The imposing and luxury Anguillian-owned da’Vida Restaurant at Crocus Bay, is the island’s newest classy cuisine facility with seventeen well-experienced staff members serving a growing number of patrons on two shifts. The attractive structure, which is to be further developed on the top floor, complements the long-established Lloyd’s Guest House in the historic Upper Valley. There is also a small villa development at Crocus Bay neatly tucked away in the northern corner of the beach opposite the new restaurant which had a soft opening on April 30, ahead of its formal grand commissioning in the near future.

The Beautifully-Constructed Da Vida Restaurant

A work of excellence and creativity, da Vida has come in the 50th Anniversary of Lloyd’s Guest House, Anguilla’s first attempt at hotel development in 1959 by the late David Lloyd ably supported by his wife, the late Nurse Vida Lloyd. The restaurant also stands in the place of an original building constructed there by Mr. Lloyd. “It is a dream re-visited,” Vida C. Lloyd-Richardson, their daughter, told The Anguillian. “In terms of its concept, my brother, David, has a real affinity for Crocus Bay. He has come here from a child and likes the bay. It is very unusual with the guys playing dominoes under the tamarind tree and the men still drawing their seines. It is very old Anguilla and David likes that. There was a property here before and the way we look at it, is that a dream is being re-visited and upgraded. David’s idea was to put something there that is very eco-friendly: lots of wood, sand and light colours and open.” Construction work started a year ago during which time there were many Anguillian and regional workers on the project, including wood craftsmen from St. Vincent.

Mrs. Lloyd-Richardson, otherwise known by her middle name, Christine, also stated with much delight that the design work and the project were managed by her husband, Clyde Richardson, who worked in the real estate business in Miami for many years where he developed a liking for exquisite building and open spaces.

The drive-way to da’Vida is impressive from the big beautifully cut rock bearing the property’s name, to the very high wooden archway under which a courteous valet worker drives the vehicles of guests to the nearby spacious parking lot. A water fall leads the way past the open kitchen, with its striking array of gleaming equipment, into the attractively-furnished restaurant with rows of tables and relaxing cushioned lounge areas stretching across the full 108 feet of the dining deck. The 17,000 square-foot building has a 60,000-gallon cistern. To the west is the great expanse of the sea punctuated in the inshore waters by small fishing vessels and on the beach, near the foundation of the building, is a line of inviting chairs and umbrellas adding to the glamour, comfort and customer-friendliness of the property.

Executives and staff on day shift

“Right now we are going to start out with this main restaurant, offering dining and lounge, Mrs. Lloyd-Richardson said. “We have a full bar and a full kitchen. The building is multi-faceted. Upstairs, we have the same amount of space and the exact layout and that will be for special events and catered functions. We already have several weddings booked… and we will be going on to that phase next, in terms of completion. We have a wine cellar which will be completed by the end of the season.”

She went on: “My job right now is the general management of the operations but I have a group that I am very, very confident in. My Chef is Guy Gumbs, a local gentleman, very rounded and experienced, with a passion for cooking; the Operations Manager is Shirlene Woods, who is responsible for Food and Beverage; Brian Reid is the Sommelier; Alex Smith is the Food and Beverage Night Manager; Celia Connor is the Accounting Manager; and Veronica Connor is the Facilities Manager. We have a very nice staff of about 17 because we have two shifts, day and night.

“We will serve lunch from 11.00 am-3.00 pm; dinner 6.00 -9.30 and in between we will serve tapas (small portions) to persons who want to sit, relax and enjoy the sunset or just being close to the beach. We have a full tapas menu from 4 - 9. We are trying to develop a very good wine selection… and then, as we go towards the wine cellar, we will expand our service. We look at our menu as a fusion, Caribbean-base with other concepts."

Staff members on night shift

Vida C. Lloyd-Richardson is a professionally-trained Healthcare Worker, having walked in her mother’s footsteps. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing with a Minor in Psychology. After some years in the field, she went into the hotel industry. “In hospitality, I did human resource management and so the only difference was 'well' people in the hotels and sick people at the hospital,” the soft-spoken personage concluded. “My theme is still people so I made that transition and that’s my life. I always enjoy interfacing with people – be it in women’s ministry or whatever. I am very comfortable dealing with people.”

Her brother, David, is a very modest gentleman, avoiding the limelight but, according to his admiring sister, he is a person of great vision. “David is like a gentle giant because he is always thinking how to take the gift of hospitality we were given and make it work in different areas. So what he does at Lloyd’s Aviation is a hospitality service, but he has added his Lloyd brand to it. Whatever he does, hospitality is paramount, but he is very quiet person.”
The busy Anguillian pilot, who rarely flies, caters to the arrivals, departures and other service needs of executive jet aircraft flying in on charters from the United States and other places - transporting the “rich and famous” to and from Anguilla.

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