Since Dazey’s Bayhouse opened its doors on New Year’s Day, residents and visitors to Coral Bay, St. John have enjoyed a new source of bakery items, specialty coffees, sandwiches, and cool treats.
Starting this weekend, they will offer new additions, including Saturday night dinners catered by Shaibu, and pizzas on weeknights.
The Bayhouse is located at the site of Sputnik, the restaurant/bar established by owner Uris Dalmida in 1957, back when Coral Bay and the famous satellite were both considered w-a-y-y-y-y out there. Since then, the restaurant has been through several incarnations, including Donkey Diner, Indigo, and, most recently, Rhumb Lines.
The new operators are Kate and Justin Nesbitt, who launched a number of marine-based businesses after moving to St. John in 2018. In 2023, they opened Dazey Drive In, a shave ice stand in the old Pickles complex.
The shave ice stand proved to be very popular, but given its limited space, the Nesbitts were unable to offer much beyond snow cones and smoothies.
After Rhumb Lines closed, the building lay vacant for six months. Kate Nesbitt kept her eye on the site, seeing an opportunity to centralize their businesses and establish a family-friendly eatery that offers treats throughout the day: early morning espresso drinks and fresh pastries, lunchtime sandwiches, and all-day ice cream, smoothies, and shave ice concoctions. They also have a bar, and yes, slushies can be spiked with liquor.
The Nesbitts did a complete makeover of the Sputnik site, building out a professional kitchen with separate equipment for a bakery.
They came up with an original idea for evening meals: Instead of establishing their own dinner service, they are inviting local chefs and caterers to come in and prepare their unique menus on different nights. “It’s a way of bringing in amazing chefs who don’t have their own establishments,” said Kate Nesbitt.
The offerings of the first two participating chefs are eagerly anticipated. On Saturdays, Shaibu Abdulai (of Oasis Private Chefs and Shaibu’s Gourmet Grab & Go) will be preparing dinners served from 5 to 7 p.m. “It will be very exciting,” he said. “I’ll be changing the menu every week.”
Soon, Erin Durrell (of Coral Bay Catering and St. John Veg Head) will be preparing sit-down brunch offerings on Sunday mornings. Durrell was one of the partners of Triple B, a Coral Bay food truck that became wildly popular until Hurricane Irma hit in 2017 and most businesses in Coral Bay came to a screeching halt.
Tuesdays through Fridays, Dazey’s Bayhouse will be serving Neapolitan pizzas during the evening.
The Nesbitts have three young children, and Bayhouse’s covered eating area is designed so that parents can easily keep an eye on their youngsters while they play in a special area for children.
Reservations can be made by calling 340-204-2333 or by booking on OpenTable or their website.
The Nesbitts began their enterprises on St. John with a day charter business, Salty Daze. (Justin is a captain.) Their special contribution to the day charter industry is the Salt Deck, a 34-foot pontoon boat that typically plies the calm waters of Coral Bay and Hurricane Hole. They now count three pontoon boats among their fleet.
They also offer boat shuttle service (Salt + Lime) to Lime Out, the floating taco bar in Coral Bay, and marine salvage and trucking services (known as Dirty Daze).
Dazey’s Bayhouse serves as a central location for all of the family’s businesses and includes a shop stocked with clothing, toys, and beach gear. (Dazey, a pet goat, is the source of the name that appears in their various businesses.)
Because family members share a love of wildlife, the Nesbitts have created a space for the nonprofit St. John Wildlife Rehabilitation to share information and raise funds by offering merchandise for sale.
