ST. THOMAS — Bert Golderblom came to St. Thomas from Amsterdam with his girlfriend for a month-long vacation.
But Golderblom never expected that he would be standing in line at a Red Hook grocery store Sunday, trying to buy necessities just a few days after Hurricane Irma ravaged the island.
“I’ve spoken to many people here on the islands,” said Golderblom as he stood in line outside of Moe’s Fresh Market with his girlfriend, Lida Vegel. “Some of them have been through hurricane after hurricane after hurricane, and they’ve seen nothing like this.”
Moe’s Fresh Market was one of several businesses in the Red Hook area — on the eastern end of St. Thomas — that took advantage of the curfew window to open for business Sunday.
Also open was the Fresh Mart convenience store, located in the IGY Marinas/American Yacht Harbor complex in Red Hook; and one restaurant, Bernie’s Bar and Grill, also in the IGY Marinas complex.
While Fresh Mart suffered some water damage to its interior, as well as damage to its signage out front, owner Karim Salem said that he’s been able to get some supplies — primarily water and other items.
“We were able to open some Thursday, but they closed us down,” Salem said, referring to the National Guard enforcing the curfew — which is lifted daily from noon to 6 p.m. — imposed by Gov. Kenneth Mapp.
“But the people appreciate me being open. They come and hug me because they really need stuff,” Salem said. “They didn’t have anything. That’s why they’ve been bringing me new stuff to stock. It’s different things every day. But it’s tough right now.”
Bernie’s Bar and Grill, which opened several months ago, was doing big business at its bar. But manager Mark Edwards also said they have been giving hot food away to whoever wanted it.
“We’ve just been handing out food,” Edwards said. “Ourselves, XO Bistro and Island Time Pub put all of our fridges together and we’ve been handing out food. Not selling — handing it out, just trying to get people a hot meal. For some, it’s been the first hot meal they’ve eaten in days.
“We’re just trying to give people a meeting place, a place to step away from their problems. Some have lost their homes or their boats, and we really wanted to give them a place to congregate.”
