Hummus and grape leaves may have been replaced by a roasted Thai chili caesar salad or Caribbean cioppino, but the venerable old brick building on Government Hill, which for over a decade was home to Zorba's, will again house an attractive and welcoming restaurant.
The new owners hope Restaurant Marisol will be a convivial place to meet friends and relax, much as Jimmy Boukas' much-loved Zorba's Restaurant was for 12 years, until last year.
With the restaurant opening Monday, new owners Marcie and Fred Ponthieu are realizing an idea that began barely a few months ago.
Last year local musician James Anderson and photographer Sonia Melescu approached them in their native Rochester, N.Y., about the idea of taking over a St. Thomas restaurant. They said they'd love to explore the idea, but not to "take over" anybody's restaurant. They wanted one of their own.
The young couple already owns Tapas, a Spanish-style restaurant in Rochester, but the two were open to new ideas in a warmer climate. In May they came down to check out the location, and "fell in love" with the old building. "There were such nice similarities," said Marcie Ponthieu. "Our Rochester restaurant is brick and wood and was built in 1864, and this building was built in 1854."
She had been chatting with Rita Christmas, whose family has owned the building for years. She said Christmas refers to the building as "she," like a boat, "and I feel the same way." The dishes, she explained, are "feminine — I mean, they're for everybody, but with a feminine touch."
Ponthieu said, "I'm a very visual person, and I like people to enjoy colors." She pointed out the cappuccino cups with blue and yellow sun and moon designs. Sun and sea are the name of the restaurant. "It's a special name for Fred and me," she said, "Marisol means the sea meeting the sun."
The dishes, she said, were about the only thing they couldn't get on island. They had to go to Puerto Rico. "They really didn't know what I wanted," she said.
Ponthieu picked out all sorts of colors and designs for the cutlery, with almost no two pieces alike. "I love it, it's so colorful," she said.
Gesturing over the main dining room, she said, "I want it to be warm, to be a meeting place for people to relax, but to be . . . sort of casually elegant." Ponthieu is aware of Zorba's history as a decade-old icon for locals to greet old friends over healthy and moderately priced cuisine, and she plans to follow that tradition.
She has replaced the bright cushions of Zorba's with subdued pastels, and done the walls in faux gold in the front dining area and red in the bar, which, she noted, she did herself. The cushions and the gold "swags, I guess you call them," that drape the dining room entrance were done by a local seamstress. "She was so great — I hope she likes the way we hung the swags." The old bar has been replaced with an 18-foot mahogany bar that stretches the entire length of the front room.
Ponthieu led the way to the back patio, pointing out the large new grill and rotisserie in the remodeled kitchen.
"Almost all the food will be grilled or roasted. It's so much healthier," she said, but she was obviously anxious to get to the patio.
She almost ran to the far corner, "Here, here's what I wanted you to see." It's an enormous pine table, 9 by 4 and about 4 inches thick. Dominating the center is the sunburst Marisol logo, which is a work in progress.
"We have a local artisan doing it," she said, "and it's going to go in the corner of the front dining room. It will be a communal table, like the one we have in Rochester." She explained that it would be for strangers, single people or couples. "It's a great way for people to get to know each other," she said.
Ponthieu said the Historical Trust had been to visit, and had given them a "short palette of colors" to choose from for the landmark building's shutters. They still sport Boukas' bright green and purple. "The society never did approve of that color scheme," Ponthieu said, "but it, too, became a landmark." She hasn't decided on a new color — maybe a deep blue.
What about the bread? Boukas' round breads were kind of a St. Thomas landmark themselves. Chef Ken Gulley said, "It won't be Jimmy's bread. It will be Ken's bread – wood-oven baked."
The cuisine will be Pacific Rim, he said, with a Caribbean touch. How about grouper with shrimp mousse, steamed in a banana leaf with sesame soy noodles? Or, stepping over a few county and country lines, a grilled beef tenderloin with grit cakes, ham and cheddar kallaloo, and redeye gravy. Imagination isn't given short shrift in Gulley's kitchen, which also has a panini press for making the pressed sandwiches like lamb, feta and tomato, with a cucumber yogurt sauce on the side. Maybe that's a nod to Zorba's?
Prices for lunch will run from $6 to $13 for salads, sandwiches and appetizers. For dinner, appetizers will run from $6 to $12, and entrees from $12 to $22. There is a varied and moderately priced wine list.
It looks like the transplanted Rochester family has taken care of all the loose ends. Ponthieu said a local friend had recommended a good security guard who will be on duty at all times.
The back patio, which has been redecorated with a blue and green tiled bar, will be open for lunch as well as dinner.
The Ponthieus brought a lot of their Rochester staff and friends down with them, and all seem perfectly at ease in their new home, running around the restaurant with wine lists, hammers, sample menus and constant questions and decisions.
The Monday opening features an open house from 5 to 7 p.m., and everyone is invited. At 7 their first dinner will be served. For the first week there will be no lunch, but the restaurant will open at 4 p.m. with appetizers and cocktails. Dinner will be served every night except Sunday from 6 to 11 p.m., with the bar open until 2 a.m. Starting Monday, Oct 23, lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The restaurant will be closed Sundays until Nov. 16 when it will open for dinner only. For reservations call (340) 776-1200.
Nicole Luciano, Ponthieu's apparent right hand, hostess/waitress and childhood pal, said, "We've got to be ready for our open house Monday. I hope people come." There seems little doubt of that.
