On the eve of the grand opening of St. John's first supermarket, the management of Starfish Market took time to say thanks in advance to staff and customers. Nearly 200 people came to the Sunday afternoon open house in the new Marketplace complex. Guests mingled in the well-stocked aisles, some getting their first glimpse of the store.
Manager Myron Allick and assistant manager Albert "Danny" Daniel beamed and congratulated each other for the three weeks of hard work that got them to their new location. In the five years Starfish had operated out of its Cruz Bay store, the operation simply outgrew the space, Allick said.
The new operation occupies more than 10,000 square feet of floor space and has parking for 100 cars.
Starfish owner David Mugar said he hoped the new and expanded market would cut down on the need for St. John residents to travel to St. Thomas "for a few items." He reminisced about his father, an Armenian immigrant who settled in New England in 1915 and developed the Star Market chain of supermarkets.
Because of his Boston-area contacts in the mass retail food industry, Mugar knew that Frank Laverde had a track record in training personnel in supermarket operations; so, he asked Laverde to come to St. John and help train Allick's crew.
Laverde said he got off the plane ready to take on his task with the intensity of a drill sergeant, but what he found was a crew of hard-working, responsive Virgin Islanders who learned quickly. "I am so proud of the people here," he told the Sunday visitors. "They have come so far in learning the supermarket business."
Sen. Roosevelt David praised Allick, who helped develop the market from the time it began five years ago as a modest grocery and delicatessen with wine in the back room. "You can have confidence in Myron," said David, whose St. John Drug Center is located next door to the former Starfish location in Boulon Center.
Allick, the son of a well-known Crucian sea captain, was the youngest member of the jury in the Fountain Valley murders trial on his home island of St .Croix. Three year ago, on the 25th anniversary of the golf course shootings, he published his memoirs of the case; paperback copies were sold at the old Starfish check-out counter.
Shoppers are now greeted by a clean, brightly lit store with a wall-to-wall dairy section and a floor-to-ceiling frozen food section. The new Starfish also features on-site butcher shop and bakery facilities and a produce section at least twice the size of the one at the old location. The aisles are wide, with overhead signs to let shoppers know at a glance what's where. Allick said a loading dock behind the new market will eliminate the old scenario of supply trailers competing with customers for space in the parking lot.
Locals ooh'd and aah'd their way through the store Sunday, munching hors d'oeuvres offered by strolling servers. Julius Sprauve School principal Shirley Joseph admired an assortment of cleaning brushes. Former St. John administrator Roy Sewer stood by the deli counter wondering if the new market would bring higher prices.
Architect Glen Speer, the man largely responsible for creation of the new Marketplace shopping center, said he was pleased to see the new Starfish stocked and ready to open. With the construction of the complex largely complete, Speer said, his next task is to sign up tenants from a long list of businesses awaiting retail space.
Starfish officially opened for business shortly after 10 a.m. Monday with a blessing of the store and a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by hundreds and carried live on Addie Ottley's "The Morning Show" on WSTA Radio. The first 200 shoppers were offered bottles of wine and T-shirts; everybody had their chance at free coffee signing up for a chance at weekend getaways on St. John and St. Croix and Starfish gift certificates.
The supermarket will be open every day of the year, Monday through Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
