Salem Waterfront Hotel & Suites & Everything St. John

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to Food for Thought with Billy and Jenny,
brought to you by the Box Center.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
For more than fifteen years.

Speaker 1 (00:06):
This dining duo has been eating their way through New England,
mixing it up with top chefs, jumping behind the line
of the hottest restaurants and giving you the inside scoop
on where to wine, dine and spend your time. So
get ready, it's Food for Thought giving you something to
chew on.

Speaker 3 (00:21):
Hey, everybody, welcome into Food for Thought. Billy Costa here,
and I'm going to tell you right off the top
this next hour of radio programming. If you're listening, and
by the way, everybody should be called a friend, you're
going to need to strap in. You're going to need
fasten any kind of belt you have because we're going
to be moving fast. I'll just give you a hint.

(00:42):
We're going to take you on a helicopter ride during
the show today. All right. We're also going to take
you on a boat ride through the Caribbean. We're going
to do that on the show tonight. But we're going
to start in Salem, Massachusetts, which I think of is
you know, the closest we get in New England. To
the actual British for jan Islands.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
We could take a helicopter there.

Speaker 3 (01:02):
Mike Rocket is here. Make sure you talk close to
the Mic and his daughter, Margaret, who was the marketing
director for the Salem Waterfront Hotel. And by the way,
Mike and Margaret and the Salem Waterfront Hotel before this
hour is out is gonna they're going to have a
connection to why we're taking a helicopter ride and we're
going on a boat and we're cruising around the Virgin Islands. Okay,

(01:25):
so far, so good. That sounds great. Okay, but we're
going to start off with the Salem Waterfront Hotel, Mike
and Margaret, because last time I was there, you had
beautiful renovations. Now that was a couple of months ago
and you've already re renovated. What did you do, Mike.

Speaker 2 (01:40):
We finished the lobby and it really pops now, the
new front desk, all new lobby, bathrooms. But you had
some of the lighting change, we added some molding. It's
just you've seen the videos. I think the it pops now.
You walk in there and it really feels like a
beautiful place, not that it didn't before, but I'm really
proud of it.

Speaker 3 (02:00):
Now, when you say molding, are you talking about Crown molding?
Is that what they call it in the construction industry.

Speaker 2 (02:05):
I don't like Crown. I like Cove molding. I don't like.

Speaker 3 (02:08):
Oh, can you describe the differences.

Speaker 2 (02:11):
As poster Cove is like that?

Speaker 3 (02:13):
Yeah, Crown is kind of old school, older.

Speaker 4 (02:16):
Like.

Speaker 2 (02:18):
Is more marinery, you know, than.

Speaker 4 (02:21):
There's a good marinary. Yeah, Okay, I don't know that
that's a work, don't. I really don't think it is,
but it works for me. Just a couple of guys
talking about molding.

Speaker 3 (02:32):
That's so wrong. Okay. So what's the big difference in
the lobby now, Margaret? Describe it.

Speaker 5 (02:38):
It's the floor in the front desk or the huge
changes we made, but it's just the whole field. The
front desk is open now, so when you walk in
and you need your bag put in the back office,
you just roll it right through to them. It's a
lot more user friendly and welcoming.

Speaker 6 (02:53):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (02:54):
I definitely end up lighting just because of the flooring.
If it just the whole place, Pops, I don't know
to say it. It's just every time I go in
there now I have to say I have a much
better smile on my face than I did last year.
I was like, I was, we're there, but you're you know,
we were.

Speaker 3 (03:12):
Like, well, speaking of popping, I mean, you know when
I was there, what used to be the pub is
no longer the pub? What's it called now?

Speaker 5 (03:20):
It's mainstay social kitchen and cocktail.

Speaker 3 (03:23):
Now where did that name come from? You knew I
was going to ask.

Speaker 5 (03:27):
A lot of brainstorming. We kind of we're trying to
think of what is the one thing that's going to
prevent us from continuing to say the pub when we
refer to it, which we still haven't totally accomplished yet.

Speaker 3 (03:39):
And when you say pub, it's screens super casual.

Speaker 5 (03:42):
Yes, exactly, which it's not as much any it.

Speaker 3 (03:44):
Sparkles now, yeah, but you still have the outdoor pat
elevated as much we're elevated.

Speaker 2 (03:50):
And you know, we've had a bunch of nights where
groups of many and women but having little fondue parties,
and you know, so we're we're sort of changing the vibe.
I've been there, and I mean, I you know, if
Chaneree's up and Vermont, we actually copy their recipe.

Speaker 3 (04:06):
Oh okay, okay, all right, I'm surprised you didn't call
it Maison the House of Salem. Okay, but the rooms
are all done over to and by the way i've
been there.

Speaker 2 (04:17):
Beautiful, they're awesome.

Speaker 3 (04:19):
You did every single room and every single hallway in
the hotel. Yeah, eighty seven eighty seven rooms.

Speaker 2 (04:26):
Yeah, we actually because remember we got rid of the
fitness room. That's now the bridal.

Speaker 3 (04:29):
Suite, all right, and it's important I think that you
changed the pub because now the what's it called again, mainstay.
So now because you know you're having a wedding at
the hotel, it plays more to the wedding definitely. You know,
it's not super casual. It fits the wedding scene, as
does now the lobby. So that's all good. So, speaking

(04:50):
of weddings and functions, is this considered a slow season?

Speaker 5 (04:56):
The winter is definitely slower just because there's not as
many people who want to get married outside in the
winter in New England. Of course, in one of our
perks at the hotel is that we have an outdoor
ceremony space.

Speaker 3 (05:08):
Oh that's right, you've got the whole setup.

Speaker 2 (05:11):
Army Friendship is coming back this year.

Speaker 5 (05:13):
Yes, Oh it's been dry and promise with the sales.

Speaker 2 (05:17):
Yes, it's coming back with the sales finally after how
long years? Ninety years, nine years?

Speaker 3 (05:24):
I mean, I know it's historical. The friendship, by the way,
is Salem's version of the constitution. Is that a good
way to says?

Speaker 5 (05:30):
Uh?

Speaker 3 (05:31):
And so it's been in dry dock for several years, but.

Speaker 5 (05:33):
It's been there, but it has been fully wrapped.

Speaker 2 (05:36):
Yeah, and then they so what happens. They have one
guy that came from Maine and he was the only
guy that could fix the decking on it. Wow, one guy.

Speaker 3 (05:43):
You know what I would tell people if I were
you guys, like when you're booking weddings and functions and
everything else, I would just tell them that the friendship
is part of the hotel. Like other words, you own
the friendship and you can have a ball on the
friendship if you But when you get married outside on
that on you have, you're looking directly at the friendship. Wow,
what a great scene to a wedding.

Speaker 5 (06:04):
Beautiful view of the friendship and the saleoft in the
back of your photos, which is really cool.

Speaker 2 (06:09):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (06:09):
So how far in advanced people want to start thinking
about weddings?

Speaker 2 (06:13):
Well, I mean right now, the hard part is if
you don't a year and a half out, people are
the dates are already booked? Yeah, you know it's crazy
and how it is year and a half.

Speaker 5 (06:23):
Yeah, you want to be looking at if you're trying
to book a twenty twenty six summer wedding now now,
you should be doing it right now.

Speaker 2 (06:30):
You should be good because it's really crazy. That's how
crazy it is.

Speaker 3 (06:33):
And speaking of weddings and celebrations, you guys had an
engagement over the past couple of weeks, Mikey, your son
Thomas and your brother Thomas got engaged to beautiful Courtney Money.

Speaker 2 (06:44):
Yep, well, Courty's been a part of our family. Your sister,
I saw the post finally a sister. Wow, trying to
make Thomas's sister, but that didn't work out.

Speaker 3 (06:54):
No, you avoided that as much as he could. Okay,
so congratulations to Thomas and Courtney. But we're going to
be going to the Caribbean the Virgin Islands in a
couple of seconds. Margaret, did you want to say congratulation
to a friend of you as.

Speaker 5 (07:06):
It's getting engaged, Jeff, friends of mine are in Saint
Thomas right now. Got engaged. This weekend. Congratulations to Adm
and Liz. We're so happy for you, guys.

Speaker 3 (07:15):
On the other side, we're gonna take you all listening.
We're going to take you to Saint Thomas and Saint
John and the Virgin Islands. And there's a guy named
John who owns a restaurant in Saint John. He's from Boston.
We've got him next in by you're listening.

Speaker 1 (07:30):
To Food for Thought brought to you by the Box
Center and Salem Waterfront Hotel in sweets.

Speaker 3 (07:36):
Hey, guys, welcome back to Food for Thought.

Speaker 5 (07:38):
Now.

Speaker 3 (07:38):
I told you at the top of the show you're
going to need to fasten up, strap in if you will.
I've got my rocket here from Salem Waterfront Hotel, as
well as his daughter and Margaret, who is the marketing director.
And we've all spent a lot of time over the
years down in the Virgin Islands, especially Saint John, and
I've been going down there for years. And one of
the first restaurants I ever went to in Saint John,
beautiful restaurant called Zoe Zoe. And it so happens the

(08:01):
owner is from Boston and his name is John Farigno. John,
can you hear us.

Speaker 7 (08:06):
Here, we sure can.

Speaker 6 (08:08):
How are you?

Speaker 3 (08:09):
I'm doing great? John, I gotta tell you, I still
remember the first time. For at few times I went
to Zozo. You were located right in town in Saint John.
Is it the Gallops Gallups?

Speaker 2 (08:19):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (08:19):
Yeah, Gallups Point?

Speaker 7 (08:21):
That was actually our second location? Wow, our first, our first,
we're in our fifth location. I don't have a very
good business plan really, what we're going.

Speaker 3 (08:30):
On with you? Are you pissing off a lot of
neighbors or something? What's going on? John?

Speaker 7 (08:35):
There were a couple of ladies, one called Irma, one
called Maria Hurricane. I kind of get in the way
they're trying to do business, you know, kind of put
the pamper on things every few years.

Speaker 3 (08:46):
But John, being from Boston, how did you land in
Saint John for business for a restaurant?

Speaker 7 (08:53):
I actually answered a ad in the Boston Globe for
a restaurant manager. And I worked at the Western Resort
when I first came down. That was almost thirty years ago.

Speaker 3 (09:04):
And that's where I would stay every time I came
down to Saint John. The Western. But then yeah, then
I got to know the Rockets and now we stayed
with these fancy houses all over the island.

Speaker 5 (09:13):
You don't know.

Speaker 3 (09:14):
I'm talking about John.

Speaker 8 (09:16):
Exactly.

Speaker 3 (09:17):
So an interesting story. I believe your restaurant, Zozo is
still at Kneel Bay, right.

Speaker 7 (09:25):
It is, it's in a different location once again, another location.
We're down on the water now. Oh. We were up
on the hill at an old rum distillery slash sugar plantation.
It was called Zoo's at the Sugar Mill.

Speaker 9 (09:40):
Oh.

Speaker 7 (09:40):
Yeah, but the last hurricanes knocked out out, so we
rebuilt right on the water for all old Canil guests.

Speaker 8 (09:47):
That's where you used to take the boat to check in.

Speaker 6 (09:49):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (09:49):
We went by a month or so ago and we
were down there. Yeah, and I looked over at Tonil Bay.
I said, oh, there's something going on where they used
to have the little marine of the docks and now
it's Zozo.

Speaker 2 (10:01):
Yes, just dinners though, right, no lunches anymore.

Speaker 7 (10:05):
Yeah there, you know, it's the storm did a lot
of damage. So the park, the National Park now have
taken over the property. So they've kind of deemed the
dock a little unsafe. But they're working on it. They're
working on it. But you can still, you know, arrive
to the resort and we've got to shuttle that brings
you down. The locations phenomenal just because we're right on

(10:25):
the water and the sun set. It's just a nice
relaxing environment on Beyonce Wise for a restaurants.

Speaker 8 (10:32):
Lovely.

Speaker 3 (10:32):
And it's good that we're talking about John, because it's
a time of year back here in New England, back
here in Boston, people start thinking about winter vacations. They
may not have made their plans, so we're thinking, Look,
if you're thinking about going to the bbis or the
US Virgin Islands or even Saint John, we're just trying
to introduce you to some of the things, some of
the places you could go to. So John, you have

(10:52):
a history of bringing chefs in from Boston, right.

Speaker 7 (10:59):
Yes, Actually my present chef is from Maine, and I've
been very fortunate in being in business for twenty six years.
I've had four chefs and they've all worked under the
previous one, so we've had some nice continuity and lineage
in the food, which is, you know, very fortunate, especially
here where the labor market is short. But I count

(11:20):
my blessings every day for everyone I've had in my kitchen,
for sure.

Speaker 2 (11:24):
What's your favorite thing on the menu? What should you
order when you.

Speaker 7 (11:29):
The porketta. The porketta is as good as you'll get anywhere.
It's like a pork laine that your grandmother used to
make that actually has fat and flavor. And we got
the ultimate compliment. Mario Batalia, famous chef, came in and
said to me, why would anyone eat anything else in
this restaurant but the porketta.

Speaker 8 (11:50):
So I knew we were doing something right.

Speaker 3 (11:51):
All right, give us something else off the menu.

Speaker 7 (11:54):
The puppa Dell's parpadell is a wide, rustic noodle done
with whe mushrooms, truffle oil, a little bit of cream,
and some fresh basil. Very simple. Those are probably the
two most popular dishes that we have.

Speaker 3 (12:08):
Andco and what dessert would you recommend on the menu
there at Zozo?

Speaker 7 (12:14):
The guava tart, a little bit of muscapones, some tropical fruit,
little graham cracker crust. It's a perfect light Caribbean dessert.
After you know, we do a four course meal every night,
so when you get to that point you want to light,
refreshing Caribbean dessert.

Speaker 8 (12:30):
It's the new favorite.

Speaker 3 (12:31):
I got to ask you, John, are you actually on
Saint John right now?

Speaker 7 (12:36):
Absolutely?

Speaker 8 (12:36):
What's the temperature there, Billy?

Speaker 3 (12:37):
Yeah, See, we hate you right now. I mean I
love you as a person, but we hate that you're
on Saint John and it's biting coals here in Boston.

Speaker 7 (12:46):
I think it's nineteen degrees celsius here. What's that about
seventy five? So it's the same. You know, you're fahrenheit.

Speaker 8 (12:52):
Where's celsia is?

Speaker 7 (12:54):
And I heard that you when you were down you
were on a boat with my son.

Speaker 2 (12:57):
Yeah, yeah, So I was going to say, does your
son get special docking privileges at at Zozo's.

Speaker 8 (13:04):
He gets a slap.

Speaker 7 (13:08):
Yeah, of course. He just purchased his own boat as
of this morning. He'll be going into his own business
probably in the.

Speaker 8 (13:16):
Next two weeks.

Speaker 7 (13:17):
Called top notch charters.

Speaker 2 (13:18):
Good for him.

Speaker 8 (13:20):
He'll be up and running.

Speaker 7 (13:21):
Yeah.

Speaker 8 (13:21):
He's a good kid.

Speaker 2 (13:22):
He's a really good Yeah. He stayed on the boat
the whole time when we were on a Saggy Dollar.

Speaker 3 (13:27):
Oh yeah, yeah.

Speaker 7 (13:27):
Well he was born and raised here. Yeah, he was
born and raised. So he's like a kid that you know,
grows up in Aspen and Kinski.

Speaker 8 (13:34):
Sammy can drive a boat.

Speaker 7 (13:35):
He's twenty one and he's got his master's Captain license.

Speaker 3 (13:38):
So John, where did you grow up back here? Where
did you grow up when you were here?

Speaker 7 (13:41):
I grew up in I grew up in Connecticut. I
went to school at UMass class of nineteen eighty, which
means I went to class in nineteen eighty.

Speaker 8 (13:50):
But that was about it. And then I moved.

Speaker 7 (13:53):
I moved to the North Shore from there, and I
actually worked at the Hilltop restaurant.

Speaker 3 (13:59):
Heltop Wow, Yeah, yeah, And I.

Speaker 8 (14:06):
Learned a lot there.

Speaker 7 (14:07):
One that is, I didn't want to be in the
kitchen anymore, but you know, that was quite an operation.

Speaker 3 (14:12):
So so John, I've got to put you on the spot,
and I'm going to ask you, if you were to
choose two other restaurants on Saint John that are not yours,
where would you go for dinner.

Speaker 7 (14:25):
My dear friend Alex has a restaurant called Latapa. We
started out right next to each other twenty seven years ago,
so I would definitely try that. And there's a new
little spot called the Hideaway Jef Vini who's doing a
really good job. It's it's the ambiance is not phenomenal,
but he does a really good job. It's a small
little place.

Speaker 3 (14:43):
And is it right in town? Oh? Nice? Yeah.

Speaker 7 (14:47):
And then my my friend Carlos, you know from Morgan's Mango.
Morgan Mango has been on Saint John for forty years.

Speaker 3 (14:55):
They did a job. Oh that's right where the yeah
Marina is right, it's before SunDog Yeah. Fact, yeah, that's
where we grab our first drink, right at that bar. Yeah, okay, yep.

Speaker 7 (15:05):
Yes, so okay, So you guys, when are you coming
back down?

Speaker 3 (15:08):
As soon as we can.

Speaker 7 (15:11):
We'll make sure because you just come here, we'll take
care of everything.

Speaker 8 (15:14):
You know that take care of you.

Speaker 3 (15:15):
Well, I gotta tell you, John, I think it was
the first time I ever went down to Saint John
and we went to Zozo and you came. Yeah. I
didn't know. I didn't know anything about Saint John. I
didn't know anything. I just I was told you got
to go to Zozo. You gotta go to Zozo.

Speaker 5 (15:30):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (15:30):
And I walked in and you walked right over to me,
and somehow you recognize me and said hello, and you
couldn't have been nicer. And then the next time I
went down, the first time I went to what was
the gazebo at Kenneil Bay That was a gazebo right, uh,
and you came right over again. Just a couple of
Boston guys bonding on Saint John. You have any plans

(15:51):
of opening another one?

Speaker 7 (15:54):
Oh, I can't do this much longer, you know, But
I don't look as good as you.

Speaker 6 (15:58):
Do, Bett.

Speaker 2 (15:59):
You know what I mean is a show on any
any news on fixing the property up.

Speaker 7 (16:06):
You know, they're in the they're in the process of
preparing a lease the National Park is and then it'll
go out to bid. Yeah, everyone on Saint John hopes
that we get this done.

Speaker 8 (16:17):
It's vital.

Speaker 7 (16:18):
I mean, Kenney ol Bay was half the GDP of
Saint John. Yeah, and it's just the beautiful property.

Speaker 8 (16:23):
But you know, you have to go through all the
paperwork and.

Speaker 7 (16:26):
Get someone to sign the lease and then clean it up,
and it'll be a while. But you know, we're all
holding out because a lot of families here, you know,
sent their kids to college. You know, there were a
lot of jobs here. Yeah, and it really was the
driving force of the economy. So we're all hoping for that.

Speaker 2 (16:43):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (16:43):
What a beautiful resort that was, you know when it
when it got destroyed. One of my big concerns too,
is what happened to all the animals?

Speaker 2 (16:51):
Yeah?

Speaker 8 (16:54):
Wow, they're still running around. I will say, there's the
donkeys and the deer are still running around.

Speaker 3 (16:58):
Hey, John. Final question, your son son Sam. Has he
ever put you in the boat and taken you watch
to a place called Pizza Pie?

Speaker 8 (17:06):
Many times?

Speaker 6 (17:06):
Oh?

Speaker 8 (17:07):
Pizza Pies Dynamite?

Speaker 7 (17:08):
Yeah, we go many times.

Speaker 3 (17:10):
Well, it so happens, It so happens.

Speaker 7 (17:13):
John.

Speaker 3 (17:13):
When we hang up with you, our next call is
going to be the Pizza Pie in the middle of St.
John the Ocean. John, we'll see you soon on Saint John.
Not soon enough as far as we're concerned. But thanks
for taking our call. Have a ball this season.

Speaker 7 (17:28):
We have a common friend. Mike Kella said to say, hello,
Oh Michael Cella, Oh yeah, Revere dees friend, Revere guy.

Speaker 3 (17:36):
Okay, we got to take a break.

Speaker 8 (17:39):
He did say what he wanted me to tell you.
I can't say on the radio, and.

Speaker 3 (17:43):
Just tell him right back at him, right, Al, We
got to take a break. It's Food for Thought. We'll
be right back.

Speaker 1 (17:50):
You're listening to Food for Thought, brought to you by
the Box Center and Saling Waterfront Hotel in sweets.

Speaker 3 (17:55):
Hey, everybody, Welcome back to Food for Thought. We're having
some fun this week. I've got Mike and Margaret Rocket
in here from the Salem Waterfront Hotel co hosting the show,
and we're taking you around well Saint John basically in
the Virgin Islands. And there's a place right Mike, and
this place sits right in the middle of the water.
You have to go by boat, yes, only by boat,
and it's called Pizza Pie. Pizza Pie, and you guys

(18:17):
were just down there. You sent me some pictures and
the pizza look beautiful. And we've got Katie and Chris
on the phone from Pizza Pie. Hey, guys, how are
you hire good? So where exactly is Pizza Pie in
the water.

Speaker 10 (18:32):
It's off of Great Saint James, a little bit more
near to Saint Thomas, but it's a smaller island off
of the two of them. And it's just in a
beautiful cove in like shallow, crystal clear water. And you
can circle all around the boat while you're waiting for
your pizza. And yeah, that's pretty much location.

Speaker 3 (18:48):
I got to ask the two of you right now,
sitting in the middle of the crystal blue water, just
floating around waiting for the next pizza to come up.

Speaker 11 (18:59):
Right now. Actually, we are outside and it's absolutely beautiful.
Not on the boat today, but it's a pretty beautiful office.

Speaker 3 (19:05):
Yeah, go ahead, rub it in with everybody wants to
rub it in. With the temperature, it's like twelve degrees
here in Boston. But the good news, the sun is out.
How did this start for you guys, a pizza place
right in the middle of the water.

Speaker 11 (19:18):
Yeah, well, so we weren't the original inventors. So it
originally was just a very creative couple with a goal
to share some great food with their neighbors on the water.
And it's grown a lot since then. So now we
have industrial everything. It's a small but mighty boat. We've
had the business for about two years now, wow, And
so we've made some really cool advancements of our own

(19:40):
of having floats in the water, built a bar outside,
creating a dining experience with kind of our implementation to
make the business even better.

Speaker 3 (19:49):
Very quickly got to ask you, how is your pizza
so good? I know you're going to tell me, Oh,
we use nothing but the freshest ingredients. No, Like, why
is your pizza so good? Everybody raves about it.

Speaker 11 (19:59):
Yeah, well, everybody comes for the experience, right, it's definitely
a novelty. And then people say, wow, I really didn't
actually expect the pizza to be good. We thought it
was just a cool spot. But I would say making
the dough fresh on board every single day, all day,
and we make all of our sauces from scratch as well,
so it's really you would think that we have a
full sized kitchen on board despite how small it is.

Speaker 3 (20:22):
Well, I'll tell you, guys, we're going to make a deal. Okay,
next time I come down with the rockets to Saint John,
we're going to come over to Pizza Pie and we'll
broadcast live back here to Boston and then we can
rub it in to everybody back here. Hey, guys, good
good luck, have a great season down there.

Speaker 7 (20:37):
Thank you.

Speaker 2 (20:38):
Guys.

Speaker 3 (20:38):
All right, we got to take a break. So they're
in the middle, right, and you need to go buy boat, right, Yes,
so we're going to take a break. On the other side.
We're going to have the guy who has the boat
that's going to get you there. That's up next stand by.

Speaker 1 (20:49):
You're listening to Food for Thought, brought to you by
It's the Box Center and sale and waterfront hotel and sweets.

Speaker 3 (20:55):
Hey, everybody, welcome back to Food for Thought. I told
you this was going to be a busy show. We're
going to be hopping around. So we just talked to
the folks from Pizza Pie in the middle of Saint
John in the water. And here's the deal, right, Mike,
I've got Mike Rockett and Margaret rocket here with me.
When you go to Saint John, you can land directly
NonStop on Saint Thomas and typically you would take a

(21:16):
ferry over to Saint John.

Speaker 2 (21:17):
Some people would do that, or.

Speaker 3 (21:21):
You could have a guy waiting for you with a boat.
And I've got that guy on the phone right now. Chris,
are you there?

Speaker 7 (21:28):
I am. How are we doing good?

Speaker 3 (21:29):
Chris?

Speaker 2 (21:30):
Chris?

Speaker 3 (21:30):
I think we were out with you just recently.

Speaker 12 (21:32):
Right, And yeah, it took you over to Levongo for
your dinner reservation.

Speaker 2 (21:40):
Yes, that's right.

Speaker 3 (21:41):
Levango's another awesome place. So it's an island all by itself.
By the way, a Massachusetts couple, Mark and his wife
who bought an island down there, and the resort is
just gorgeous. So I'm not lying, right. If somebody's coming
down to Saint John you can pick them up right
at Saint Thomas and take them where they have to
go right.

Speaker 12 (22:00):
Absolutely, we pick up all over Saint Thomas. We actually
pick up even in Megan's Bay. There's a really nice
resort called sand Dollar that we do a lot of
business with because they're larger parties. Vudo's a large vessel,
so she can take up to forty nine passengers, very
high end. You know, a lot of boats don't have
the amenities that Voodoo has. Tons of shade cushions, coal filter,

(22:21):
drinking water on tap, a really smooth ride, and pretty
fast cruising speed compared to most large catamarans of her side.
So she's really designed for the hiring guests that wants
that really you know, high end experience. We got a
sunbed on top and you know, full bar, champagne, you
name it.

Speaker 3 (22:39):
I got to tell you the minute I stepped on
board your catamaran, Mike my line, we said, this is
the best built catamaran I've ever been on.

Speaker 2 (22:45):
Exactly.

Speaker 3 (22:46):
Wow, Margaret, do you go out a lot with your
friends on boats, charter boats during the day things like that?

Speaker 5 (22:51):
Oh?

Speaker 12 (22:52):
Yeah, I mean, you know, I've been down here for
thirteen years and you know, we take people out all
the time, but Voodoo is very special. There's only one
one of her in the whole world.

Speaker 7 (23:02):
You know.

Speaker 12 (23:02):
She's a carbon fiber high performance catamaran and we designed
it specifically for large parties, so you know, you get
on board even with big groups. It's very comfortable, lots
of shade, twenty places to say. We have two very
nice bathrooms and everything is designed for the customers that
you know, you are just comfortable and can enjoy the
beautiful Caribbean water.

Speaker 3 (23:21):
Here's the problem. I don't know forty nine people.

Speaker 2 (23:25):
Ye actually, I don't have forty nine people that like.

Speaker 12 (23:27):
You you know, we've actually, you know, to my surprise,
we actually do a lot of small groups. I didn't
think when we originally designed the boat that we would,
but we found that, you know, people that want nicer
things tend to book us with small groups. We've taken
out only two people before, you know, so it's not
just for long. Hold On certainly works for that.

Speaker 3 (23:47):
Yeah, hold on, Chris on that giant katamaran that holds
forty nine people. You had a couple take the boat out, yes.

Speaker 12 (23:56):
And they got married on board. We've done probably twenty
weddings on board as well.

Speaker 3 (24:00):
Can you officiate weddings as a captain?

Speaker 12 (24:03):
Absolutely, I've probably officiated a few dozen weddings on Voodoo
and my older catamaran, Kinder Spirit. But yeah, absolutely, we
do weddings all the time. The boat is really well
set up for that. You know, it's all about getting
your friends and family together in one spot and enjoying
you know, this area, and Voodoo has got the big
platform to do that. No, she's a great boat, Margaret.

Speaker 3 (24:25):
Your friend is getting engaged this weekend, maybe they should
book Voodoo with Chris.

Speaker 5 (24:32):
And just come back married.

Speaker 7 (24:36):
That is right.

Speaker 12 (24:39):
Catering right, catering, photography work as well. Yeah, we can
handle it all so and we've we've done it so. Yeah,
she's a great boat. Also, one of the best features
of the boat is the stairs that go down into
the water. We have the whitest stairs that I ever camaran.
This side walk right into the water.

Speaker 3 (24:58):
I'm loving this idea. A wedding on board the catamaran.
Everybody's in bathing suits and then you just casually jump
in and out of the water and go from island
to island. I'm on the Margaret, you're getting married soon.
I'm just asking.

Speaker 5 (25:10):
I don't think so. Well, maybe we can get Thomas
and Courtney.

Speaker 3 (25:13):
Thomas and Courtney, Oh my god, I get to go
back to Saint John again.

Speaker 2 (25:17):
Absolutely?

Speaker 3 (25:18):
Can I be in the wedding like the flower Girl
or something perfect?

Speaker 2 (25:21):
It's gonna be a naked wedding though.

Speaker 5 (25:25):
Well.

Speaker 12 (25:26):
We actually have off photos of weddings on our website
voodoogi dot com. You guys would like to check out
wedding pictures and you know we can all we can
just do transports like you were saying, you need it
a shuttle somewhere, We're happy to do that. We also
have a smaller vessel, a world Cap forty, which is
a very nice power boat as well, so we can
accommodate all your needs.

Speaker 3 (25:45):
Do you do like half day charters? Full day charters too?

Speaker 7 (25:49):
Yep.

Speaker 12 (25:49):
We are actually on our way to pick up forty
one people from the Ritz Carlton to do a half
day charter right now, so I'm actually driving the boat
as we can be.

Speaker 3 (25:56):
Oh, I've stayed at that Ritz, the one in Saint Thomas. Yeah, yep,
that's a charming.

Speaker 2 (26:02):
Do you get in tight enough there? Because they're usually
pretty pretty tough about getting boats in there, aren't they.

Speaker 12 (26:08):
Yeah, we can do demie pickups or smaller groups, but
this particular group we're picking up an American John Harper,
because it is some very large you're forty one people.

Speaker 3 (26:15):
Did you ever do scuba dive trips?

Speaker 12 (26:18):
Not on this that's so we're not insured or equipped
for that. But there's a really good company called Lookeywater
Sports on say, John and I highly recommend for that,
but we don't. We just do storkling excursion. We do
have all the gear for storkling as well.

Speaker 3 (26:30):
Got this is so cool. We're just talking to people
who are currently floating around in Saint John. So cool. Chris,
how do people get a hold of you? Give us
all your information?

Speaker 12 (26:41):
You can contact us on Voodoo vi I dot com
so v O O d oo d I for Virgin
Islands dot com and you can call the number there
or send us an email. You can find us on
Facebook or Instagram as well. So yeah, just google Voodoo
the I and we'll pop right up. We've got lots
of pictures of the video or to check out.

Speaker 2 (27:02):
We leave seven people. Usually we're at seven.

Speaker 3 (27:06):
But Mike's gonna call you because we're planning his son,
Thomas's wedding to a courtney. Oh, we got to take
a break, Chris, be safe out there in the water.

Speaker 7 (27:14):
Okay, cheers, Thank you guys, so thank you.

Speaker 3 (27:17):
All right, thank you Food for Thought. We'll be right back.

Speaker 1 (27:19):
You're listening to Food for Thought, brought to you by
the Box Center and Salem Waterfront Hotel in Swedes.

Speaker 3 (27:25):
Hey, everybody, welcome back to Food for Thought. We're having
a lot of fun. Boy. We visited a pizza place
in the middle of the water in Saint John. We
visited arguably one of the best restaurants in Saint John,
Zozo John who's from Boston. We talked with the captain
Chris from the boat and Voodoo, who does weddings. By
the way, if you want to get married on the
water Crystal Blue. And now, if you're going down, why

(27:49):
not take a ride on a helicopter. Why wouldn't you?
And we've got Captain Justin on the phone, Justin you there,
what's up? So Justin as we speak, where are you exactly?

Speaker 6 (28:01):
I literally just landed back in Saint Thomas from Necker Island.
We just picked some people up there and just brought
them brought them back to Saint Thomas.

Speaker 3 (28:08):
Oh, I'm sorry, Necker Island, isn't that what's his name's island?

Speaker 5 (28:12):
Richard Branson?

Speaker 8 (28:13):
Richard, Yeah, Richard Brent Yeah, yeah, that's right.

Speaker 3 (28:16):
Now. Do you know Richard Branson personally.

Speaker 6 (28:21):
He's always there when we when we drop people off there,
he comes out of his house and shakes everybody's hand.
He lives there, you know. So he's like he's like
part of the It's it's like he's like Mickey Mouse.

Speaker 3 (28:31):
You know what he does. Justin he's living the dream.

Speaker 2 (28:34):
Yeah, he doesn't care here.

Speaker 3 (28:35):
He is not a care in the world.

Speaker 2 (28:37):
He looks like a caveman though when you see him.

Speaker 6 (28:40):
The man, he is the greatest guy.

Speaker 3 (28:43):
Justin. We were there. When were we there? October no
Nomber to December. Yeah, and so you got you took
us up, well, you took the rockets up and I
was a come along with my wife. But first of all,
it was one of the nicest helicopters I've ever seen.
I didn't even know I was going on a helicopter
in Saint John. That's a beauty, you said, Oh yeah,
this the mac daddy of helicopters.

Speaker 6 (29:06):
It really is. Yeah, it is a it's an Airbus
H one forty five, so I mean it is. It
is a fancy machine for sure.

Speaker 3 (29:13):
Okay, so for the most part you're just picking up
and dropping people off. Oh you also do half day trips,
full day trips, Mike, what did you book that day?

Speaker 2 (29:22):
I think we just we were going to Anagona, so
I probably do like four hours I think, right.

Speaker 3 (29:26):
Yeah, And Anagata is what justin that's the furthest most
island or something in the bbis.

Speaker 6 (29:32):
Yeah, it's the most northern island and by land mass,
it's actually the largest in area in the British Virgin Islands,
but it's the least populated. So it's I mean, you
guys saw it's it's it's a desert, very true Caribbean island.

Speaker 2 (29:46):
Yeah, it's so different than the other ones because it's
so flat.

Speaker 7 (29:50):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 6 (29:51):
So all the other islands here are volcanic and Anagada
is you know, a reef basically.

Speaker 3 (29:56):
And they have like perfect I guess what you would
call beach bars. There's no question you were to beat you.

Speaker 5 (30:02):
Yeah, where DoD we go.

Speaker 2 (30:03):
Tipsy tip season and the other what's the new one?
That just opened.

Speaker 7 (30:07):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (30:07):
I used to play football for the Carolina Panthers.

Speaker 3 (30:10):
Oh yeah, the football.

Speaker 2 (30:11):
Yeah, that place was great. I'll tell you if the
food was good.

Speaker 6 (30:14):
There yet and I got it in a special place.
I mean, you know when you when you think of
a Caribbean bar, it's like it's one of the only
places left where you can walk into a bar and
walk yourself behind the bar, get your own drinks and
leave the money in a hundred yrp.

Speaker 7 (30:27):
Theer's no bartender like it.

Speaker 8 (30:29):
It is cool.

Speaker 3 (30:30):
So justin for people listening to the show right now,
I mean, it's about ten degrees here right now, and
a lot of people are making plans. They're thinking about
traveling for the winter. It's not too late, and they
want to head down to your area, to Saint John
or something. What would be the typical, let's say, four
or five hour trip on a helicopter down there.

Speaker 6 (30:51):
Well, so most of most of what we do, you know,
I mean everything is accessible. I boat obviously, so a
lot of people will do that. But taking the helicopter
obviously gets you from point A to point B and record time.
So most of the time we're taking people when they
land in Saint Thomas and wherever they are going, if
it's Saint John or if it's the British Virgin Islands,

(31:13):
everywhere pretty much has a place for us to land.
So you know, we can just get them there, and
you know, twenty minutes to BBI, eight minutes to Saint John.

Speaker 3 (31:22):
And I'm thinking, if you're down there just for a
few days or something, you know, you want to make
the best of your time, right because the time flies,
if it's just a long weekend or something like that.
So why not take a helicopter versus the boat if
you've got the money. I'm just saying, am I allowed
to ask? Like, what's the going rate for a helicopter
these days?

Speaker 6 (31:43):
Well, it all depends on where you're going, because it's
all based on flight time, so it depends. But you know,
our our machine can take up to people, so that's
quite a bit of people in a helicopter. But going
from Saint Thomas to Saint John, I think's two thousand
dollars or something, And yes, a little bit.

Speaker 2 (32:00):
How much does that copter cost to buy?

Speaker 6 (32:02):
To buy a new a new this is a newer one.
It's a D three model. Yeah, I mean, like I said,
fancy helic I think it's like a twelve million dollars helicopter.

Speaker 2 (32:12):
Thoughts of the air bus.

Speaker 3 (32:13):
Hey, Justin, did Mike talk to you at all while
we were traveling on board? You're a helicopter? Is it
true he's actually in the market to buy a helicopter.
My best friend Mike here, well.

Speaker 6 (32:27):
Ever since mass money.

Speaker 3 (32:30):
Oh nice one, justin fine maassmoney dot gov. Mike got
a pile of money from fine mass money dot com.

Speaker 5 (32:38):
You beat me to it.

Speaker 3 (32:41):
So wow, Mike, are you really gonna buy a helicopter?

Speaker 12 (32:43):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (32:44):
And you're gonna pilot it?

Speaker 2 (32:45):
Yeah, I'm actually I'm doing. I'm doing twenty four hours
in the simulator before I go live. So wow, done
one out in two hours. So the highest route he
was hovering like it was you would think it would
be easy, hovering very hard.

Speaker 3 (33:01):
Yeah, you need to put a helipad though with a
hotel or at my house.

Speaker 6 (33:05):
Okay, you don't need much space.

Speaker 3 (33:10):
Justin, do you ever do like engagements on the helicopter?
Somebody books the copter?

Speaker 6 (33:14):
Oh yeah, oh for sure. I mean we do anything.
Like I said, most of the time, it's just getting
people from point A to point B. But like what
you guys did, We do day trips too, So I mean,
you know, people stay on Saint John. We'll pick them
up there and we'll go hit like five or six
islums in a day and they just kind of go
barhopping or whatever. So I mean you can see seeing
a guy's experience, like seeing the islands from the air,

(33:37):
it is just incredible in its own.

Speaker 2 (33:39):
So where would you look? Yeah we can Where would
you land out like Foxes? Where would you learn? Well,
you know, where are those places that you land on
those islands?

Speaker 6 (33:47):
Like I we want to we land at Foxies. We
land at Foxy's Taboo, like if Joe span Dyke. So
we literally just land behind the bar in the in
the road like.

Speaker 3 (33:59):
My favorite spot down there. You land right there?

Speaker 6 (34:01):
Awesome?

Speaker 2 (34:02):
Then where we land right there? Where would be the
next spot we would go? We're going to hit four islands?

Speaker 6 (34:07):
Okay? So yeah, so like if I was going to
plan you a perfect day, right, like if let's let's
just say you're staying like in Saint John because a
lot of people are staying there, or Saint Thomas. You know,
we we we go to Virgin Gorda because you clear,
you got to clear customs, but it's super fast, like
two minutes. And saber Rock is like one of the
coolest places on the planet and they have the cool

(34:28):
I saw you we were.

Speaker 5 (34:30):
Having a we were at oil on that bay.

Speaker 3 (34:32):
Yeah yeah, that's the name.

Speaker 6 (34:33):
Yeah yeah. So I love landing there. It's like a
it's like a spectacle. I mean, everybody that's having lunch
at their tables will get up and landing. So it's
a lot of fun. So saber Rock has a great
place to start. You grab, grab lunch and stuff there,
zip up to Anagata, which we took you guys to.
We dropped you guys off at the airport because we
cleared customs. But you know, like ABC, I gotta beach club.

(34:53):
They have a cool bar there. They have a helipad
the west end of the island. We have a place
you can land out there, so just you could land there,
do a cold, take a couple of pictures, have a
couple of drinks, whatever, and then then go down to
Yos van Dyke. Like we're just talking land a Foxty's
and are.

Speaker 3 (35:10):
Going I want to do it. This is a billion
with a helicopter.

Speaker 2 (35:16):
Is there any way we could jump out of the
helicopter into the water, like we do that too.

Speaker 6 (35:21):
We've had people do that too.

Speaker 2 (35:23):
I'm booking that. I'm definitely you're talking about.

Speaker 3 (35:28):
That's like Seal Team.

Speaker 6 (35:31):
Yeah, no, you could people people asked to do that
and let them do it.

Speaker 5 (35:36):
A pizza pot.

Speaker 6 (35:39):
Just that's a good way to get the pizza poe.

Speaker 3 (35:42):
Yeah, just drop a line boom right and then put
it in the basket just over overhead. I gotta ask,
justin where are you from and how did you end
up in this business?

Speaker 6 (35:54):
Well, I'm I'm from Missouri. Originally I grew up flying.
We grew up on a farm, and so I I
grew up flying. My dad's a pilot, brothers a pilot,
ground a pilot crossduster.

Speaker 7 (36:06):
There were those around.

Speaker 6 (36:07):
We didn't necessarily do that, but on our farm we
had a grass runway in the in the past yere basically,
and my dad always had a bunch of old airplanes
early worked. But you know, that's how I learned to fly.
And when I was eighteen, I came down and never
been to the beach before, never left the States, never
did anything like that. I was just a Google warrior

(36:28):
and I found the Virgin Islands because you weren't required
to have a passport, you know, and I didn't have
a passport. I didn't even know the pastor was. So
I after I graduated high school, I came to Saint
John and I was just going the summer before I
went to college. I was going to go to Oklahoma,
and I was just having so much fun. I just
I just stayed and I worked at the restaurants for

(36:51):
a little bit, and then slowly just made my way
into fly. I never thought that I would do flying
for work, but it just kind of led.

Speaker 3 (37:00):
So justin, if people want to book your helicopter if
they're heading down to the islands, and give them all
your information.

Speaker 6 (37:07):
Yeah, absolutely, I mean you can. You can call direct
me or text me directly at three four zero four
seven four zero four seven four, or we can even
just go on the website. It's Caribbean dash buzz dot com.

Speaker 3 (37:21):
There you go, justin, Thank you so much. Enjoy your
season down there. We are so so jealous, but.

Speaker 2 (37:27):
We gotta take it bay to make it back down
soon we will, and I'm gonna do a little bit
of a buzzing of the of the tower. I love
that that was great.

Speaker 6 (37:34):
Yeah, yeah, we did some fun flying with y'all.

Speaker 3 (37:37):
All Right, we gotta go and take a break and
we'll be right back.

Speaker 1 (37:40):
You're listening to Food for Thought, brought to you by
the Box Center and Sale and Waterfront Hotel in sweets.

Speaker 3 (37:46):
Hey, guys, welcome back to Food for Thought. Tooty Costa. Here,
I've got Mike Rocket and Margaret Rocket Boy. We just
toured the Virgin Islands. Thomas, when are we going back?
I was going to ask you, I gotta get out
of here. I guess it seems like January never ended.

Speaker 2 (38:03):
This is the coldest I've felt, and it feels like decade.

Speaker 3 (38:06):
God enough already January. But anyway, some great gas from
all over the Caribbean and the Virgin Islands. And uh,
I want to thank Mike Rocket because he brought me
some protein balls.

Speaker 7 (38:20):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (38:20):
They're from Healthy Nut Snacks. Jennifer Foley, she's in She's
in Melrose.

Speaker 3 (38:25):
They're awesome.

Speaker 2 (38:26):
They have all different flavors.

Speaker 3 (38:28):
Like a healthy nut snack. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (38:31):
I can't wait those in your mouth, can't you go?

Speaker 9 (38:33):
Okay, stop it? You want to get me fired and
stop it there? But there's they're gluten free too, sore
Sham and autumn.

Speaker 3 (38:44):
Oh yeah, you'll edit that for the West coast.

Speaker 2 (38:46):
Absolutely, thank you, Jennifer, thank you, Mike Foley.

Speaker 3 (38:51):
No, they're really good. I've got the blueberry one.

Speaker 2 (38:55):
The chocolate chip is good, and then she has like
snicker she's all different one and where she located in Melrose.

Speaker 3 (39:01):
Wow, oh my son Christaps and mellows with the beautiful Hannah.

Speaker 2 (39:05):
Apple pie, blueberry snickeredotles, DC chocolate sun butter.

Speaker 3 (39:09):
Whoa.

Speaker 2 (39:10):
And they're gluten free and they're gluten free.

Speaker 3 (39:12):
Wow? Are they good?

Speaker 2 (39:13):
They're really good and you feel better already they're filling yeah, yeah, okay.

Speaker 3 (39:19):
So final thoughts on Salem Waterfront Hotel we mentioned top
of the show. You guys have fully renovated Margaret. Are
you done with the renovations now for now?

Speaker 5 (39:28):
But you know my dad he can't sit stille.

Speaker 3 (39:30):
I know what's going to want to put a helicopter, actually,
I know that. What do we need to know in
terms of winter bookings? Are their availabilities openings right now?

Speaker 5 (39:39):
There are there? Well, Salem's obviously known for the summer
and fall, but there's still a lot going on this winter.
Next weekend we have Salem so sweet an ice sculpture
festival all over the city, So we'll have a giant
one outside the hotel, but you kind of tore around.
There's a bunch on Pickering Wharf too, so there's always
stuff going on at Salem.

Speaker 3 (39:58):
So they carved them out right there.

Speaker 5 (40:00):
No so delivered, they're delivered. But everyone has a sculpture
that's kind of related to their business or whatever's going on.

Speaker 3 (40:08):
I'm sorry if I'm disracting.

Speaker 2 (40:10):
You just love those things. They're really good.

Speaker 3 (40:12):
They're like delicious.

Speaker 2 (40:13):
Yeah good, Yeah, you guys, can you save something?

Speaker 3 (40:16):
Michelle, Honey, I'm coming home with the protein balls, so,
oh my god, I got it. I just want you
to know I didn't you behave yourself. So, Margaret, Halloween
weekend is that already booked at the hotel?

Speaker 5 (40:32):
I think we still have some openings because if you
come Halloween weekend this year, it's our Wicked Wharf weekend
package and you'll be coming to our Wicked Night on
the Wharf that's loves every year.

Speaker 2 (40:42):
Yeah, yeah, I mean it's it's uh, I think we're
at like ninety ninety two percent, but it's there's always
people always back out last minute and the last two
weeks actually, there seems to be. The first two weeks
were a lot busier in the last two weeks.

Speaker 3 (40:57):
And it's all brand news. So if people want to talking,
is it too early?

Speaker 5 (41:01):
If they want to go, it's never too early.

Speaker 3 (41:03):
Wow. Yeah, how far an advantage do people do?

Speaker 8 (41:05):
Like?

Speaker 3 (41:06):
What's the furthest.

Speaker 5 (41:08):
We've definitely gotten over two years out, but there just
comes a point where I don't know how you can
stay engage for three years.

Speaker 3 (41:17):
I was going to say, what if something happens, Yeah,
and you're no longer engaged and then you've get the
hotel to deal with and all right. Fun, this has
been a lot of fun. The only question we're all
leaving with is when are we going back to Saint John.

Speaker 2 (41:31):
Margaret Margaret's birthday? Where are you going at the beginning of.

Speaker 3 (41:35):
A vacation in March and we're going to Mexico. Oh,
but we're coming back middle of that following week, So.

Speaker 5 (41:42):
Fly over and meet in St. Thomas.

Speaker 2 (41:44):
Thomas, you can call a helicopter, we'll pick you up.

Speaker 5 (41:48):
Perfect.

Speaker 3 (41:49):
We got to go. Listen, have a great, great rest
of whatever's left of your weekend. But thank you so
much for tuning in up next, and I'm not lying.
Sixty minutes