Tagged: beach bar, bonaire, caribbean, hangout bar, hangout beach bar, jibe city, kralendijk, travel, windsurfing
When I think of what I want my future beach bar to be like, I’ve pretty much much narrowed down the physical attributes of it. It’ll be your typical Caribbean beach shack, much like Sunshine’s Beach Bar in Nevis and will have an emphasis on promoting the local music scene like Bankie Banx does with Dune Preserve in Anguilla. I still have yet to figure out the dinner menu. Since my cooking skills are limited to grilling and “nuking” food, the dishes we offer may be better determined by someone with a little more food preparation knowledge than myself.
One thing I have come to realize is that I want to be able to offer watersports and give people a place where they can just come by and visit and hang out on the beach if they want. Many beach bar owners are currently doing this and succeeding. In fact, Mr. X, the founder and owner of the Shiggidy Shack, got his start by offering water activities to tourists and still does to this day. The location that I’ve found that most emulates my future vision is Jibe City on the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire. Jibe City is a watersports center/resort that just happens to have a beach bar. It describes itself as “a relaxed and laid back windsurf centre situated on the east coast of Bonaire in the Dutch Caribbean where you can rent windsurf equipment, stand-up-paddle boards, take lessons or just chill and enjoy the view and the windsurf action.” They go on to say that “In our shop you will find the latest surf clothing from major brands and accessories, such as Reef, O’Neil, Hurly, Dakine, Mystic etc. The Hang-Out Bar is a great place to enjoy the beach life on Bonaire offering a tasty and varied menu and a well-stocked bar. There are plenty of tables, sofas, sun loungers and shade where you can sit and relax and enjoy the view.” In essence, it’s more than just a watersports center, a beach bar or a place to relax. It becomes more of a community center or a place where tourists can stop by and choose from a multitude of activities or even stay a couple days if they want.
For more info on Jibe City and the Hangout Bar, you can visit the following sites:
Trip Advisor
windsurfinggypsy.blogspot.com
bonairepros.com
All photos by Paul Arps, used via Creative Commons License Attribution 2.0 Generic
Trackbacks/Pingbacks