Planet Hollywood is coming to the St. Thomas Waterfront.
Construction is scheduled to begin this week at the old Burger King location for the restaurant-shop operation that has taken many mainland cities by storm.
The store and restaurant, whose menu is inspired by stars of the cinema, will occupy the entire building at the corner of the waterfront and Raadet's Gade up and down and all the way back, according to Leslie Fisher, vice-president at Topa Equities (VI) Ltd.
Downtown merchants, especially those who want to see Charlotte Amalie become a magnet for nightlife as well as shopping, are delighted with the news.
"I think it's great, "said Club Ryno restaurant manager Peter Nunn. "The more we get going downtown at night, the better."
Club Ryno has been offering a night-time menu and jazz by its newly formed band on Thursdays at its location in Palm Passage.
Maria Ferreras, property manager for Armour Enterprises and one of the founders of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce's Destination Downtown events, echoed Nunn's sentiments and said Planet Hollywood will be one more attraction to bring Charlotte Amalie to life at night.
Destination Downtown was founded to encourage stores and restaurants to stay open later in the evening to keep Charlotte Amalie an interesting place with lots of things to do. Nineteen Destination Downtown events have been held so far.
Recently Sen. Lorraine Berry introduced legislation to allow cruise ships to open their casinos while in port to encourage the ships to stay here later in the evening. This would allow passengers to spend more time shopping and dining in St. Thomas.
There has been no announcement yet as to when Planet Hollywood expects to open.
