Extraordinary Stories From An Ordinary Guy: The "Little Seaside Boxes All In A Row

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

The "Little Seaside Boxes All In A Row - Part 2" Story

The destruction of Andy & Cheryl's Baywatch
after Hurricane Gonzalo in October of 2014.

It was an ordinary day. Sitting in what is known as Andy & Cheryl's Baywatch for probably the last time eating our "Mussels ala Andy". Last October Hurricane Gonzalo struck the island of St. Martin/Sint Maarten in the Caribbean and did major damage. Along the north-eastern corner of the island the storm caused heavy damage to the little seaside boxes which line the south end of Orient Beach.

The original Baywatch on Orient Beach, St. Martin, FWI.

Each box is a unique little restaurant with its own flavor and style as well as its own special list of menu items. Andy & Cheryl's Baywatch was one of those little boxes. About 30 years ago Andy Susko opened a small beach bar in Grand Case, a small town to the northwest of Orient Beach. He eventually moved his business to Orient and along with his wife Cheryl opened his little box along Orient Beach.

License plates line the ceiling in Baywatch. The CAW-LWW
plate at one time was on our 1987 red Corvette. We donated
it to Andy so we could have a little piece of our history in Baywatch.

Carol and I discovered it in the early 2000s and made it a must stop a few times on each of our journeys to the island. Baywatch moved at one time into another little seaside box in order to give them more space. Baywatch's uniqueness was apparent with the bright sky-blue and yellow paint and license plates from all over the USA nailed to the ceiling beams in the seaside box as well as the menu item "Mussels ala Andy", one of our favorites. Then in 2013 Andy passed and Cheryl took over running the seaside box. Within a year or so the storm struck and laid ruin to the seaside box.

Cheryl and Andy

If you read my story from yesterday you know that all the seaside boxes will be demolished soon and rebuilt as four modular buildings, offering all the current box owners a chance to return to one of the restaurant spots in the buildings. Will Andy & Cheryl's Baywatch return or will it be just a past memory for all who frequented the quirky little box? Carol and I hope it will back, but who can tell. The flair and novelty that each seaside box offered may not be able to be duplicated in the new offerings that will be built. When we return next year to our favorite beach destination we will have a chance to see what has replaced the little seaside boxes that were the draw for the southern end of Orient Beach. We hope the character of the beach remains as well as everyone's favorites. Only time will tell. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

PS - A few days before our return home we saw Cheryl and her fiancé enjoying themselves in the warm waters near her place of business. We greeted each other and after introductions another member of the group asked Cheryl about the proposed move to another place. She seemed very upset about the impending move and didn't want to talk about it. I said I had heard they delayed the demolition to the middle of June. Then I asked if she saw what the place was going to look like after being rebuilt. She was surprised about the comment and I told her where she could find the link to view the proposed drawing. After a short time we all said our farewells and departed.