March 24, 2006 – Doug Sica, co-owner of Skinny Legs Bar and Restaurant, died Tuesday at Roy L. Schneider Hospital after a short illness. He was 55 years old.
Sica was born in Red Bank, N.J., and moved to St. John in his early 20s. He spend many years working as a bartender at the long-closed Back Yard Bar in Cruz Bay before joining with Moe Chabuz to open Skinny Legs in 1991.
"He was my best friend," Chabuz said Friday.
Speaking of Sica's Back Yard days, Chabuz said Sica was the first person many people met when they first came to St. John.
He said people would come in looking for work, and Sica would put them in touch with someone who was hiring.
Fran Attard, who owned the Back Yard, said that Sica was one of the Back Yard's attractions.
"He made the bar everyone's living room," she said, speaking of the time in the 1980s when St. John didn't have much in the way of activities. She said that Sica loved the bar scene.
Mark Shekleton, who tended bar at the Back Yard with Sica for a dozen years, said he'll always remember that when the partying got too heavy, Sica would shut off the music, turn on the lights and come out from behind the bar. "He would announce that he was not going back behind the bar till things calmed down," Shekleton remembered.
He said Sica had a great smile and a great laugh.
Attard, echoing the remarks of many people remembering their friend, said Sica was an affable person who was always friendly to everyone.
Sica's wife, Mary Pat Brown, said she's never known anybody more outgoing than her husband.
"He remembered everyone's name no matter how long since they last visited the bar," she said.
And Chabuz recalled how Skinny Legs got its name. He said that he and Sica decided to open a bar in Coral Bay because Cruz Bay was getting too crowded.
He said they were ready to open the bar but couldn't come up with a name. While hanging around Connections, where Sica's wife worked, the women commented on the skinniness of both Sica's and Chabuz's legs.
The name stuck, and the bar became Skinny Legs.
In addition to Brown, Sica is survived by two sons, Christopher and Bryan, a daughter, Rachael, and two grandchildren.
Brown said that a memorial service is tentatively scheduled for May 7 at Skinny Legs. The details are still being worked out.
