Pop-up bar appears set for big crowds
(CNS): With what appears to be well over 250 sun loungers, dozens of picnic tables, cabanas and many other seating units, a new pop-up resort on Dart property along Seven Mile Beach seems set to cater to significant crowds. Located between the Dart family home and Royal Palms, Coral Beach is due to formally open Friday and looks as though its target audience is largely cruise ship passengers.
While the private area above the high water mark was previously for the exclusive use of tenants at Camana Bay, the Dart Group has sub-let the beach area to a bar owner. CNS has attempted to contact the owner about the bar’s capacity and how it will charge people to use the facilities, and we are awaiting a response.
CNS popped down to the pop-up bar this week, which was open for business but had few takers, even though it is still free, while Royal Palms appeared to be packed to capacity as always. Staff were unable to say how much customers will be paying to use the facilities, though the beach bar and restaurant menu was not significantly more expensive than other local waterfront bars in the area.
Those leasing the new pop-up venue, who are providing beach resort facilities as well as operating a bar, have packed the area with seating and loungers, which, when CNS visited, were laid side by side down to the water’s edge across Seven Mile Beach and well beyond the previous gated-off private area.
The pop-up bar was given planning permission earlier this year and is meant to be a three-year temporary operation. The third party leasing the location has not been publicised but is said to be a well known local businessman and a politically connected family. In a release about what was described as a low impact facility, Dart said it was still considering future options for the site as part of the overall master plan for Camana Bay.
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
Caymanians. Their own worst enemies.
Who is the political member that has leased it from DART?
…and how is that not a conflict of interest?
2:43, Of course it is a conflict of interest, but in Cayman it does not matter as developers rule.
There isn’t one. Request a copy of the lease if you man
Was stamp duty paid on it?
You funny.
This is progress at its best…..only a selected few and well connected families will benefit. Same thing will happen at the new port and the Savannah bypass extension.
7:58, The same thing happened with the airport. That is why the Canadians lost out resulting in the nonsense we have now at the airport without jet bridges.
Eh?
It has been opened to soften the blow of the impending closure of Royal Palms.
when is that?..or are you just stirring crap?
Lol. And the last person here just found out Palms is closing. Breaking news; Calicos is closing too. All to be replaced by souless empty ‘Coccolobos’. Great.
when??
Any one know the difference between a Pop up Bar and a Bar?
One pops up and one doesn’t.
Correct me if I’m wrong but it’s similar to the difference between a potty and a portapotty
How about making the George Town Centre “pedestrian only” Tuesdays through Thursdays and approve pop-up bars, restaurants and farmers stands?
…and use donkeys to move people around.
Do you have any more ideas?
Absolute fool!
Yeah – It’s call vision and traffic management.
Individuals just like you helped to create the mess that is George Town.
You couldn’t even organise a piss up in a brewery much less find a solution to “move people” other than suggesting donkeys which shows how outdated your thinking is.
Move along dingbat!
one is for dads, the other for sheep.
hopefully caymanians and the anti-dart brigade boycott the place….
fingers crossed….
Done and done.
If you feel this strongly against Caymanians, you really should try somewhere else.
why…they are are only a minority irritation at this point….
Still not going anywhere though…
What a great idea to enhance our tourism product. Makes sense to me that when the dock is built more tourists will come and you then need the additional space for the tourists to enjoy the beautiful beach.
Duh!! Dart is going to take then straight from the ship dock to the private beaches. No nett benefit for the local community or business, with exception of the same old family cartels.
Dart’s water taxis soon come.
Let’s hope so.
Now there’s a great idea
Yea, DARTBOT is still alive.
Welcome back from vacation.
@ 2:42 pm Who did you sell your soul to? Or whose a$$ are you kissing and why? Open your personal home for tourists to enhance tourism product.
May I suggest a wireless fence for stubborn dogs ($300 on Amazon) to keep the cruise ship tourist within the confines of the pop-up bar.
Keep the dollars confined! Momma didn’t raise no fool! Haha
You can contact your esteemed West Bay elected representative as he is the owner.
Essentially, yes. Legally, no.
“A politically connected family” says it all.
We are trashing our biggest tourist asset. We must never stop the Carnival, line our shores with thousands of cruise sheep, and line the pockets of our government connected mandarins with hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Shame on Cayman!.
Da rise up soon come i.
Agree with you on chairs being behind the vegetation line. However, those benefitting from that setup are locals. Question some of your elected members in parliament, specially the speaker. But, then you may not get an honest answer, check it out anyway.
SPL? ACC?
LOL.
DART should show he understands CaymanKind and open up his entire residence, for free, to the cruise ship crowds.
Are you truly stupid, or do you just like writing stupid comments?
Naw just having fun with the corrupt comedy show!
Why so sad?
Just like all the “native” Caymanians do?
Yes caymankind…. anti gay, anti expat, anti anything unless it’s born Caymanian, so it should be Cayman kind to its own
Like the fella across the street from the Waterfront Centre?
He does understand it – that’s why he has given the concession to a “politically connected “ individual.
and here come the usual anti-dart comments……
Clearly Kenneth Dart does not understand environmental sustainability on our island.
A 50 storey building coming next year. What absolute nonsense.
wrong. dart has the best environmetal track record of any developer in cayman ever.
8:03, if that is so, then make the environmental case for a 50 storey building? Environmental lunacy by any measure on a dinky island such as Grand Cayman.
We should not allow on Grand Cayman buildings larger than 10 storeys. I am not against development, but 10 storeys is high enough for this tiny island. We don’t need this place to become Miami Beach Caribbean.
Where is the laugh button when you need one😂😂😂😂
…just saying shit.
Would these not interfere with turtle nesting?
Absolutely! But we already know Dart doesn’t give a flying F%$# about the environment.
9.30am Not so much as our home grown poachers.
The amount of chairs suggest large amount of cruise ship passengers, they are horribly tightly packed together and past the vegetation line, the next storm should remove them and their chains. the admissions hut at the front and toilet facilities suggest this may not be a cheap entry fee. Presumably an agreement has been made between dart and government that due to future closure of royal palms and new hotel and the behind close doors agreed cruise ship dock he must provide somewhere else for cruise ship passengers to go. A focus on overnight tourist guests would be a much more financially rewarding experience for all the community tourists and the local environment. Let’s not turn beautiful seven mile beach into a European tacky beach destination with rows of chairs and cheap tourists . it is such a special unique beach let’s treasure it.
Exactly! When is enough enough? Is trying to have as many tourists that the island can handle in one day the goal? I think being an exclusive destination is much more attractive, that’s what led me here the first time and all the subsequent times, but if it becomes a free for all, which it seems like it is, then I’ll search elsewhere for my hard earned money to spend.
Bottom line, the cruise passengers were there everyday anyway ghettofying the beach. Someone might as well make a few pennies off them, particularly if we are to have a few million more on the way.
Great. Let’s set up some of those inflatable water parks in front of DART’s house, and all the condos and hotels along seven mile beach. After-all, the sea is ours and we might as well make some money off it. We could even have massive polystyrene islands for tourists to sunbathe on.
Alternatively we can treat the beach as sacred and tell all commercial operators to get back behind the vegetation line and stop both interfering with our prescriptive rights and destroying a national treasure while they are at it.
Wait until you figure out that the main player behind this is the very same one who established precedent for illegal beach vending.
Caymanians own the beach now…. sorry entitled
A fool and their keyboard shall never be parted!
Looks amazing, can’t wait to go.
Ordinary f*ing people. I hate em.
At least these chairs aren’t rusted and broken. Man, I miss Hemingways.
And the old Holiday Inn, Driftwood Bar, Joey’s Rum Point Club, and the Beach Club. Progress sucks and the quality of life, and incomes of Caymanians, is diminishing as it accelerates.
I weep for the lost beauty of SMB.
You weep on the anonymous comments section of an online rag, as opposed actually doing something.
Yes, establish a Green Party on Grand Cayman and take the island back from the developers.
And a equal rights party, so we can all live in harmony. Expats, locals, paper and born caymanians
Can we include the LGBT commuity?
1:26 about how much money you think we will need
I have a million what about you?
Unlike yourself, who is so fantastically proactive, resourceful, witty and uplifting.
Rise up and get ready to weep from the TEAR GAS!
UCCI is offering a free class “How to Minimise the Effect of Tear Gas”. Enroll today.
@at 10:22 am I am a visitor.
go to cayman brac…you will be weeping for a different reason.
The chairs should be behind the vegetation line. They are interfering with prescriptive rights for the biblical to use and enjoy the beach. That beach is a national treasure for all, and is being cheapened and destroyed for the benif of persons who are neither from or will remain long term in these Islands.
You could have just stopped at – The chairs should be behind the vegetation line or the high water mark.
High water mark is not relevant. The public’s rights extend to the vegetation line.
Rubbish!
Sorry Pat – please educate yourself as to prescriptive rights. The public have enjoyed rights to the full width of seven mile beach since long before it was called seven mile beach. We all have the right to peaceably use and enjoy the full width (and length) of the beach.
See ‘Politically Connected’ for you answer bobo. Yep, a Caymanian has sold you out AGAIN!!!