Extraordinary Stories From An Ordinary Guy: The "One Case Of Coke, One Case Of Sprite, And One Case Of Heineken" Story

It was an ordinary day. Sitting in a brightly painted beach bar on Orient Beach having a plate of ribs and drink with my wife, Carol.

Pedro's Beach Bar on Orient Beach

The beach bar happens to be one of the most popular, oldest, most energetic and iconic beach bars on the island of St. Martin. This beach bar goes by the name of Pedro's and first opened in the early 1970's on the far south side of Orient Beach where the world famous Club Orient, the beach's nude section, is now located. Pedro first set up shop with one case of Coke, one case of Sprite and one case of Heineken, serving drinks and BBQ lunches to the guests of nearby Le Galion hotel and beach who might walk over the hill from the hotel for some skinny dippin' and nude sunbathing in the waters of Orient Beach.

Doorway into Pedro's Beach Bar.

Then, in the mid-1970s, a Dutch fellow, Reint Brink, set out from Holland in search of a place to open a clothing optional resort on the island of Sint Maarten/St. Martin. Chartered a plane and while flying over Orient Beach realized there were already nude people enjoying the beach. He bought the land and named it Club Orient. He made a deal with Pedro and moved him to his current location so Reint could open his own restaurant, what is now known as Papagayos. Reint also included water and electricity in his deal with Pedro. Just so happens that Pedro's is now in the location where the cruise ship passengers are dropped off for a day on Orient Beach.

Pedro grilling his famous ribs.

Many of those day trippers find their way to Pedro's for lunch. As Carol and I ate our lunch, we began a conver- sation with the couple next to us and found they were from New Orleans and had arrived that morning on a cruise ship. Our waitress for the day, Dernel, was a real sweetheart and helped me get photos of many of the staff and then helped me get a photo of Pedro while he was grilling a batch of ribs, his signature menu item. Talked to Pedro a bit and then took a photo of him with his sister Elise. Well, for almost 50 years now Pedro has been grilling incredible Caribbean-style ribs and chicken for the patrons who have grown to love Pedro's on Orient Beach. Try it some time and I promise you that you'll return again and again for this island treat. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - Check out the YouTube video of Pedro's Beach Bar.