    Thanks!

  18. Thanks for all the info you have been providing ever since the hurricanes. My son lives on the island and I visited for Christmas. We ate at Cafe Roma and Extra Virgin and had great meals. Many thanks to Kenny Chesney and Michael Bloomberg for all they have done for St. John.

  24. Oh No… No more Shipwreck. Where Will I get my Valley Doll from? That is the second main ingredient in our Sunday Lunch Time Bloody Mary. I guess with change comes new findings.

    • You can buy Valley Doll sauces in stores on the island. They definitely sold them at the Spice Shop upstairs at the ferry dock the last time I was there.

  26. Anyone know if Subway has reopened yet (the one across from Woody’s)? Did they survive the hurricane? Their meatball sub was Michelin rated 5-star. I also always got fresh, great Snickers bars at the Texaco gas station near Dolphin market. Are they reopened yet?

  28. My heart is broken about Jake’s closing. Great food and lovely people who ran it and worked there. Where will I drink a Bloody Mary, with a view???

  29. Thanks for all the updates! You guys are doing great. Hope to come over in October. Any Sail Charters open yet??

  31. Hoping with all my heart Zozo’s will return. We were there last year on the last day before they closed (days before Irma). Staff were always lovely, wine list comprehensive and the food amazing. And the views at sunset? Incomparable.

  32. Any word on Beach Bar and Joe’s? They were hoping to hit March 1st, but I can’t find anything that says they’ve been able to re-open.

  34. Hi! This doesn’t seem to accurate.. Iv’e been on The Beach Bar’s website and they have bands playing when I’ll be in St John from Jan. 31st to Feb 9th. Can you please clarify?

    • Sure thing… The Beach Bar is closed. The bar is still being rebuilt. They have been having popup parties on the beach here and there. They had one for New Year’s and another for happy hour a few days later. But they remain officially closed.

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