Local News

How many times have you tried to make a call while on island, but you couldn’t get cell reception? My casa is right in town and the signal there is so poor, I had to get a microcell booster just to be able to make a call. Hanging out at the Westin? Forget about it. That’s a dead zone. Over on Contant Point or up in Pastory? Cell service is sketchy at best.

Well I have fantastic news for everyone – cell service in these areas and others is now great! It’s like Christmas came early to quote one of my fabulous island friends!

AT&T activated a new tower over near Beth Cruz Road last week, and it’s improved service in and around Cruz Bay, near the Westin and Southside Road, as well as over on Contant Point Road. This new tower not only improves connection, but it also improves mobile internet speeds, which is fantastic.

I’m not sure how the new tower will affect Verizon users, as they utilize different technology. We’d be interested to hear from those of you using Verizon on island. We wrote a bit about this earlier this year. Click here to read more about it and to get some more info on cell phone service on island. 

We’d also like to know if you’ve seen an improvement in your area or anywhere on island. Feel free to leave feedback in the comments section…

There are pretty exciting changes happening in Cruz Bay within the next few weeks, and we’re excited to tell all of you about them. You may have heard through the Coconut Telegraph that Motu is closing, and sadly that is true, but were happy to tell you that a new bar will be taking its place. The new place will be called DR!NK St. John and it sounds like it’s going to be just as great as Motu, if not better.

For those of you not familiar with Motu, it’s located across from Cruz Bay beach and right next to Grande Bay. The new bar – DR!NK St. John – is being opened by John Alvarado, who works as the sales director over at Grande Bay. He also owns a pretty fun bar over on St. Thomas, so we know the new place will be great. (You may recognize John from a House Hunters International episode that debuted a couple of years back when he and his family searched for a home on island. Click here to read an older story on the episode that was written by the previous owner of News of St. John.) One thing that makes us super happy is that many of the Motu staff will be sticking around, according to John, so the fun and amazing parties will continue. Sweet!

DR!NK St. John will offer the same beach lounge vibe and fresh cocktails as Motu, but with some subtle change. As the new name suggests, mixology will be the focus. The staff at DR!NK St. John have some new ideas to share but some the old favorites such as the Bushwacker will continue. Yum!

Motu will close after its annual Christmas Eve party.

Want to know more about DR!NK St. John? You can follow it on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/drinkstj or you can also visit its website at www.drinkstj.com

Anyone want to live and work in paradise? How does working while gazing out toward Cruz Bay beach all day and night sound? Well if this sounds like something that’d suit you, you’re in luck because a popular Cruz Bay business just listed for sale.

The Turquoise Turtle is a popular swimsuit and beachwear shop located in Wharfside Village. It’s located right next to High Tide and is only about 50 feet from the ferry dock, which means it gets a great amount of foot traffic. According to the owner, the 11-year-old business is quite profitable and it could be yours for $170,000. There are nine years remaining on the current lease.

If you’d like to know more, please contact William at (340) 776-0695 or by email at [email protected].

Today I’d like to tell you about a super fun art workshop I attended last week over at Sloop Jones’ art studio on the East End. I had such a great time that I thought I’d share it with all of you.

For those of you who don’t know Sloop, he creates hand-painted, one-of-a-kind clothing for both men and women. Chances are you’ve seen some of his work strolling around the island. And in addition to his clothing and other works of art, Sloop also holds painting workshops twice a week in which he shares his talent with people like you and I.

I arrived at Sloop’s studio last Friday at 9:15 a.m. and wandered through his studio for a bit before my class began. Classes are held twice a week – Mondays and Fridays – and typically run between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. The cost of the painting workshop is $100 per person and there must be four people in order for a class to be held. But no need to worry, that doesn’t mean you need four in your group, just four people need to sign up total.

The $100 fee covers the painting workshop and two t-shirts that you paint and take home. You can upgrade to a different garment for your second piece if you’d like for a small fee. I chose to paint an apron for an additional $15.

I was a bit worried that my garments would come out horribly, but Sloop and Marcia – his wonderful assistant – walked us all through the process of choosing and mixing colors. They had us all start with some q-tips and paper towels, and once we got the hang of it, we moved on to our garments. And I have to say, I was pretty impressed with some of the talent folks here on the islands. Some of the shirts created Friday looked amazing.

I had such a great time at Friday’s workshop and I highly recommend you try it out. Not only was it fun to paint the shirts, but it was also fun meeting new people. If you’re interested in learning more about Sloop Jones or if you’d like to attend a workshop, you can email Sloop at [email protected]. You can also visit his website at www.SloopJones.com.

A new nail salon opened recently at the Lumberyard, which in itself is pretty exciting to us here at News of St. John, but the best part is that it offers stateside prices. Now that’s super exciting to us!

Cue-Tickels opened back in September and I really think it’s a great addition to the island. It was opened by LaKresha Powell-Abraham, who was born and raised on St. John, and the space really looks great. LaKresha offers a variety of pedicures and manicures, including paraffin wax, spa and gel. Prices start at $25 for a regular manicure and $40 for a regular pedicure; however she offers a mani/pedi combo for only $50 but the services must be completed on the same day. She even offers rainy day specials.

As we mentioned, the space looks really great and it can be rented out for events like bridal parties. And for those of you who prefer not to come to the salon, LaKresha will come to you.

Cue-tickles is located in the Lumberyard in Cruz Bay. She is located on the second floor on the right just past Cruz Bay Watersports but before Cimmaron. For more information, you can visit her website at www.cuetickels.com or call 340-727-8265 (salon) or 340-473-7055 (cell). Cue-Tickels is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The ever popular Elf On a Shelf has landed on St. John. See what he’s been up to…

Like most first-time visitors, he immediately went to see the National Park…

Then on to take the quintessential St. John shot…

And a little selfie!

He then cruised over to Peace Hill where he did a nice little hike and hung out a bit…

From there, he went over to Honeymoon to take a dip, but the sargassum was out of control. If you can’t beat it, join it!

Then it was time for some fun in the sun over at Maho Bay…

And a little relaxing with Tommy Bahama…

The sun was about to set, so he cruised over to Gallows Point and took in the sunset and a few libations at Ocean 362…

Day 2 started out with some sightseeing and then a nice “little” hike…

The trail tuckered him out, so he hopped in the pool over at Sweet Surrender at Virgin Grand Estates…

And from there, it was on to Coral Bay where he met some of the locals and joined a pretty important cause…

He stopped home to play a quick board game before heading out for a night on the town!

He started off with a Bushwacker at The Beach Bar…

And then on to Joe’s Rum Hut…

And from there, it got a little crazy…

Then it was time for a little “nap” before heading home…

And then this happened… Happy holidays everyone!

The Animal Care Center’s annual open house is happening tomorrow night, and you’re all invited! The party starts at 5:30 p.m. and goes until 8:30 p.m. Drinks will be provided, and guests are asked to bring a dish. I personally think it would be great if everyone bought something for the animals as well. The ACC will be open so you can even mingle with all of the fabulous cats and dogs.

Charlie, News of St. John’s super fabulous ACC rescue, will also be in attendance … briefly. 🙂 We hope to see you all there!

Just a few months after Lily’s closed its doors for good in Coral Bay, a new market has opened in its place.

Dolphin Market Coral Bay opened two weeks ago, and I have to admit, I was pretty impressed by the amount and selection of items offered for sale when I popped in the other day. It was also quite reasonable. I’m going to let the pictures tell the story today, but first a bit of pertinent information…

This store is a sister store of Dolphin Market in Cruz Bay. It is opened seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Ok now on to the pics…