Restaurants on the Edge (2019–…): Season 2, Episode 6 - St. Croix - full transcript
[theme music playing]
[Nick] We've been invited
by restaurants
on the edge
of the most beautiful views imaginable.
[Karin] Who really need some help
keeping their business from going under.
[Dennis] There is nothing
more inspiring
than celebrating
a community on the plate.
But far too often, the better the view,
the worse the food.
[Karin] This is about reviving
not only the restaurants...
Everything's at stake for us.
For us, is life.
...but also the owners' belief
in themselves.
- [woman gasps]
- [man whoops]
This means the world to me.
Oh, my God! [chuckles]
It's like a part of us here.
[Dennis] So, together, we're traveling
the world in search of inspiration
to transform these restaurants
into authentic hot spots
that paint a picture,
not just of that restaurant,
not just of that chef,
but of that community.
I'm telling you, my brother,
you all changed my life.
[Karin] If I close my eyes and imagine
the perfect Caribbean island,
that is St. Croix.
[Nick] Part of the Virgin Islands
for over 100 years,
St. Croix is absolutely stunning.
With turquoise water,
lush, green vegetation,
and beautiful beaches,
the Spanish, the Dutch,
the English, they all played a role
in its past.
[Dennis] St. Croix, it is paradise.
Perfect beaches, crystal-blue waters,
tropical fish, tropical fruit.
[Nick] These different-colored buildings
makes you feel like you're
kind of stepping back into
the 17th century here in the Caribbean.
We're on our way to Louie & Nacho's,
a beach bar overlooking the sea.
Owners Monty and Shay
left the hustle and bustle of DC
to take on the dream and the risk
of owning a slice of paradise.
But no one can predict
what the future actually holds.
[Dennis] When Hurricane Maria
ripped through the Caribbean in 2017,
the island was devastated.
They weathered the storm
and decided to stay open.
But now, with the island in recovery,
Monty and Shay's original customer base
has disappeared.
If they can't connect
with the community,
they will lose their investment
and their dream.
[Karin] Monty and Shay relied
on the view as their decor,
but they admit that it's finally time
to give the rest of the place
some personality.
[Nick] Nachos in paradise? Not a bad idea.
But if they're bad nachos, as the reviews
have pointed out, that's not okay.
[Karin] Walking along the beach,
it's so blue for as far
as the eye can see.
And as we walk up...
I'm thinking, "What?
St. Croix is a tropical paradise,
and this restaurant is brown?"
[Nick] I truly felt I was in a man cave
sitting on this
beautiful Caribbean coastline.
[Dennis] The view's magical. It's perfect.
It's the perfect view.
[Karin] It's this expansive view
of the ocean.
And the great thing about this restaurant,
it's elevated.
So, as you're looking out into the ocean,
you don't even see sand
or beach or ground.
You are just looking at the ocean
as far as the eye can see.
And it's beautiful and turquoise,
and serene and calm.
It's the opposite
of what's going on inside the restaurant.
- I'm Monty. Good to meet you.
- [Nick] Monty.
- Shay.
- [Nick] Pleasure to meet you.
- Monty, I'm Karin.
- Pleasure.
My first impression of Shay and Monty
is that they're super cool, chill guys.
[Dennis] They are just two dudes
who I wanna have a beer with.
They're good guys. They're homies.
Well, I like that this is
a nice, brown canvas for me.
It's not a blank canvas,
but a brown canvas. It's good.
I should assume the brown
is gonna go away.
Yeah, I don't think
you're a fan of the brown.
[Karin] Yes.
- Where are you guys from originally?
- [Shay] I grew up in New York.
- Both of us in New York. He was upstate.
- Yeah.
I grew up in Long Island.
I had a bar outside of DC,
and it was time to kind of look to see
what else is out there.
If I was gonna ever move out of DC area,
find a cool spot to go to,
that time was now.
[Shay] The high octane of DC
was just adding years to my life.
I needed the change.
If I didn't do it then,
I wasn't gonna do it.
The hurricane really affected this island?
- [Monty] It devastated it.
- [Shay] Yeah.
I wasn't able to talk to you
for three or four days.
I didn't know what was going on.
Finally did, initial reaction was,
"You know, this place is torn up.
This place is in bad shape."
[Monty] It was very hard,
and living was difficult,
not what you expected.
Unfortunately, my wife and I split up
because the stress and pressures
were too much.
- I feel pressure every day.
- [Shay] All the time.
And now, coming to slow season,
the pressure really comes on.
It doesn't get busy.
The bills get harder to pay.
[Monty] This is our living.
It's not like we're here
with a bunch of money
in our bank accounts.
But you also have that responsibility
to your stakeholders
that gave you those initial investments.
I want this to work so badly.
[Monty] You don't wanna see it fail
because you don't change your life
like that
to come down and let something
just go away.
The stakes are particularly high
for Monty and Shay here.
They went through a lot.
They moved to a new part of the world,
and they really don't know anybody
here in the community.
I can't imagine how overwhelmed
that they must have felt,
and really alone.
'Cause they are right now.
I feel like they're alone.
And they feel like
they're running up this mountain,
but they can't get to the top,
and they need an extra push
to get them there.
I smell food.
[Shay] Hangover nachos.
[Karin] Yes.
- I was hoping to try that.
- [Shay] Nacho's nachos.
[Karin] Thank you.
[Monty] We have a vegan taco.
Because this area is full of vegans.
- [Shay] Chicken parm.
- [Karin] Chicken parm.
- Cheeseburger tacos.
- [Nick] Wow.
- That's everything.
- Nice.
This is the first time
I've seen a cheeseburger taco.
Same.
This is the first time I've ever seen
a parmesan chicken taco, too.
We try to do different types of tacos
that you just wouldn't expect
from a taco stand.
Did you guys create this menu
or did you take it over?
- [Monty] No, we created it.
- Okay.
I tested it out in my previous restaurant.
[Dennis] Couldn't ask for a better view.
But the food, unfortunately,
doesn't match the view.
It is food that's made for tourists,
people who are coming in
off of cruise ships
or just happen to end up here.
But locals aren't connecting with it.
And a big reason why is that the food
has been brought from the DC area.
They recipe-tested it and made it there,
they also brought the style from there.
And they just put that
into a St. Croix restaurant
instead of capitalizing on local.
So, Monty, you were
the interior designer, then, here?
I was.
What was your design approach?
Having the view be the star.
Where was the inspiration for the brown?
I have to ask.
Just because I didn't want
your eye to go to it.
- And I like the color.
- [Shay] Yeah.
- That's okay.
- There was a battle about that color.
And there's just not a place
that you could go
that may exist in the States,
where you could find
things that you would put up in a bar.
- [Karin] Right.
- It doesn't exist here.
So, you can't really find decor.
No.
- [Karin] Okay.
- No.
Monty, you've owned a restaurant.
So I get you coming down here
and opening a restaurant here.
What about you, Shay?
- Are you a restauranteur?
- [Shay] Why did I move?
No, not in the least.
- Okay.
- Did real estate prior to this.
I wanted the change. Not just the area
from moving to DC to an island,
but also doing something different.
This was exciting.
I'm starting a restaurant from the get-go.
[Nick] This is your first time
working in the restaurant business?
Yes.
You got big cullions, man,
just jumping into the business like that.
Yes.
It seems like you guys got hit hard
with this storm.
How much did that affect your business?
Our first few months were some of
our busiest months that we've had.
And it was because we had
all the relief workers here.
Now, we're going
into the seasonal territory.
Yeah, because during high season,
which just ended, we were really busy.
After April, and then
it starts to slow down,
and come prime hurricane season,
it's hit or miss.
When Shay and Monty started this,
the customers in the off-season
were emergency workers.
But now they're gone.
The tourist season is only
five months of the year.
That's not enough
to keep their business afloat.
I know there's a number of different ways
to elevate your business
by connecting you with the community.
- We're super excited.
- [Shay] Very excited.
For the process.
It sounds like this
really has to work for you guys.
You're down here, chasing a dream,
and you've sacrificed a lot to be here
and make it happen.
You see how this could grow.
When you have that fire in your heart,
it's not easy to let things just
- crash and burn.
- Yeah.
We're here to help,
and so excited to be here.
And the great thing about
this place and you guys
- is that there's so much potential.
- [Monty] Mmm-hmm.
- Yeah.
- Thanks for having us.
[both] Thank you guys so much.
- [Karin] Cheers.
- [all] Cheers.
- [Shay] We're looking forward to it.
- [Monty] Looking forward to it.
[Karin] The biggest mistake
that Shay and Monty made with the design
is that they were overly concerned
with the view.
So, they pared back the restaurant
to try to accentuate the view.
The problem is there's nothing
going on in the restaurant.
So, it's really boring,
and that's not working for them.
That's working against them.
Because when you have a boring restaurant,
you're not attracting people in.
I love that they also touched on
really wanting to cater to the locals.
That's a clue.
And I wanna get into the local culture
here in St. Croix.
Find some art and some cool things
I can bring back into this restaurant.
I need to get inspired.
And I need to really amp this place up.
[Nick] I'm here to meet Shay and Monty
and go over some reviews.
Honestly, they're not the best.
What I wanna get to today is to figure out
their brand and identity,
get to the root of why these nachos
are so bad,
and how to connect with their community.
I want go over some reviews with you guys.
Not always the most pleasant things,
but always things that we can work on.
"You would think a place
with the word 'nacho' in its name
would be somewhat skilled
at serving nachos.
Definitely not the case.
The view is amazing. Just stay away
from the nachos at Nacho's."
Nacho's my dog. So, it's not that the food
is part of the name of the place,
but we understand that
that's how people think.
That's what people see
when they look at the logo,
and that's what they're gonna expect.
They're gonna expect
the best nachos in St. Croix.
- Right.
- Review two.
"Worst food I've ever eaten. Seriously.
Great view.
Hot, horrible, loud, banging music.
Overpriced glop."
Hearing those reviews
just is disheartening.
The nachos, we've tried
different ways to try to improve on it.
We've tried cheese sauces.
We've used real cheese.
And we just haven't nailed it yet.
And we know that.
One of the items we've
talked about the most, the nachos.
The consistency is not there.
How do you handle the consistency
with the food?
[Monty] It's hard,
especially on the island,
because you can't get all
of the ingredients all the time.
They could be out of...
a certain cheese for a month.
You guys have had a tough run
with this business.
It was like running with a broken leg
off the beginning,
and it's tough to keep things consistent
or exactly the way you want it.
When we came here, we dealt with a lot.
We dealt with a lot.
This island dealt with a lot.
Going through the storms
and the repercussions of the storms,
I had a relationship end
and that hurt deep.
I have mixed feelings about it all.
But I've gotta move forward.
It's hard down here.
When I moved, I didn't know anyone.
I knew Monty, but I didn't know Monty.
I met him a couple times.
So, I came down here by myself.
Just to deal with, A,
a hurricane-ravaged island by yourself...
um, but then
everything that comes with that,
moving to an island, just personal life,
and it's hard.
You feel alone sometimes.
[Monty] There is that loneliness.
And, you know, Louie, my dog,
passed away a couple months.
That adds to it.
The stakes here at Louie & Nacho's
are really high for Shay and Monty.
If they lose this place,
they're gonna lose everything.
The desire to connect with the locals
here on the island is huge for us.
We don't just mean the Crucians.
We're talking about everyone
that lives here year round.
[Nick] How do you feel the locals
were perceiving you in the beginning?
I think they looked at us
as a couple of outsiders coming in,
trying to take over
some of their business.
We've lived here for a year and a half,
and this is my home.
And I feel like it's important for us
to connect to everybody in that regard.
What you guys have gone through
isn't easy.
But we have solutions.
We need to get you guys
more connected with the locals.
And for once and for all,
we're gonna have the best nachos
in the Caribbean.
- Cheers to that.
- I like that.
Thank you.
[Nick] I feel the revival
of this restaurant
is gonna give a whole new start
to both Monty and Shay.
They opened their hearts to me.
I wanna help them out
any way I possibly can.
[Dennis] After we had dinner
at the restaurant, I knew one thing.
They should be more local.
Today, we're gonna learn
from an expert, Chef Digby.
He is the poster boy for Caribbean food.
He's got restaurants here,
here's got restaurants in America,
and he knows this place
'cause it's where he's from.
There's a restaurant
we're working with,
and those guys are from DC,
and they brought the menu
from DC, essentially.
They recipe-tested it there,
and then they set it up here.
When I see restaurants come in,
they don't really invoke the local spirit,
the culture or anything like that.
I've seen a lot of them come,
and I've seen a lot of them go.
The good restaurants that come here,
it's the guys who come here,
gals who come here who,
they're working with farmers.
They go out there
to the fisherman's market
all the time to get fresh fish.
We have relationships with each other.
- So, it's more than just like a business.
- It's a community.
And that's what
food's about to me, community.
Yeah, 100%.
When you go for lobsters, you really wanna
get a snare, so you check this out.
So, the idea is
when you're under the rocks,
you're gonna get it over a tail,
- and you just pull on it.
- Okay.
And then you got him.
He ain't going nowhere.
- He's not going anywhere?
- He's going nowhere.
- [Dennis] You're just free-diving down.
- [Digby] Yeah, I'm gonna free-dive.
- Perfect.
- [Digby] And at the end of the day,
you're on a quest.
- Best of luck, man.
- All right, bro. Let's do it.
[Digby] You wanna make sure
whatever you bring up is the right size.
You're practicing sustainability,
and making sure that you're leaving
something for someone else.
[Dennis] At the restaurant,
they talked about how
when they had lobster
on the menu,
they literally couldn't sell enough of it.
People loved it.
Obviously, it needs to be
part of their menu.
Dude.
Got one.
It's a little dragon from under the sea.
This is what every restaurant
in the Caribbean needs on their menu.
[Digby] So, this is spiny-tailed lobster.
So, I know a lot of people
are used to seeing the lobster
- with the claws that you see up in Maine.
- [Dennis] Sure.
[Digby] This is what you find
in the Caribbean.
Mother Nature did all the work already.
It already has its saltiness,
it has its natural flavors.
He's gonna meet a grill tonight
and we're gonna eat him up
with some coconut oil
and some other local goodies.
[Dennis] We really need to use
what's local, available and seasonal.
What that means is eat
what's delicious when it's delicious.
And right here on St. Croix,
they import 97% of their food.
But there's an amazing amount
of deliciousness
hanging out right over there.
[Karin] Because decor shops
are so scarce here,
I have to bring color
into the restaurant in other ways.
I really wanna incorporate color
through photography.
Willard runs Guardians of Culture,
a Moko Jumbie dance troupe
that performs all over St. Croix.
I really want Monty and Shay to understand
what the Moko Jumbie is all about.
I don't know a lot,
other than you see 'em everywhere.
[Karin] I'm gonna do a photo shoot,
and we're throwing Monty and Shay
into this.
[Willard] Moko Jumbies,
or the stilt dancers,
really originated
on the continent of Africa.
The Africans were enslaved
and brought to the Caribbean.
With them, came their culture.
The plantation owners
did not allow the Africans
to practice their indigenous religions.
So, what they did is camouflage it.
And that is why today in the Caribbean,
including the Virgin Islands,
you see them in parades,
- carnivals, festivals, parties.
- Yep.
[Willard] And we take youngsters
from the time they're ten years old.
We train them in the artform.
As they get older and better,
they get to join the professional group.
One of you guys wanna try something?
Yeah. Shay's already volunteered.
- [Willard] He has?
- He's getting on the stilts.
[Shay] I did.
Put some stilts on these stilts.
[Willard] I'll see if I have a pair
to fit your small feet.
This is gonna be awesome.
Shay, you're getting down and dirty
on those stilts.
[Willard] Stand up straight.
- [Karin] Whoo!
- [Willard] How does that feel?
- Right. Next step.
- [man] I got him.
[Karin] I love seeing Shay
up on the stilts,
trying something new. He's having a blast.
- [Willard] Let's go.
- [man] Hey.
[Willard] Walk with him.
[Shay] The support is awesome.
I love this.
[all clapping]
This is actually fantastic for me,
just to learn more about this island.
Learn more about the culture
of this island, which I don't know.
[Karin] I don't wanna just go in
and take these photos
and put them on the walls and say,
"Hey, this is the connection."
I want Monty and Shay to be part of this,
so they can share their experience with
the people who come into the restaurant.
So, now that you've done that,
we're gonna see an actual performance.
[Nick] I'm here at the beach
in Frederiksted,
and I'm getting ready
to meet Tippy and Pressure.
These guys are cultural ambassadors here.
Tippy's gonna be a huge help.
He runs a popular music festival here.
And he's got a direct insight
into the heartbeat of Crucian culture.
Pressure's a local celebrity.
He's creating music
that's speaking to not only St. Croix,
but the entire Caribbean.
[Nick] At the end of the day,
Shay and Monty are not connected
with their community.
They may have one of the best views
in Frederiksted,
but let me tell you,
it's filled with empty seats.
I need to find out
what makes this place tick,
and, ultimately, what's gonna bring
the locals into Louie & Nacho's.
What's St. Croix all about?
St. Croix is a special place.
No place like it on Earth.
I've traveled a lot, and this little place
has a certain energy,
that's a cross of
so many different elements.
American, Caribbean, African.
Glad we could meet on the west side,
Frederiksted, also known as Freedom City.
[Nick] Freedom City.
Why do they call it that?
Former slave, a woman named Queen Mary,
led a rebellion down from the plantations
that were still existing
after slavery ended.
And she burned down the whole town...
- in protest of working conditions.
- She did?
[Tippy] And since then this area's always
known as a rebellious energy and spirit...
What's St. Croix mean to you?
It's that island in the Virgin Islands
that preserves a lot of the culture.
[Tippy] We're an American territory,
but fully Caribbean at the same time.
[Nick] I'm working with a place
just a stone's throw away.
Shay and Monty are
the owners of it, Louie & Nacho's.
I feel like they've really lost, not only
track of their brand and identity,
but, ultimately,
how to talk to the locals.
The local people,
they just want you to be yourself.
The people love that real energy.
[Nick] Yeah.
[Pressure] And that's what they go for.
Music and the things that you guys do
in your normal day lives,
you feel that brings a lot of positivity
- to the people on this island?
- [Pressure] Yeah.
People can't do without music.
You know, especially good music
inspire me to get up
and clean the house or build back my roof.
You know what I mean?
Or I'll go and help another one.
So, music is very important
in this community.
So, what I'm hoping is to create
some sort of an outdoor event with music,
where I can get Shay and Monty
into the mix,
and get them reconnected with community.
- [Pressure] Yeah.
- Music can definitely help with that.
- We could easily bridge the gap...
- Yeah.
...with these people
towards the restaurant.
The entrepreneurs who come in
can work with the local families
and the local energy that exists
to create something that will last,
and not just get blown away
when the next hurricane comes.
I'm really excited to see you guys
orchestrate a really cool party.
- We'll do what we can.
- Thank you so much, guys.
- Respect.
- I really appreciate it.
- Much love, man.
- Much love.
[Karin] We're gonna be watching
the Moko Jumbies dance.
I'm gonna go around, do a photo shoot,
and then I'm gonna take those photos
and incorporate that
into the restaurant decor.
Monty and Shay, they have no idea
that we're gonna turn this into art
and put in the restaurant.
This is great.
One, two, three.
Yes.
Stay there. Stay, stay, stay.
What I love the most about this
is that this is a simple solution
for creating artwork.
Anytime you go traveling, you can
pull out your phone, take a photo,
and that can become a really great
piece of art for your space.
[Shay] I'm very inspired by what
just happened today. This is fantastic.
It makes me wanna
just learn more about this island.
[Monty] And for the last year and a half,
we've been working hard trying to
get the restaurant up and running.
We haven't been able to spend the time
to come out to learn more
about the culture.
[Karin] I'm excited
that the Moko Jumbies' story
is gonna be carried into this restaurant,
but I'm more excited that
Monty and Shay were part of this.
[Dennis] Tonight, I'm getting
as local as it gets.
We're cooking up over a cauldron.
It's super awesome. We're making lobster.
So, we've got lobster.
You have a ton of local herbs here.
[Digby] Yeah.
This right here is bay rum leaves.
I've never smelled anything
like that before.
- [Digby] It's amazing.
- [Dennis] It's super unique.
This is perfect for fish.
- [Digby] Yeah.
- And you know what I love about this?
Local, local, local.
- [Digby] Yeah.
- Everything is local.
[Digby] I'mma pick stuff,
I'mma send it over,
- and you just start working in there.
- [Dennis] Do it.
Get some salt, so it starts
breaking down early.
- [Digby] It smells good.
- [Dennis] It smells fantastic.
This is the bay rum leaves. You see how
they start to squinch a little bit?
What that is as it's cooking,
the oils are releasing
and it's letting all that aromatic
into the lobster.
[Dennis] You know what my favorite thing
about this is?
It just screams local.
And that's a thing at the restaurant
that they don't have,
- that we're working at now.
- Yeah.
Two really good dudes. They just
brought a menu that doesn't work here.
What does a restaurant need to do here
with their food to connect with locals?
[Digby] Something as simple
as adding lobster to your menu,
fresh mahi, goat, lamb.
There's so much stuff that it offers here,
you know what I mean?
[Dennis] I've eaten lobster
my entire life, but never like this.
Never cooked over a fire.
Never in the Caribbean.
Never with a rockstar diving chef.
[Digby] That's good food, bro.
- And you grew up eating this?
- [Digby] Yeah.
After today, I know that lobster
is obviously gonna be on the menu.
It just has to be.
So I'm gonna do a lobster roll,
but I'm gonna infuse it
with Caribbean flavors.
Food is love.
[Dennis] Food is love.
Food is happiness. It's joy.
[Digby] Cheers.
The white paint at Louie & Nacho's
has gone up, and it looks so good.
This was a home run.
That beachy bar feel is coming together,
but the restaurant needs
more island flavor.
And for that, I'm going
a few steps outside to the beach.
I'm out here today, meeting up
with Whaelan and Kris
who make jewelry
from something called chaney.
[Whaelan] How are you doing?
I'm here because I'm redesigning
a restaurant called Louie & Nacho's.
- It's a great Sunday spot.
- We have.
- [Karin] You go there?
- Yeah.
We will oftentimes on a Sunday afternoon
go down and watch the sunset.
The owners, Monty and Shay,
really wanna infuse the restaurant
with more local flavor.
I can understand that, for sure.
[Karin] Yeah?
[Whaelan] Our main reason for this
is spectacular view
and myself limited to one of their dishes,
which is the island boy rice and beans.
- Thank you very much.
- [Karin and Kris laugh]
- However it comes, I'll take it.
- Yeah.
So, I was hoping that
I could spend some time with you.
You can teach me about chaney,
and that might be inspiration for bringing
some art or decor back to the restaurant.
We have a strong history
of the Danish occupation,
the British, the French,
who, back in the 1700s,
traded china, and a lot was brought
into the island.
[Kris] When ships docked,
anything that had broken on their crossing
they would toss overboard,
so they didn't have to pay taxes on it.
[Whaelan] The word "chaney"
is really is a corruption of the words
"china" and "money."
The kids would use the pieces found
as play money.
[Karin] This almost looks like
it could have come
from a teacup or something like that.
Or a bowl. It had a journey.
It had a story that you don't know about.
[Karin] There's almost a sense of mystery
with it, right?
- [Whaelan] Oh, yes.
- Yeah.
Do you think I'm headed
in the right direction here,
where locals will really know
what chaney is?
- Definitely.
- Absolutely.
[Whaelan] The wares
that we find fragments
are a range from platters to chamber pots.
- That right there. The blue.
- [Karin] Oh, yeah.
- [Whaelan] There we go!
- [Kris] That's a piece of chaney.
That's awesome.
- [Kris] There's a little house.
- [Whaelan] Look at the little image on it.
A little house.
- It looks like this would be really old.
- Mission accomplished.
- That's real chaney.
- Mission accomplished.
- So, now, we go home? Is that it?
- No, there's more to get.
[Kris] No, the whole beach.
[Kris] There aren't a lot of materials
on the island,
so I love that I'm finding decor
literally on the beach.
I found some great pieces
of sea glass and chaney.
And I've got a little collection now
that I wanna turn into some artwork
and bring back to the restaurant.
[Dennis] Right now, Monty and Shay's
nachos lack that kick of St. Croix flavor.
And one thing I know about the Caribbean
and that is that they celebrate
hot pepper sauce.
I'm meeting Alvin, an award-winning chef,
who's considered the king of hot sauce.
Spice is a part of our life,
and I can show you exactly what I do.
Here we have some
Scotch bonnet peppers, papaya...
- [Dennis] So, you go hard.
- I go hard.
'Cause Scotch bonnets are hardcore, man.
[Alvin] Yes. If you know how to balance
your pepper sauce,
it will come out tasting right.
[Dennis] I wanna incorporate a hot sauce
into at least one dish at the restaurant,
because a hot sauce screams St. Croix.
Oh, wow! My nose is flooded.
- Can I taste this?
- [Alvin] Sure.
[Dennis] Here we go.
All right, cheers.
That's what we're talking about.
[Alvin] The papaya. The pepper.
You're having a different reaction.
That is one of the spiciest things
I've ever eaten in my life.
I need more.
[laughing]
[Alvin] Not hot enough at all.
Good night.
- We're working with a restaurant here.
- [Alvin] Mmm-hmm.
[Dennis] At Louie & Nacho's.
And right now, you look at the menu,
they're not really doing Caribbean food.
They know they need to.
Because they know that they want locals
to come into the restaurant.
How important is hot sauce
to Caribbean food?
90% of the people
in the Caribbean, as far as I know,
eat hot sauce.
So, I think restaurants should definitely
do more Caribbean-flavored food
because that's why folks
come to the Caribbean.
They want a taste of the Caribbean.
[Dennis] I heard that you've won
some awards.
[Alvin] Yes, Alvin's Hot Sauce
won 12 international awards.
I think I got more medals than Usain Bolt.
[both laughing]
- Yeah, but he can run faster.
- He can run faster.
He probably eats your hot sauce
before he runs.
[Alvin] All right.
You're gonna love that.
- Smells great.
- [Alvin] Yes.
[Dennis] That is still very hot.
[chuckling]
- But it's not nearly as hot as that one.
- Yes.
Something like this needs to be
incorporated into the dishes
at the restaurant.
This would taste beautiful with fish,
with chicken.
I can see using this as a marinade.
It would be great cut with things
like sour cream, as a sauce on the side.
Yes, definitely.
[Dennis] That was delicious.
And knowing that I can throw together
a hot sauce that tastes like here,
with five or six ingredients in a blender,
and that it hits all the markers
of what Louie & Nacho's wanna do,
and it's something
Monty and Shay can pull off?
That's really inspiring.
[Nick] The logo here at Louie & Nacho's
doesn't tell me
what this business is about.
It's just like any other logo I've seen
at any other beach town.
So, let's make some sense of it.
Something's gotta really say
what Louie & Nacho's is.
It's two dogs. We're on the beach.
We want it to be light and bright,
and we want it to pop.
I got a new logo designed
for Louie & Nacho's.
It's got both dogs on it,
it's got a beachy feel,
and it's gonna appeal to
more of an adult, edgier crowd.
It's definitely gonna drive
more business in this place.
[reggae music playing]
[Nick] I've taken Shay and Monty
to a local dub party
to show off their new logo
and connect them with their community.
Essentially, what I've done is I've
rebranded your place with a new logo.
I got some stickers made.
We're gonna put it on cups,
and it's gonna act as a liquid invitation
tonight at the party.
Tippy and Pressure,
these guys I've been hanging out with?
They're the guys that help
put this event on tonight.
The whole point of this party, guys,
is being able to interact
with the community
and talk to them and tell them your story,
who you guys are, everything that
you've been going through,
the sunshine
that's at the end of the tunnel.
And I just need you guys shaking hands
and kissing babies.
- All right?
- [Shay] Yeah. Let's do it.
- [Nick] And handing out cocktails.
- [Shay] Yeah.
At first, I feel like
everyone's wondering who we were.
But as we started handing out drinks
and showing people the new logo
and talking up the restaurant,
I feel like we really connected
with a lot of different people.
[Nick] This isn't a recipe
that only works here in St. Croix,
but any restaurant in the world.
If you're not connected
with your local community,
you're never gonna be successful
in your business.
I don't care how many tourists
are coming to your spot
for that great view that you have.
If you're not connected
with your local community,
they will never support it.
[Shay] That was a fantastic time.
Having Pressure and Tippy there
just getting the crowd rolling,
serving drinks,
meeting all the people there,
it was fantastic. I had a blast.
I had so much fun.
[Nick] Just watching Monty and Shay
interact with these guests
and these people that I know
that they've never met before,
they were genuinely really happy
and excited about it.
And that's the energy we want.
And we have this unbelievable way to
introduce a new brand with a new identity,
something that Shay and Monty
didn't have before.
I have to say, guys, I've had
a really constructive past couple days.
This new logo is awesome.
I've designed it
to incorporate their dogs,
which is what Louie & Nacho's
is actually named after.
We've got stickers made.
We've got some blue ones.
- [Karin] Nice.
- [Nick] We've got some black ones.
I want a sticker.
[Nick] And these stickers,
they played a huge part
in what I did with Monty and Shay.
We had a party.
We were putting them on the glasses
and we were giving away free cocktails.
And it forced Monty and Shay
to get connected
with their community.
They were talking to people
that they had never talked to before
and never met before.
And when I was at this reggae party,
my wheels really got turning.
And what I thought was,
we have a perfect opportunity
to relaunch this place with a big party,
our last night.
To promote the new food,
to promote the decor,
Shay and Monty's new life and new brand.
Speaking of a party for the locals...
This is for you.
I'm gonna give this one to you.
I'm gonna put this one on.
[Nick] These are beautiful.
- Beautiful hats. Yeah.
- Aren't these great?
Pose for me.
Oh, my God! One De Niro.
- Nice.
- These look great.
These hats are the Moko Jumbie hats.
Moko Jumbies are dancers.
Shay actually got up on stilts.
This is a photo of Shay...
- [Nick] That's so cool.
- ...just having the best time.
There's joy just completely covering him.
So, if you guys imagine the space
completely painted white.
I need to layer in some artwork.
And I really wanna take these photos,
frame those,
and use that as decor pieces.
In my opinion, there's nothing better
than being on the beach,
looking at an incredible view,
with a cocktail in hand
and sitting on a swing.
That sounds amazing.
I wanna incorporate a swing set
into the restaurant.
It's gonna be a fun experience
for the guests.
Whether it's a tourist or a local,
it gives people the opportunity
to get engaged and wanna take pictures.
It's kind of like
a little Instagram moment.
- [Nick] Yeah.
- [Karin] Check this out.
This is essentially beach treasure.
This is called chaney.
And this comes from old chinaware
that was broken and ended up in the ocean
when ships were coming across the sea.
And it washed up to shore.
You find them on the shore.
You find them inland.
The cool thing is that
they talked a lot about
how hard it was to source things here.
You're sourcing this.
You're literally just finding this
and reclaiming it, right?
That's so cool.
It's like, "Use what's around you."
Use what's available and make it
beautiful, and that's what you're doing.
[Karin] Exactly.
What's missing at Louis & Nacho's
is any St. Croix in the menu,
and a big part of that is hot sauce.
Do you like hot sauce?
Oh. Holy... oh, my gosh.
That's hot!
It's got some spice.
Is your soul on fire right now?
A little bit?
You've got a drink here.
So, I made hot sauce
from scratch with Alvin.
I wanna make
a scratch-made hot sauce for them,
something that they can make in-house,
batch-make it. It'll last for weeks.
And down the road, they might even
be able to bottle it.
You guys remember
talking to Shay and Monty,
and they were talking about
food sourcing, right?
I learned that 97% of the food
in this country is imported.
I met a dude, Chef Digby.
He free-dove to catch lobster.
There is so much food here,
they're just not utilizing it
in the way that they can be.
The ocean is plentiful
and you can fish sustainably.
I wanna do a lobster roll.
I wanna flavor it with Caribbean flavors.
You know I love nachos.
I feel they're the best thing in the world
to share with friends and family.
Just make those nachos properly.
So, hot sauce, some jerk-style chicken,
house-made sauces on top of it.
And there's a huge Rasta community here,
people who eat vegan food.
That's what they celebrate.
That's what they want.
So, I wanna make a great vegan dish,
probably, I'm thinking like a curry,
maybe some sweet potato,
maybe black bean,
some nice rice on the side.
I'm excited. How about you?
I love all these ideas.
I love how this is coming together.
- And my tongue is still on fire.
- [all laughing]
[Karin] We've got a ton of work to do.
Let's get at it.
Today is our last day
for the transformation.
And not only is it the last day,
it's the last afternoon.
This looks awesome!
[man] Yeah, it was a great idea.
The swing set we're building,
You could build that swing set,
put it in your backyard.
We're bringing it into a restaurant.
How cool is that?
This looks pretty sturdy.
Yeah, they're very strong.
I kind of wanna swing off of it.
- Yeah, you--
- Can I try?
- [man] Yeah, go for it.
- I can, right?
[man] Yeah, go for it.
- [Karin] Nice.
- [man] Yeah, very strong.
[Karin] I think Shay and Monty are gonna
be floored when they see the space
from the bro shack
to a beautiful St. Croix beach shack.
No. Really? [sighs]
Almost like... not a twine, but, you know,
like a rope that has got some...
This is really kind of slippery.
Okay. I'm stressing out because my swings,
which are one of the main features
of this design for the restaurant
are just not coming together.
In the morning, I'll help you.
- We'll just loop it really fast.
- It'll be real easy.
- We'll throw the boards on, and then done.
- Yeah.
- 'Cause we're already there. Yeah.
- Yeah.
This was completely, man, overengineered,
and it became a construction project
in and of itself.
What I wanted for these swings
is something super simple,
it's supposed to be effortless
and beachy. That's the whole vibe.
It's the fun design feature
of the restaurant.
If it doesn't look right,
everybody's gonna notice that.
Bye.
It's the morning of, and thank God...
We went to the hardware store,
and they had 100 feet of rope,
the exact rope that I needed.
I like this rope way better, though.
- I do, too.
- [Karin] Yeah.
The contrast with the white...
Yeah, it looks good.
Not only are Monty and Shay
going to see what we've done
for the first time tonight,
we're also setting up for
the grand relaunch of Louie & Nacho's.
[Nick] I have a lot of work to do today
for tonight's event.
And one thing I love doing,
and the way I work best
is when I'm working on the fly.
And I've got this unutilized space
behind me
that's just really never been used.
This relaunch party
is gonna be such an important part
of their marketing strategy
because they have a second chance
to make the best impression possible.
[man] How does it look?
Looks good. Looks good.
[Karin] When Shay and Monty
opened Louie & Nacho's,
they had a dream.
But then the hurricane came through
and turned their lives
and business upside down.
They weren't connecting
to their local community
and that put them in danger
of losing everything.
But that's about to change.
Wow, look at that!
[Shay] Holy cow!
Wow, this is great!
Dude, this is fantastic.
[Monty] Totally not what I was expecting.
[Shay] Look at the logo.
- [Monty] Yeah, that's cool.
- [Shay] Louie & Nacho.
Yep. That's awesome.
- There you are, right there.
- [Shay laughs]
[Monty] Big boy on stilts.
- Monty! Shay!
- [Monty] Hi.
- [Karin] How are you?
- [Shay] Oh, man!
- Nice to see you.
- [Shay] This is amazing!
[Karin] Really?
[Shay] This is fantastic.
[Monty] It's so bright
and feels even more open.
So, clearly, everything is all white.
Big paint job.
So, you notice of the front of bar.
[Monty] Yes. That was the first thing
I saw when I walked up.
You've got these great columns.
And I know you were worried about putting
too much stuff up to distract people.
But I actually think having a little bit
of artwork is really nice.
[Monty] I agree.
- I saw the Moko Jumbie way back there.
- You saw the Moko Jumbies?
Yes. Exactly.
[Shay] And me on there.
I was like, "Oh, man!"
- Yeah, right? It's fun.
- It is.
I love the chaney.
- [Karin] The chaney's great.
- [Shay] It's so good.
[Karin] And the locals
will recognize it right away.
I just have it all
sitting at home everywhere.
I would love to do this.
[Monty] I see you kept
the "Peace, Love and Happy Hour" sign.
Gotta have peace, love and happy hour.
That's cool for us
because one of our friends gave us that
as our opening gift.
We've refinished your bar.
[Shay] It's like a 180 of the shape
it was in, too.
And then my personal favorite part
of this is the swings.
There's a good story behind that one, too.
It's so funny,
because I really wanted to do swings.
- We talked about that.
- [Karin] Really?
- Yeah.
- Before we opened it up.
[Karin] No. You guys gotta test them out.
Oh, man.
[Karin] Are you worried it's gonna fall?
For me? Yes.
- No.
- [all laughing]
Just wait till the little kids
from next door come out.
- [Karin] Right.
- They're gonna love it.
It's nice, but at the same time
you can come up in your flip-flops
and not feel out of place.
And that's exactly what I wanted it to be.
- I'm so happy you guys like it.
- Yeah.
- Great.
- It's very cool.
[Dennis] The story of these three dishes
is the story of Monty and Shay
needing to connect with St. Croix.
That's what you're tasting on the plate.
I know Monty and Shay are gonna love it,
'cause they already love
this kind of food.
They love comfort food.
They love food that makes sense on a beach
and they love food
that makes people happy.
So, they're gonna dig it for sure.
But then all these new people coming in
are gonna love it, too. It's a win-win.
- Who's hungry?
- Nice!
- Looks beautiful.
- My gosh.
- Love it.
- [Monty] Beautifully plated.
- [Karin] Ohh!
- [Monty] Good.
- [Dennis] Okay.
- [Karin] Hey!
Nachos!
[Shay] Man!
I loved hanging out with you guys,
eating with you.
You make comfort food.
And that makes my heart happy
'cause I love comfort food.
You wanted to get locals in here and
have them be represented on the menu.
So, that's what we rolled with.
First up, this is a vegan dish.
Sweet potatoes, jerk in there,
black bean curry, coconut rice.
People are gonna love this vegan dish.
- Yeah.
- It's really good.
You guys have so many lobsters
living right out there.
Everyone loves lobster and lobster rolls.
Hot lobster rolls with a Caribbean twist.
There's curry, turmeric, garlic.
Lime in here, as well.
It's so good.
Last but not least, nachos.
It is the tailor-made dish
for friends and family.
I just took those nachos
and jacked it up a notch.
Jerk chicken, pico de gallo, guacamole,
spiked sour cream, beautiful cheese...
And people here like hot sauce.
It's so easy to make. I literally
made this in a blender 20 minutes ago.
And I think you guys should have
your own hot sauce,
a Louie & Nacho's Hot Sauce
that you serve, in-house.
The nachos and the salsa,
- everything is fantastic.
- Yeah.
It's fresh.
And that's what you want.
The first bite
is that fresh taste of pico,
and it's delicious.
- [Shay] I love the hot sauce.
- And the vegan dish,
I think you're right, this will really
speak to the local community here.
We have an unbelievable
opportunity tonight.
Between the new food, the new decor,
we have tons of people outside
to introduce them
to a whole new brand and identity.
Oh, my God. I love it.
The food is delicious, the room is hot,
there's people outside...
- It's time to party.
- [Shay] Yeah.
So, before we go down to the party,
I just wanna say thank you, guys,
because it's been
an awesome experience for us.
And it's cool to see
what this place can be.
We're excited to make that happen.
One of the most amazing experiences
I've ever had.
And it's been fantastic.
You guys were so much fun.
Thank you for trusting us completely.
I think you guys have a really cool,
new Louie & Nacho's.
Let's party!
- Yes.
- Let's do it.
[reggae music playing]
[Shay] I'm very inspired.
Honestly, from this point on,
I wanna keep this restaurant building.
I wanna keep it growing.
I wanna keep the locals
coming here more and more.
And I just want them to feel
as excited about it as we are.
[Monty] Now is the time that we
not only wanna get people here,
but we've gotta be back out
in the community more.
Viewed in the community as people
that are here to make a difference.
[Karin] This was the best DIY project
that I could've ever taken on.
[Dennis] The food story
at Louie & Nacho's for me now
is the story of Monty and Shay.
It's St. Croix.
[Nick] I'm really excited
for Shay and Monty
and the success that lies ahead
for Louie & Nacho's.
[theme music playing]
[Nick] We've been invited
by restaurants
on the edge
of the most beautiful views imaginable.
[Karin] Who really need some help
keeping their business from going under.
[Dennis] There is nothing
more inspiring
than celebrating
a community on the plate.
But far too often, the better the view,
the worse the food.
[Karin] This is about reviving
not only the restaurants...
Everything's at stake for us.
For us, is life.
...but also the owners' belief
in themselves.
- [woman gasps]
- [man whoops]
This means the world to me.
Oh, my God! [chuckles]
It's like a part of us here.
[Dennis] So, together, we're traveling
the world in search of inspiration
to transform these restaurants
into authentic hot spots
that paint a picture,
not just of that restaurant,
not just of that chef,
but of that community.
I'm telling you, my brother,
you all changed my life.
[Karin] If I close my eyes and imagine
the perfect Caribbean island,
that is St. Croix.
[Nick] Part of the Virgin Islands
for over 100 years,
St. Croix is absolutely stunning.
With turquoise water,
lush, green vegetation,
and beautiful beaches,
the Spanish, the Dutch,
the English, they all played a role
in its past.
[Dennis] St. Croix, it is paradise.
Perfect beaches, crystal-blue waters,
tropical fish, tropical fruit.
[Nick] These different-colored buildings
makes you feel like you're
kind of stepping back into
the 17th century here in the Caribbean.
We're on our way to Louie & Nacho's,
a beach bar overlooking the sea.
Owners Monty and Shay
left the hustle and bustle of DC
to take on the dream and the risk
of owning a slice of paradise.
But no one can predict
what the future actually holds.
[Dennis] When Hurricane Maria
ripped through the Caribbean in 2017,
the island was devastated.
They weathered the storm
and decided to stay open.
But now, with the island in recovery,
Monty and Shay's original customer base
has disappeared.
If they can't connect
with the community,
they will lose their investment
and their dream.
[Karin] Monty and Shay relied
on the view as their decor,
but they admit that it's finally time
to give the rest of the place
some personality.
[Nick] Nachos in paradise? Not a bad idea.
But if they're bad nachos, as the reviews
have pointed out, that's not okay.
[Karin] Walking along the beach,
it's so blue for as far
as the eye can see.
And as we walk up...
I'm thinking, "What?
St. Croix is a tropical paradise,
and this restaurant is brown?"
[Nick] I truly felt I was in a man cave
sitting on this
beautiful Caribbean coastline.
[Dennis] The view's magical. It's perfect.
It's the perfect view.
[Karin] It's this expansive view
of the ocean.
And the great thing about this restaurant,
it's elevated.
So, as you're looking out into the ocean,
you don't even see sand
or beach or ground.
You are just looking at the ocean
as far as the eye can see.
And it's beautiful and turquoise,
and serene and calm.
It's the opposite
of what's going on inside the restaurant.
- I'm Monty. Good to meet you.
- [Nick] Monty.
- Shay.
- [Nick] Pleasure to meet you.
- Monty, I'm Karin.
- Pleasure.
My first impression of Shay and Monty
is that they're super cool, chill guys.
[Dennis] They are just two dudes
who I wanna have a beer with.
They're good guys. They're homies.
Well, I like that this is
a nice, brown canvas for me.
It's not a blank canvas,
but a brown canvas. It's good.
I should assume the brown
is gonna go away.
Yeah, I don't think
you're a fan of the brown.
[Karin] Yes.
- Where are you guys from originally?
- [Shay] I grew up in New York.
- Both of us in New York. He was upstate.
- Yeah.
I grew up in Long Island.
I had a bar outside of DC,
and it was time to kind of look to see
what else is out there.
If I was gonna ever move out of DC area,
find a cool spot to go to,
that time was now.
[Shay] The high octane of DC
was just adding years to my life.
I needed the change.
If I didn't do it then,
I wasn't gonna do it.
The hurricane really affected this island?
- [Monty] It devastated it.
- [Shay] Yeah.
I wasn't able to talk to you
for three or four days.
I didn't know what was going on.
Finally did, initial reaction was,
"You know, this place is torn up.
This place is in bad shape."
[Monty] It was very hard,
and living was difficult,
not what you expected.
Unfortunately, my wife and I split up
because the stress and pressures
were too much.
- I feel pressure every day.
- [Shay] All the time.
And now, coming to slow season,
the pressure really comes on.
It doesn't get busy.
The bills get harder to pay.
[Monty] This is our living.
It's not like we're here
with a bunch of money
in our bank accounts.
But you also have that responsibility
to your stakeholders
that gave you those initial investments.
I want this to work so badly.
[Monty] You don't wanna see it fail
because you don't change your life
like that
to come down and let something
just go away.
The stakes are particularly high
for Monty and Shay here.
They went through a lot.
They moved to a new part of the world,
and they really don't know anybody
here in the community.
I can't imagine how overwhelmed
that they must have felt,
and really alone.
'Cause they are right now.
I feel like they're alone.
And they feel like
they're running up this mountain,
but they can't get to the top,
and they need an extra push
to get them there.
I smell food.
[Shay] Hangover nachos.
[Karin] Yes.
- I was hoping to try that.
- [Shay] Nacho's nachos.
[Karin] Thank you.
[Monty] We have a vegan taco.
Because this area is full of vegans.
- [Shay] Chicken parm.
- [Karin] Chicken parm.
- Cheeseburger tacos.
- [Nick] Wow.
- That's everything.
- Nice.
This is the first time
I've seen a cheeseburger taco.
Same.
This is the first time I've ever seen
a parmesan chicken taco, too.
We try to do different types of tacos
that you just wouldn't expect
from a taco stand.
Did you guys create this menu
or did you take it over?
- [Monty] No, we created it.
- Okay.
I tested it out in my previous restaurant.
[Dennis] Couldn't ask for a better view.
But the food, unfortunately,
doesn't match the view.
It is food that's made for tourists,
people who are coming in
off of cruise ships
or just happen to end up here.
But locals aren't connecting with it.
And a big reason why is that the food
has been brought from the DC area.
They recipe-tested it and made it there,
they also brought the style from there.
And they just put that
into a St. Croix restaurant
instead of capitalizing on local.
So, Monty, you were
the interior designer, then, here?
I was.
What was your design approach?
Having the view be the star.
Where was the inspiration for the brown?
I have to ask.
Just because I didn't want
your eye to go to it.
- And I like the color.
- [Shay] Yeah.
- That's okay.
- There was a battle about that color.
And there's just not a place
that you could go
that may exist in the States,
where you could find
things that you would put up in a bar.
- [Karin] Right.
- It doesn't exist here.
So, you can't really find decor.
No.
- [Karin] Okay.
- No.
Monty, you've owned a restaurant.
So I get you coming down here
and opening a restaurant here.
What about you, Shay?
- Are you a restauranteur?
- [Shay] Why did I move?
No, not in the least.
- Okay.
- Did real estate prior to this.
I wanted the change. Not just the area
from moving to DC to an island,
but also doing something different.
This was exciting.
I'm starting a restaurant from the get-go.
[Nick] This is your first time
working in the restaurant business?
Yes.
You got big cullions, man,
just jumping into the business like that.
Yes.
It seems like you guys got hit hard
with this storm.
How much did that affect your business?
Our first few months were some of
our busiest months that we've had.
And it was because we had
all the relief workers here.
Now, we're going
into the seasonal territory.
Yeah, because during high season,
which just ended, we were really busy.
After April, and then
it starts to slow down,
and come prime hurricane season,
it's hit or miss.
When Shay and Monty started this,
the customers in the off-season
were emergency workers.
But now they're gone.
The tourist season is only
five months of the year.
That's not enough
to keep their business afloat.
I know there's a number of different ways
to elevate your business
by connecting you with the community.
- We're super excited.
- [Shay] Very excited.
For the process.
It sounds like this
really has to work for you guys.
You're down here, chasing a dream,
and you've sacrificed a lot to be here
and make it happen.
You see how this could grow.
When you have that fire in your heart,
it's not easy to let things just
- crash and burn.
- Yeah.
We're here to help,
and so excited to be here.
And the great thing about
this place and you guys
- is that there's so much potential.
- [Monty] Mmm-hmm.
- Yeah.
- Thanks for having us.
[both] Thank you guys so much.
- [Karin] Cheers.
- [all] Cheers.
- [Shay] We're looking forward to it.
- [Monty] Looking forward to it.
[Karin] The biggest mistake
that Shay and Monty made with the design
is that they were overly concerned
with the view.
So, they pared back the restaurant
to try to accentuate the view.
The problem is there's nothing
going on in the restaurant.
So, it's really boring,
and that's not working for them.
That's working against them.
Because when you have a boring restaurant,
you're not attracting people in.
I love that they also touched on
really wanting to cater to the locals.
That's a clue.
And I wanna get into the local culture
here in St. Croix.
Find some art and some cool things
I can bring back into this restaurant.
I need to get inspired.
And I need to really amp this place up.
[Nick] I'm here to meet Shay and Monty
and go over some reviews.
Honestly, they're not the best.
What I wanna get to today is to figure out
their brand and identity,
get to the root of why these nachos
are so bad,
and how to connect with their community.
I want go over some reviews with you guys.
Not always the most pleasant things,
but always things that we can work on.
"You would think a place
with the word 'nacho' in its name
would be somewhat skilled
at serving nachos.
Definitely not the case.
The view is amazing. Just stay away
from the nachos at Nacho's."
Nacho's my dog. So, it's not that the food
is part of the name of the place,
but we understand that
that's how people think.
That's what people see
when they look at the logo,
and that's what they're gonna expect.
They're gonna expect
the best nachos in St. Croix.
- Right.
- Review two.
"Worst food I've ever eaten. Seriously.
Great view.
Hot, horrible, loud, banging music.
Overpriced glop."
Hearing those reviews
just is disheartening.
The nachos, we've tried
different ways to try to improve on it.
We've tried cheese sauces.
We've used real cheese.
And we just haven't nailed it yet.
And we know that.
One of the items we've
talked about the most, the nachos.
The consistency is not there.
How do you handle the consistency
with the food?
[Monty] It's hard,
especially on the island,
because you can't get all
of the ingredients all the time.
They could be out of...
a certain cheese for a month.
You guys have had a tough run
with this business.
It was like running with a broken leg
off the beginning,
and it's tough to keep things consistent
or exactly the way you want it.
When we came here, we dealt with a lot.
We dealt with a lot.
This island dealt with a lot.
Going through the storms
and the repercussions of the storms,
I had a relationship end
and that hurt deep.
I have mixed feelings about it all.
But I've gotta move forward.
It's hard down here.
When I moved, I didn't know anyone.
I knew Monty, but I didn't know Monty.
I met him a couple times.
So, I came down here by myself.
Just to deal with, A,
a hurricane-ravaged island by yourself...
um, but then
everything that comes with that,
moving to an island, just personal life,
and it's hard.
You feel alone sometimes.
[Monty] There is that loneliness.
And, you know, Louie, my dog,
passed away a couple months.
That adds to it.
The stakes here at Louie & Nacho's
are really high for Shay and Monty.
If they lose this place,
they're gonna lose everything.
The desire to connect with the locals
here on the island is huge for us.
We don't just mean the Crucians.
We're talking about everyone
that lives here year round.
[Nick] How do you feel the locals
were perceiving you in the beginning?
I think they looked at us
as a couple of outsiders coming in,
trying to take over
some of their business.
We've lived here for a year and a half,
and this is my home.
And I feel like it's important for us
to connect to everybody in that regard.
What you guys have gone through
isn't easy.
But we have solutions.
We need to get you guys
more connected with the locals.
And for once and for all,
we're gonna have the best nachos
in the Caribbean.
- Cheers to that.
- I like that.
Thank you.
[Nick] I feel the revival
of this restaurant
is gonna give a whole new start
to both Monty and Shay.
They opened their hearts to me.
I wanna help them out
any way I possibly can.
[Dennis] After we had dinner
at the restaurant, I knew one thing.
They should be more local.
Today, we're gonna learn
from an expert, Chef Digby.
He is the poster boy for Caribbean food.
He's got restaurants here,
here's got restaurants in America,
and he knows this place
'cause it's where he's from.
There's a restaurant
we're working with,
and those guys are from DC,
and they brought the menu
from DC, essentially.
They recipe-tested it there,
and then they set it up here.
When I see restaurants come in,
they don't really invoke the local spirit,
the culture or anything like that.
I've seen a lot of them come,
and I've seen a lot of them go.
The good restaurants that come here,
it's the guys who come here,
gals who come here who,
they're working with farmers.
They go out there
to the fisherman's market
all the time to get fresh fish.
We have relationships with each other.
- So, it's more than just like a business.
- It's a community.
And that's what
food's about to me, community.
Yeah, 100%.
When you go for lobsters, you really wanna
get a snare, so you check this out.
So, the idea is
when you're under the rocks,
you're gonna get it over a tail,
- and you just pull on it.
- Okay.
And then you got him.
He ain't going nowhere.
- He's not going anywhere?
- He's going nowhere.
- [Dennis] You're just free-diving down.
- [Digby] Yeah, I'm gonna free-dive.
- Perfect.
- [Digby] And at the end of the day,
you're on a quest.
- Best of luck, man.
- All right, bro. Let's do it.
[Digby] You wanna make sure
whatever you bring up is the right size.
You're practicing sustainability,
and making sure that you're leaving
something for someone else.
[Dennis] At the restaurant,
they talked about how
when they had lobster
on the menu,
they literally couldn't sell enough of it.
People loved it.
Obviously, it needs to be
part of their menu.
Dude.
Got one.
It's a little dragon from under the sea.
This is what every restaurant
in the Caribbean needs on their menu.
[Digby] So, this is spiny-tailed lobster.
So, I know a lot of people
are used to seeing the lobster
- with the claws that you see up in Maine.
- [Dennis] Sure.
[Digby] This is what you find
in the Caribbean.
Mother Nature did all the work already.
It already has its saltiness,
it has its natural flavors.
He's gonna meet a grill tonight
and we're gonna eat him up
with some coconut oil
and some other local goodies.
[Dennis] We really need to use
what's local, available and seasonal.
What that means is eat
what's delicious when it's delicious.
And right here on St. Croix,
they import 97% of their food.
But there's an amazing amount
of deliciousness
hanging out right over there.
[Karin] Because decor shops
are so scarce here,
I have to bring color
into the restaurant in other ways.
I really wanna incorporate color
through photography.
Willard runs Guardians of Culture,
a Moko Jumbie dance troupe
that performs all over St. Croix.
I really want Monty and Shay to understand
what the Moko Jumbie is all about.
I don't know a lot,
other than you see 'em everywhere.
[Karin] I'm gonna do a photo shoot,
and we're throwing Monty and Shay
into this.
[Willard] Moko Jumbies,
or the stilt dancers,
really originated
on the continent of Africa.
The Africans were enslaved
and brought to the Caribbean.
With them, came their culture.
The plantation owners
did not allow the Africans
to practice their indigenous religions.
So, what they did is camouflage it.
And that is why today in the Caribbean,
including the Virgin Islands,
you see them in parades,
- carnivals, festivals, parties.
- Yep.
[Willard] And we take youngsters
from the time they're ten years old.
We train them in the artform.
As they get older and better,
they get to join the professional group.
One of you guys wanna try something?
Yeah. Shay's already volunteered.
- [Willard] He has?
- He's getting on the stilts.
[Shay] I did.
Put some stilts on these stilts.
[Willard] I'll see if I have a pair
to fit your small feet.
This is gonna be awesome.
Shay, you're getting down and dirty
on those stilts.
[Willard] Stand up straight.
- [Karin] Whoo!
- [Willard] How does that feel?
- Right. Next step.
- [man] I got him.
[Karin] I love seeing Shay
up on the stilts,
trying something new. He's having a blast.
- [Willard] Let's go.
- [man] Hey.
[Willard] Walk with him.
[Shay] The support is awesome.
I love this.
[all clapping]
This is actually fantastic for me,
just to learn more about this island.
Learn more about the culture
of this island, which I don't know.
[Karin] I don't wanna just go in
and take these photos
and put them on the walls and say,
"Hey, this is the connection."
I want Monty and Shay to be part of this,
so they can share their experience with
the people who come into the restaurant.
So, now that you've done that,
we're gonna see an actual performance.
[Nick] I'm here at the beach
in Frederiksted,
and I'm getting ready
to meet Tippy and Pressure.
These guys are cultural ambassadors here.
Tippy's gonna be a huge help.
He runs a popular music festival here.
And he's got a direct insight
into the heartbeat of Crucian culture.
Pressure's a local celebrity.
He's creating music
that's speaking to not only St. Croix,
but the entire Caribbean.
[Nick] At the end of the day,
Shay and Monty are not connected
with their community.
They may have one of the best views
in Frederiksted,
but let me tell you,
it's filled with empty seats.
I need to find out
what makes this place tick,
and, ultimately, what's gonna bring
the locals into Louie & Nacho's.
What's St. Croix all about?
St. Croix is a special place.
No place like it on Earth.
I've traveled a lot, and this little place
has a certain energy,
that's a cross of
so many different elements.
American, Caribbean, African.
Glad we could meet on the west side,
Frederiksted, also known as Freedom City.
[Nick] Freedom City.
Why do they call it that?
Former slave, a woman named Queen Mary,
led a rebellion down from the plantations
that were still existing
after slavery ended.
And she burned down the whole town...
- in protest of working conditions.
- She did?
[Tippy] And since then this area's always
known as a rebellious energy and spirit...
What's St. Croix mean to you?
It's that island in the Virgin Islands
that preserves a lot of the culture.
[Tippy] We're an American territory,
but fully Caribbean at the same time.
[Nick] I'm working with a place
just a stone's throw away.
Shay and Monty are
the owners of it, Louie & Nacho's.
I feel like they've really lost, not only
track of their brand and identity,
but, ultimately,
how to talk to the locals.
The local people,
they just want you to be yourself.
The people love that real energy.
[Nick] Yeah.
[Pressure] And that's what they go for.
Music and the things that you guys do
in your normal day lives,
you feel that brings a lot of positivity
- to the people on this island?
- [Pressure] Yeah.
People can't do without music.
You know, especially good music
inspire me to get up
and clean the house or build back my roof.
You know what I mean?
Or I'll go and help another one.
So, music is very important
in this community.
So, what I'm hoping is to create
some sort of an outdoor event with music,
where I can get Shay and Monty
into the mix,
and get them reconnected with community.
- [Pressure] Yeah.
- Music can definitely help with that.
- We could easily bridge the gap...
- Yeah.
...with these people
towards the restaurant.
The entrepreneurs who come in
can work with the local families
and the local energy that exists
to create something that will last,
and not just get blown away
when the next hurricane comes.
I'm really excited to see you guys
orchestrate a really cool party.
- We'll do what we can.
- Thank you so much, guys.
- Respect.
- I really appreciate it.
- Much love, man.
- Much love.
[Karin] We're gonna be watching
the Moko Jumbies dance.
I'm gonna go around, do a photo shoot,
and then I'm gonna take those photos
and incorporate that
into the restaurant decor.
Monty and Shay, they have no idea
that we're gonna turn this into art
and put in the restaurant.
This is great.
One, two, three.
Yes.
Stay there. Stay, stay, stay.
What I love the most about this
is that this is a simple solution
for creating artwork.
Anytime you go traveling, you can
pull out your phone, take a photo,
and that can become a really great
piece of art for your space.
[Shay] I'm very inspired by what
just happened today. This is fantastic.
It makes me wanna
just learn more about this island.
[Monty] And for the last year and a half,
we've been working hard trying to
get the restaurant up and running.
We haven't been able to spend the time
to come out to learn more
about the culture.
[Karin] I'm excited
that the Moko Jumbies' story
is gonna be carried into this restaurant,
but I'm more excited that
Monty and Shay were part of this.
[Dennis] Tonight, I'm getting
as local as it gets.
We're cooking up over a cauldron.
It's super awesome. We're making lobster.
So, we've got lobster.
You have a ton of local herbs here.
[Digby] Yeah.
This right here is bay rum leaves.
I've never smelled anything
like that before.
- [Digby] It's amazing.
- [Dennis] It's super unique.
This is perfect for fish.
- [Digby] Yeah.
- And you know what I love about this?
Local, local, local.
- [Digby] Yeah.
- Everything is local.
[Digby] I'mma pick stuff,
I'mma send it over,
- and you just start working in there.
- [Dennis] Do it.
Get some salt, so it starts
breaking down early.
- [Digby] It smells good.
- [Dennis] It smells fantastic.
This is the bay rum leaves. You see how
they start to squinch a little bit?
What that is as it's cooking,
the oils are releasing
and it's letting all that aromatic
into the lobster.
[Dennis] You know what my favorite thing
about this is?
It just screams local.
And that's a thing at the restaurant
that they don't have,
- that we're working at now.
- Yeah.
Two really good dudes. They just
brought a menu that doesn't work here.
What does a restaurant need to do here
with their food to connect with locals?
[Digby] Something as simple
as adding lobster to your menu,
fresh mahi, goat, lamb.
There's so much stuff that it offers here,
you know what I mean?
[Dennis] I've eaten lobster
my entire life, but never like this.
Never cooked over a fire.
Never in the Caribbean.
Never with a rockstar diving chef.
[Digby] That's good food, bro.
- And you grew up eating this?
- [Digby] Yeah.
After today, I know that lobster
is obviously gonna be on the menu.
It just has to be.
So I'm gonna do a lobster roll,
but I'm gonna infuse it
with Caribbean flavors.
Food is love.
[Dennis] Food is love.
Food is happiness. It's joy.
[Digby] Cheers.
The white paint at Louie & Nacho's
has gone up, and it looks so good.
This was a home run.
That beachy bar feel is coming together,
but the restaurant needs
more island flavor.
And for that, I'm going
a few steps outside to the beach.
I'm out here today, meeting up
with Whaelan and Kris
who make jewelry
from something called chaney.
[Whaelan] How are you doing?
I'm here because I'm redesigning
a restaurant called Louie & Nacho's.
- It's a great Sunday spot.
- We have.
- [Karin] You go there?
- Yeah.
We will oftentimes on a Sunday afternoon
go down and watch the sunset.
The owners, Monty and Shay,
really wanna infuse the restaurant
with more local flavor.
I can understand that, for sure.
[Karin] Yeah?
[Whaelan] Our main reason for this
is spectacular view
and myself limited to one of their dishes,
which is the island boy rice and beans.
- Thank you very much.
- [Karin and Kris laugh]
- However it comes, I'll take it.
- Yeah.
So, I was hoping that
I could spend some time with you.
You can teach me about chaney,
and that might be inspiration for bringing
some art or decor back to the restaurant.
We have a strong history
of the Danish occupation,
the British, the French,
who, back in the 1700s,
traded china, and a lot was brought
into the island.
[Kris] When ships docked,
anything that had broken on their crossing
they would toss overboard,
so they didn't have to pay taxes on it.
[Whaelan] The word "chaney"
is really is a corruption of the words
"china" and "money."
The kids would use the pieces found
as play money.
[Karin] This almost looks like
it could have come
from a teacup or something like that.
Or a bowl. It had a journey.
It had a story that you don't know about.
[Karin] There's almost a sense of mystery
with it, right?
- [Whaelan] Oh, yes.
- Yeah.
Do you think I'm headed
in the right direction here,
where locals will really know
what chaney is?
- Definitely.
- Absolutely.
[Whaelan] The wares
that we find fragments
are a range from platters to chamber pots.
- That right there. The blue.
- [Karin] Oh, yeah.
- [Whaelan] There we go!
- [Kris] That's a piece of chaney.
That's awesome.
- [Kris] There's a little house.
- [Whaelan] Look at the little image on it.
A little house.
- It looks like this would be really old.
- Mission accomplished.
- That's real chaney.
- Mission accomplished.
- So, now, we go home? Is that it?
- No, there's more to get.
[Kris] No, the whole beach.
[Kris] There aren't a lot of materials
on the island,
so I love that I'm finding decor
literally on the beach.
I found some great pieces
of sea glass and chaney.
And I've got a little collection now
that I wanna turn into some artwork
and bring back to the restaurant.
[Dennis] Right now, Monty and Shay's
nachos lack that kick of St. Croix flavor.
And one thing I know about the Caribbean
and that is that they celebrate
hot pepper sauce.
I'm meeting Alvin, an award-winning chef,
who's considered the king of hot sauce.
Spice is a part of our life,
and I can show you exactly what I do.
Here we have some
Scotch bonnet peppers, papaya...
- [Dennis] So, you go hard.
- I go hard.
'Cause Scotch bonnets are hardcore, man.
[Alvin] Yes. If you know how to balance
your pepper sauce,
it will come out tasting right.
[Dennis] I wanna incorporate a hot sauce
into at least one dish at the restaurant,
because a hot sauce screams St. Croix.
Oh, wow! My nose is flooded.
- Can I taste this?
- [Alvin] Sure.
[Dennis] Here we go.
All right, cheers.
That's what we're talking about.
[Alvin] The papaya. The pepper.
You're having a different reaction.
That is one of the spiciest things
I've ever eaten in my life.
I need more.
[laughing]
[Alvin] Not hot enough at all.
Good night.
- We're working with a restaurant here.
- [Alvin] Mmm-hmm.
[Dennis] At Louie & Nacho's.
And right now, you look at the menu,
they're not really doing Caribbean food.
They know they need to.
Because they know that they want locals
to come into the restaurant.
How important is hot sauce
to Caribbean food?
90% of the people
in the Caribbean, as far as I know,
eat hot sauce.
So, I think restaurants should definitely
do more Caribbean-flavored food
because that's why folks
come to the Caribbean.
They want a taste of the Caribbean.
[Dennis] I heard that you've won
some awards.
[Alvin] Yes, Alvin's Hot Sauce
won 12 international awards.
I think I got more medals than Usain Bolt.
[both laughing]
- Yeah, but he can run faster.
- He can run faster.
He probably eats your hot sauce
before he runs.
[Alvin] All right.
You're gonna love that.
- Smells great.
- [Alvin] Yes.
[Dennis] That is still very hot.
[chuckling]
- But it's not nearly as hot as that one.
- Yes.
Something like this needs to be
incorporated into the dishes
at the restaurant.
This would taste beautiful with fish,
with chicken.
I can see using this as a marinade.
It would be great cut with things
like sour cream, as a sauce on the side.
Yes, definitely.
[Dennis] That was delicious.
And knowing that I can throw together
a hot sauce that tastes like here,
with five or six ingredients in a blender,
and that it hits all the markers
of what Louie & Nacho's wanna do,
and it's something
Monty and Shay can pull off?
That's really inspiring.
[Nick] The logo here at Louie & Nacho's
doesn't tell me
what this business is about.
It's just like any other logo I've seen
at any other beach town.
So, let's make some sense of it.
Something's gotta really say
what Louie & Nacho's is.
It's two dogs. We're on the beach.
We want it to be light and bright,
and we want it to pop.
I got a new logo designed
for Louie & Nacho's.
It's got both dogs on it,
it's got a beachy feel,
and it's gonna appeal to
more of an adult, edgier crowd.
It's definitely gonna drive
more business in this place.
[reggae music playing]
[Nick] I've taken Shay and Monty
to a local dub party
to show off their new logo
and connect them with their community.
Essentially, what I've done is I've
rebranded your place with a new logo.
I got some stickers made.
We're gonna put it on cups,
and it's gonna act as a liquid invitation
tonight at the party.
Tippy and Pressure,
these guys I've been hanging out with?
They're the guys that help
put this event on tonight.
The whole point of this party, guys,
is being able to interact
with the community
and talk to them and tell them your story,
who you guys are, everything that
you've been going through,
the sunshine
that's at the end of the tunnel.
And I just need you guys shaking hands
and kissing babies.
- All right?
- [Shay] Yeah. Let's do it.
- [Nick] And handing out cocktails.
- [Shay] Yeah.
At first, I feel like
everyone's wondering who we were.
But as we started handing out drinks
and showing people the new logo
and talking up the restaurant,
I feel like we really connected
with a lot of different people.
[Nick] This isn't a recipe
that only works here in St. Croix,
but any restaurant in the world.
If you're not connected
with your local community,
you're never gonna be successful
in your business.
I don't care how many tourists
are coming to your spot
for that great view that you have.
If you're not connected
with your local community,
they will never support it.
[Shay] That was a fantastic time.
Having Pressure and Tippy there
just getting the crowd rolling,
serving drinks,
meeting all the people there,
it was fantastic. I had a blast.
I had so much fun.
[Nick] Just watching Monty and Shay
interact with these guests
and these people that I know
that they've never met before,
they were genuinely really happy
and excited about it.
And that's the energy we want.
And we have this unbelievable way to
introduce a new brand with a new identity,
something that Shay and Monty
didn't have before.
I have to say, guys, I've had
a really constructive past couple days.
This new logo is awesome.
I've designed it
to incorporate their dogs,
which is what Louie & Nacho's
is actually named after.
We've got stickers made.
We've got some blue ones.
- [Karin] Nice.
- [Nick] We've got some black ones.
I want a sticker.
[Nick] And these stickers,
they played a huge part
in what I did with Monty and Shay.
We had a party.
We were putting them on the glasses
and we were giving away free cocktails.
And it forced Monty and Shay
to get connected
with their community.
They were talking to people
that they had never talked to before
and never met before.
And when I was at this reggae party,
my wheels really got turning.
And what I thought was,
we have a perfect opportunity
to relaunch this place with a big party,
our last night.
To promote the new food,
to promote the decor,
Shay and Monty's new life and new brand.
Speaking of a party for the locals...
This is for you.
I'm gonna give this one to you.
I'm gonna put this one on.
[Nick] These are beautiful.
- Beautiful hats. Yeah.
- Aren't these great?
Pose for me.
Oh, my God! One De Niro.
- Nice.
- These look great.
These hats are the Moko Jumbie hats.
Moko Jumbies are dancers.
Shay actually got up on stilts.
This is a photo of Shay...
- [Nick] That's so cool.
- ...just having the best time.
There's joy just completely covering him.
So, if you guys imagine the space
completely painted white.
I need to layer in some artwork.
And I really wanna take these photos,
frame those,
and use that as decor pieces.
In my opinion, there's nothing better
than being on the beach,
looking at an incredible view,
with a cocktail in hand
and sitting on a swing.
That sounds amazing.
I wanna incorporate a swing set
into the restaurant.
It's gonna be a fun experience
for the guests.
Whether it's a tourist or a local,
it gives people the opportunity
to get engaged and wanna take pictures.
It's kind of like
a little Instagram moment.
- [Nick] Yeah.
- [Karin] Check this out.
This is essentially beach treasure.
This is called chaney.
And this comes from old chinaware
that was broken and ended up in the ocean
when ships were coming across the sea.
And it washed up to shore.
You find them on the shore.
You find them inland.
The cool thing is that
they talked a lot about
how hard it was to source things here.
You're sourcing this.
You're literally just finding this
and reclaiming it, right?
That's so cool.
It's like, "Use what's around you."
Use what's available and make it
beautiful, and that's what you're doing.
[Karin] Exactly.
What's missing at Louis & Nacho's
is any St. Croix in the menu,
and a big part of that is hot sauce.
Do you like hot sauce?
Oh. Holy... oh, my gosh.
That's hot!
It's got some spice.
Is your soul on fire right now?
A little bit?
You've got a drink here.
So, I made hot sauce
from scratch with Alvin.
I wanna make
a scratch-made hot sauce for them,
something that they can make in-house,
batch-make it. It'll last for weeks.
And down the road, they might even
be able to bottle it.
You guys remember
talking to Shay and Monty,
and they were talking about
food sourcing, right?
I learned that 97% of the food
in this country is imported.
I met a dude, Chef Digby.
He free-dove to catch lobster.
There is so much food here,
they're just not utilizing it
in the way that they can be.
The ocean is plentiful
and you can fish sustainably.
I wanna do a lobster roll.
I wanna flavor it with Caribbean flavors.
You know I love nachos.
I feel they're the best thing in the world
to share with friends and family.
Just make those nachos properly.
So, hot sauce, some jerk-style chicken,
house-made sauces on top of it.
And there's a huge Rasta community here,
people who eat vegan food.
That's what they celebrate.
That's what they want.
So, I wanna make a great vegan dish,
probably, I'm thinking like a curry,
maybe some sweet potato,
maybe black bean,
some nice rice on the side.
I'm excited. How about you?
I love all these ideas.
I love how this is coming together.
- And my tongue is still on fire.
- [all laughing]
[Karin] We've got a ton of work to do.
Let's get at it.
Today is our last day
for the transformation.
And not only is it the last day,
it's the last afternoon.
This looks awesome!
[man] Yeah, it was a great idea.
The swing set we're building,
You could build that swing set,
put it in your backyard.
We're bringing it into a restaurant.
How cool is that?
This looks pretty sturdy.
Yeah, they're very strong.
I kind of wanna swing off of it.
- Yeah, you--
- Can I try?
- [man] Yeah, go for it.
- I can, right?
[man] Yeah, go for it.
- [Karin] Nice.
- [man] Yeah, very strong.
[Karin] I think Shay and Monty are gonna
be floored when they see the space
from the bro shack
to a beautiful St. Croix beach shack.
No. Really? [sighs]
Almost like... not a twine, but, you know,
like a rope that has got some...
This is really kind of slippery.
Okay. I'm stressing out because my swings,
which are one of the main features
of this design for the restaurant
are just not coming together.
In the morning, I'll help you.
- We'll just loop it really fast.
- It'll be real easy.
- We'll throw the boards on, and then done.
- Yeah.
- 'Cause we're already there. Yeah.
- Yeah.
This was completely, man, overengineered,
and it became a construction project
in and of itself.
What I wanted for these swings
is something super simple,
it's supposed to be effortless
and beachy. That's the whole vibe.
It's the fun design feature
of the restaurant.
If it doesn't look right,
everybody's gonna notice that.
Bye.
It's the morning of, and thank God...
We went to the hardware store,
and they had 100 feet of rope,
the exact rope that I needed.
I like this rope way better, though.
- I do, too.
- [Karin] Yeah.
The contrast with the white...
Yeah, it looks good.
Not only are Monty and Shay
going to see what we've done
for the first time tonight,
we're also setting up for
the grand relaunch of Louie & Nacho's.
[Nick] I have a lot of work to do today
for tonight's event.
And one thing I love doing,
and the way I work best
is when I'm working on the fly.
And I've got this unutilized space
behind me
that's just really never been used.
This relaunch party
is gonna be such an important part
of their marketing strategy
because they have a second chance
to make the best impression possible.
[man] How does it look?
Looks good. Looks good.
[Karin] When Shay and Monty
opened Louie & Nacho's,
they had a dream.
But then the hurricane came through
and turned their lives
and business upside down.
They weren't connecting
to their local community
and that put them in danger
of losing everything.
But that's about to change.
Wow, look at that!
[Shay] Holy cow!
Wow, this is great!
Dude, this is fantastic.
[Monty] Totally not what I was expecting.
[Shay] Look at the logo.
- [Monty] Yeah, that's cool.
- [Shay] Louie & Nacho.
Yep. That's awesome.
- There you are, right there.
- [Shay laughs]
[Monty] Big boy on stilts.
- Monty! Shay!
- [Monty] Hi.
- [Karin] How are you?
- [Shay] Oh, man!
- Nice to see you.
- [Shay] This is amazing!
[Karin] Really?
[Shay] This is fantastic.
[Monty] It's so bright
and feels even more open.
So, clearly, everything is all white.
Big paint job.
So, you notice of the front of bar.
[Monty] Yes. That was the first thing
I saw when I walked up.
You've got these great columns.
And I know you were worried about putting
too much stuff up to distract people.
But I actually think having a little bit
of artwork is really nice.
[Monty] I agree.
- I saw the Moko Jumbie way back there.
- You saw the Moko Jumbies?
Yes. Exactly.
[Shay] And me on there.
I was like, "Oh, man!"
- Yeah, right? It's fun.
- It is.
I love the chaney.
- [Karin] The chaney's great.
- [Shay] It's so good.
[Karin] And the locals
will recognize it right away.
I just have it all
sitting at home everywhere.
I would love to do this.
[Monty] I see you kept
the "Peace, Love and Happy Hour" sign.
Gotta have peace, love and happy hour.
That's cool for us
because one of our friends gave us that
as our opening gift.
We've refinished your bar.
[Shay] It's like a 180 of the shape
it was in, too.
And then my personal favorite part
of this is the swings.
There's a good story behind that one, too.
It's so funny,
because I really wanted to do swings.
- We talked about that.
- [Karin] Really?
- Yeah.
- Before we opened it up.
[Karin] No. You guys gotta test them out.
Oh, man.
[Karin] Are you worried it's gonna fall?
For me? Yes.
- No.
- [all laughing]
Just wait till the little kids
from next door come out.
- [Karin] Right.
- They're gonna love it.
It's nice, but at the same time
you can come up in your flip-flops
and not feel out of place.
And that's exactly what I wanted it to be.
- I'm so happy you guys like it.
- Yeah.
- Great.
- It's very cool.
[Dennis] The story of these three dishes
is the story of Monty and Shay
needing to connect with St. Croix.
That's what you're tasting on the plate.
I know Monty and Shay are gonna love it,
'cause they already love
this kind of food.
They love comfort food.
They love food that makes sense on a beach
and they love food
that makes people happy.
So, they're gonna dig it for sure.
But then all these new people coming in
are gonna love it, too. It's a win-win.
- Who's hungry?
- Nice!
- Looks beautiful.
- My gosh.
- Love it.
- [Monty] Beautifully plated.
- [Karin] Ohh!
- [Monty] Good.
- [Dennis] Okay.
- [Karin] Hey!
Nachos!
[Shay] Man!
I loved hanging out with you guys,
eating with you.
You make comfort food.
And that makes my heart happy
'cause I love comfort food.
You wanted to get locals in here and
have them be represented on the menu.
So, that's what we rolled with.
First up, this is a vegan dish.
Sweet potatoes, jerk in there,
black bean curry, coconut rice.
People are gonna love this vegan dish.
- Yeah.
- It's really good.
You guys have so many lobsters
living right out there.
Everyone loves lobster and lobster rolls.
Hot lobster rolls with a Caribbean twist.
There's curry, turmeric, garlic.
Lime in here, as well.
It's so good.
Last but not least, nachos.
It is the tailor-made dish
for friends and family.
I just took those nachos
and jacked it up a notch.
Jerk chicken, pico de gallo, guacamole,
spiked sour cream, beautiful cheese...
And people here like hot sauce.
It's so easy to make. I literally
made this in a blender 20 minutes ago.
And I think you guys should have
your own hot sauce,
a Louie & Nacho's Hot Sauce
that you serve, in-house.
The nachos and the salsa,
- everything is fantastic.
- Yeah.
It's fresh.
And that's what you want.
The first bite
is that fresh taste of pico,
and it's delicious.
- [Shay] I love the hot sauce.
- And the vegan dish,
I think you're right, this will really
speak to the local community here.
We have an unbelievable
opportunity tonight.
Between the new food, the new decor,
we have tons of people outside
to introduce them
to a whole new brand and identity.
Oh, my God. I love it.
The food is delicious, the room is hot,
there's people outside...
- It's time to party.
- [Shay] Yeah.
So, before we go down to the party,
I just wanna say thank you, guys,
because it's been
an awesome experience for us.
And it's cool to see
what this place can be.
We're excited to make that happen.
One of the most amazing experiences
I've ever had.
And it's been fantastic.
You guys were so much fun.
Thank you for trusting us completely.
I think you guys have a really cool,
new Louie & Nacho's.
Let's party!
- Yes.
- Let's do it.
[reggae music playing]
[Shay] I'm very inspired.
Honestly, from this point on,
I wanna keep this restaurant building.
I wanna keep it growing.
I wanna keep the locals
coming here more and more.
And I just want them to feel
as excited about it as we are.
[Monty] Now is the time that we
not only wanna get people here,
but we've gotta be back out
in the community more.
Viewed in the community as people
that are here to make a difference.
[Karin] This was the best DIY project
that I could've ever taken on.
[Dennis] The food story
at Louie & Nacho's for me now
is the story of Monty and Shay.
It's St. Croix.
[Nick] I'm really excited
for Shay and Monty
and the success that lies ahead
for Louie & Nacho's.
[theme music playing]