I took another look at the new St. John Market last night and was kindly shown around the store by the owner. Although not complete, the store is very well stocked including large produce, frozen food and dairy sections.

The biggest thing yet to come will be a state of the art deli section that will include meats, fish and prepared items. It all looks good, the parking is there and the location is right. It should be a real winner.

15% for the month of May

30% May 30th and 31st

I was told however that the discounts for locals that are generally available at Dolphin will not be valid for the new market. To me these discounts are very valuable. I have a 15% off card for May and a 30% off card for a special two day sale at the end of the month.

So for now the lower prices, plus the familiarity of my shopping experience will outweigh the novelty and convenience of the St. John Market and I’ll brave the construction activity and limited parking and shop at Dolphin.

St. John Market

The St. John Market, sister market to the Dolphin Market in Cruz Bay, unofficially opened for business today. The new market is located at the Greenleaf Commons complex across from the Westin Resort.

The staff are working furiously stocking, arranging and pricing. A deli section is still in the works.

The official opening is scheduled for the first of June.

Parking Lot

Produce section

Unlike the Cruz Bay store, there’s plenty of parking at the new location.

A Little Dusty
It’s a gray Saturday. The gray has more to do with African dust than clouds. A condition of summer nowadays. Not particularly bad today , but noticable.

I do not remember seeing this weather condition when I first arrived to the Virgin Islands in 1969. Although I believe there was a dust condition in 1973, a year I spent in Hawaii, the first time I noticed it was one summer in the early 1980s. Since then we have added volcanic ash from Montserrat in 1995 as well as dust from the cutting of dirt roads,  driveways and other excavations. These factors combined have made the Virgin Islands the dustiest place under the American flag. According to Professor Thomas A. Cahill of the University of California, “the Virgin Islands have more dust than the Grand Canyon, the Badlands, or Death Valley.”

Dolphin Market
The new Dolphin Market across from the Westin may open up this weekend according to it’s owners. Good T’ing! I’ll be looking forward to shopping there.