After the fire.

Before the fire. Photo by Eliza Magro

For the first time in 25 years, Arthur Hercules will not be serving up those delectable pates at his popular Cruz Bay eatery.

A fire engulfed Hercules Pate Delight early Wednesday morning, August 25, destroying the building Hercules had occupied since 1985. The buildings on either side of Hercules Pate Delight were also damaged by the early morning fire, according to V.I. Fire Department’s St. John Chief Winnifred Powell.

“We got a call from 911 around 2:35 am. this morning that there was a fire in the area of Hercules Pate Delight,” said Powell on Wednesday afternoon, August 25. “We responded and Hercules Pate was fully engulfed. There was also damage done to the buildings to the left and the right of Hercules.”

In addition to VIPA’s parking plan, Steve Black announced plans for a marina at Enighed Pond, above.

While a July 19 town hall meeting mostly centered around plans for the Cruz Bay waterfront, the more than 100 residents in the  ballroom at the Westin Resort and Villas also heard about future plans for the Enighed Pond area.

Robert deJongh of The deJongh Group architecture firm was contracted by the V.I. Port Authority to create a plan for the Cruz Bay Creek area and Customs  parking lot. While meeting with a St. John steering committee to lay the groundwork for a plan, deJongh heard residents’ pleas for additional parking in Cruz Bay.

Since VIPA also controls the land at Enighed Pond, which was recently developed to accommodate barge traffic, deJongh devised a plan to create parking in an area near the pond that is currently filled with dredged materials from the pond.

“The parking plan for Enighed Pond was an off-shot of the Cruz Bay waterfront plan,” said deJongh. “We have created a way to bring at least 150 parking spaces to St. John.”