Get a delicious fill of flavor at a St. Croix restaurant that’s been in business for almost 30 years! Zeny’s Restaurant originally opened its doors in 1996 on Company Street in downtown Christiansted. Named for its owner Zenaida Nunez, Zeny’s Restaurant is described as a Latin-infused restaurant serving the best in Latin and local foods. Open seven days a week, customers can find hearty dishes like stew chicken, conch in butter sauce, chicharron, stew beef, roast pork, mofongo and much more.
After several visits to the island, Zeny moved to St. Croix in 1989 after she fell in love with the scenery and the people. She always had a love for cooking which led to her opening her own restaurant after living and working in St. Croix for some time. Local people recall eating at Zeny’s for more than twenty years, heralding her food as consistently delicious. In 2015, the Company Street building that her restaurant occupied was sold and she relocated within days to her current location on King Street. “My customers kept asking me if they could come to my house to get food and I knew I had to find another place quickly!” Thankfully, her current location was vacant; she moved swiftly to get her restaurant operations in place to continue feeding the masses on St. Croix.
Guests can always expect great food and kind service at Zeny’s Restaurant. Oftentimes, Zeny herself is busy behind the counter taking phone and in-person orders, readying the plates for pickup or serving dine-in customers. Her calm and pleasant demeanor adds a level of comfort to the food, making the experience at the restaurant even more satisfying. According to Zeny, her famous Zeny Plate consists of chicharron – breaded chicken pieces – with fried tostones. “It’s what the people like – all of my chicken they love,” she expressed with a jovial smile. “The stew chicken is definitely the best seller, for sure.”
Visit Zeny’s Restaurant at 15 King Street in downtown Christiansted, open seven days a week from 11am-8pm. Call ahead to place your order or dine in; 340.773.4393.
Article written by Anquanette Gaspard (agaspard@cruzanfoodie.com) for Coldwell Banker, St. Croix Realty
Picturesque beach, smooth white sand and turquoise waters as far as the eye can see are a handful of rewards one receives when deciding to hike to Jack & Isaac Bays. Located on the southside of the extreme eastern edge of St. Croix, the once hard-to-get-to bays have been made accessible thanks to a variety of local and federal environmental groups that came together to officially establish The Jack and Isaac Bay Preserve. Covering 301 acres, the Preserve protects the entire eastern tip of the island and its surrounding reefs and marine ecosystems.
Hiking the series of low impact trails to arrive at Jack and Isaac Bays is a must for those wanting to explore the captivating outdoors of St. Croix. These easy-to-find trails are located right before you arrive at the Point Udall Millennium Monument that identifies the easternmost point of the United States. A small parking area is located at the start of the trails. Get there early to beat the heat of the afternoon sun and score a parking spot. To the right of the parking area is where the adventure of the trails begins.
The pathway is easy to navigate with nice, cool breezes to keep sweating to a minimum. With the hills to your left and the crashing surf to your right, you will happen upon East End Bay first. This bay’s rocky shoreline and rough surf is why you’ll best appreciate it from afar and continue along the path to Isaac Bay. Look for informational signs along the way pointing you in the right direction. Continue west along the trail until you find a stairway to heaven of sorts. A quick descent will lead you to the soft, sandy shoreline of Isaac Bay. Spend some time here splashing in the clear waters or if you’ve brought snorkeling gear, explore the sea life under the surface. Head to west end of Isaac Bay and take the connecting trail heading west again. After a few minutes, turn left on a side trail to the beach where another directional sign will lead you to Jack Bay. Here you can enjoy more fun in the sun as there is little to no shade on the beach or along the trail. Before the height of the island heat rolls in, head back to the parking area to the car and settle in for the ride back home. Plan to spend about 2-3 hours enjoying your time at Jack and Isaac Bay Preserve.
For your safety, we offer the following tips for this and any other hike you venture off to:
Do not hike alone 4 Bring sunscreen, sunglasses, hat, insect repellant, first aid kit and a camera
Proceed only if physically fit enough to complete a hike safely
Leave car doors unlocked and windows slightly turned down to deter theft 4 Avoid hiking during the hottest part of the day
Do not leave any valuables in your car 4 Wear appropriate footwear 4 Take any trash with you
Bring sufficient water and a light lunch
Have fun and be safe
Article written by Anquanette Gaspard (agaspard@cruzanfoodie.com) for Coldwell Banker, St. Croix Realty
Crucian culture, music, mas and revelry was on full display for the 70th Crucian Christmas Festival 2022-2023! After a two-year hiatus caused by the global pandemic, the festival returned with in person events ranging from beauty pageants, food festivals, parades and much more.
Events kicked off on December 11th with the highly anticipated Princess & Duchess pageants followed by the Miss St. Croix Pageant. Zy’Naii Prentice and Je’Talia Hanley were crowned Festival Princess and Festival Duchess, respectively, while Rynel Harris was crowned Miss St. Croix. The Festival Village opened with the richness of Crucian culture on Friday, December 30th with Cultural Night that featured Virgin Islands Ambassadors including Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Knights quelbe band, Jam Band, Instylez The Band, and newly crowned Festival Princess and Duchess and Miss St. Croix. Village attendees also saw a colorful display of local USVI madras in a lively fashion show while reveling in the magic of Crucian culture.
The Calypso and Soca Monarch competitions saw the best of the best in local music vying for their respective titles. Each night of the festival village carried various themes that highlighted reggae, latin and soca music featuring local and international artists performing for all in downtown Frederiksted. The foreday morning event known as j’ouvert took place in the wee hours of January 5th where revelers danced in the streets of Frederiksted from 5am. For those who still had energy, the Food, Arts and Crafts Fair took place immediately after j’ouvert at the Agricultural Fairgrounds in Estate Lower Love where a sense of community and togetherness could be felt by all in attendance. Local foods and drinks were on sale like fish and fungi, crab and rice, roast pork, kallaloo, tamarind balls, passion fruit juice and sorrel drinks, to name a few.
The Children and Adult Parades were the highlight of the 70th Crucian Christmas Festival where reigning queens, masqueraders, steel pan bands, majorettes, mocko jumbies and quadrille dancers came out in droves to express their indescribable joy due to the long-awaited return of the festival. The closing fireworks after the Adult Parade was the perfect ending to a safe and successful festival season. It left visitor and local attendees, both in person and virtual, making plans to be on island for the 2023-2024 Crucian Christmas Festival. It’s never too early to start making plans. We hope you’ll join us in the fun at the next Crucian Christmas Festival in December 2023.
Article written by Anquanette Gaspard (agaspard@cruzanfoodie.com) for Coldwell Banker, St. Croix Realty
There are a lot of visitors to sunny St. Croix during the winter season. If you are visiting, and hoping to buy a vacation home (or a forever home), contact us! We can show you listings that fit your lifestyle and meet your desired characteristics while you are here. If you are thinking about selling your home on St. Croix, it is a great opportunity to list now as there is small inventory on island at the moment, especially condos. Whether you are interested in buying or selling, we encourage you to take a look at the January Coldwell Banker real estate reports — available below! The sales data will be help you understand the number of listings sold, days on market, the median price listed and sold, and much more. If you have any questions, please give us a call or email us directly.
We always encourage friends and tourists to check the airlines’ websites for the most up to date information on flights to St. Croix. St. Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventures shared their scoop on airline service changes that are coming up for season. Read SCUBA’s original post from October 10 on their Facebook page, but here are some of their highlights:
AMERICAN TO MIAMI
The last day for the morning service is November 3rd.
That flight doesn’t return until March 26, 2023
We’ll have 1 afternoon flight to Miami year round
A second afternoon Miami flight is added from November 30th thru December 14th but oddly enough goes away from then until February 3rd (leaving out the Christmas and New Years Holidays)
The second Miami afternoon flight goes away on March 26th when the morning flight returns
AMERICAN TO CHARLOTTE
This was supposed to come back as a Saturday only flight starting this weekend but it’s now been put off until November 5th.
It operates Daily from December 15th thru the 23rd
Then a few days a week thru January 9th
Saturday only January 14th thru February 11th
Daily from February 16th thru April 1st
Back to Saturday only after that
SPIRIT TO FORT LAUDERDALE
The most consistent one.
Daily flight from now through as far as their schedule goes into the future (May 2nd)
DELTA TO ATLANTA
Their Saturday only flight is with us through 12/10/22
It operates Daily 12/17/22 thru 1/8/23
Then Daily Except Tuesday, Saturday, and Sunday thru February 16th
Daily again February 17 thru April 9th
Saturday only April 15th thru October 2023
***** ********* *******
In addition, our friends at GoToStCroix.com has a list of airlines flying to St. Croix, see it here.
