WRITTEN by JOHN MORRIS
Last year, my wife Barbara and I were looking for a new series to watch on Netflix. Yes, we do get Netflix here along with Hulu and Amazon Prime thanks to VPNs and smart DNS proxy. If you do not know what I am talking about, move to Roatan and you will quickly learn!
Nothing new appealed to us – we must be the only two on the planet that have not watched Game of Thrones – so we decided to go retro.
Barbara is an “off the boat” Italian and growing up she did not see many US sitcoms. Happy Days (but not much else) actually made it to Italy, dubbed in Italian.
But can you imagine The Fonz uttering Bongiorno instead of Heyyyyy?
I suggested Cheers. It had been years since I watched it so we immersed ourselves in the nine seasons about the bar where everybody knows your name.
Barbara loved it to the point of extreme sadness at the farewell episode.
Why do we love Cheers? It is familiar, friendly, sarcastic and darn right funny. We all secretly wish we had a Cheers in our lives and on Roatan, you will find we have many!
Restaurants and bars come and go on the island but several remain year after year. Yes, it may be cheap food and drinks or a special niche that keeps them going but in reality it is the personality of the place because of the people who work there.
The island of Roatan survives on tourism and local residents so to cash in, you had better have a Sam, Carla, Woody, Coach or even a Diane at the front of the house.
Some establishments use transient expats but the best on the island are the native islanders. Believe it or not, many have worked on cruise ships and are well trained to make everyone feel welcome and wanted.
If you have ever been to Roatan and visited both West Bay and West End, there are two spots that are my personal “Cheers”.
Tucked into Half Moon Bay, is a place called Ginger’s Caribbean Grill. As you walk in the door, you literally feel like Norm. Jeff and Ginger, the proprietors, are always there to personally greet you with a smile, a kiss or a handshake, but what makes it really special is Marco.
He knows what you want to drink, where you like to sit and always has a smile on his face… and the latest island story. Your glass is never empty (which can be dangerous at times) but you feel right at home. Great food and fair prices always help too!
Fifteen minutes away, on world famous West Bay Beach, is another icon named Beacher’s Bar & Grill. Island-owned and operated it is another highly successful beachfront bar and grill in an incredible and ideal location.
Again, you are greeted like Norm by the lovely men and women who work there. In fact, I got hooked on Beacher’s because of Marco who worked here for many years before he moved to Ginger’s.
Tough shoes to fill, but a gentlemen named Bert has risen to the occasion. He combs the beach making sure everyone is taken care of, hustling drinks and food and will even deliver your beverage to the water’s edge (yes it is legal to drink in the water here!). He makes you feel like royalty!
Also at Beacher’s you will find the gentle giant, Lindy. Where else can you just show up, get a beer in your hand from Bert and have Lindy set up beach chairs and umbrellas for you before you even hit the sand?
Marco, Bert and Lindy are proud islanders. They are prompt, courteous, attentive and always have smile on their face.
And this, my friends, is why we continue to frequent these two special places. Of course there are many more spots on the island, in fact, too many to mention, but you get my drift.
In reality Roatan is like a big Cheers. It is impossible to walk down the street, go to Eldon’s Supermarket or even the bank without bumping into a familiar face which almost always leads to a quick chat or if you are Italian, a long discussion!
So come visit Roatan, there is always a place for one more!
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