Maybe you should post this on the relocation board!

Don't know much about it other than it is Govt. run! I doubt there are any spaces available as most of the vendors have been around forever! You MIGHT have better luck on the relocation board! Good Luck!

Hello Robert,

You'd need to contact the Department of Licensing. Vendor's Plaza is gov't operated. Its been a while since I called and asked about available spots (more than a year ago) and they had said their was a long waiting list. So basically you have to put in your request and get on the waiting list. Once you get a spot you'd have to apply for a vendors license and do the other steps for operating your business. Check out their website at http://www.dlca.gov.vi/index.htm and contact the St. Thomas Licensing office (telephone/contact info. is on the site) for more information.

--Islander

Islander, that's the LEGAL way to get a spot! The easiest way is to rent from someone who's not using their spot. You'll pay more - MUCH more than govt charges, but you won't have to wait years for a spot. Rumor has it, though, that they'll be moving Vendors' Plaza into that building next door to Little Switzerland where Tourism used to be. It's been rumored that deJongh's intention has always been to relocate them, and with planned construction along Veterans' Drive, they may be forced to move in 2007.

The vendor's don't pay rent. They are supposed to, but refuse to pay the $250 per year, because there are no rest rooms! The holders of spaces are actively rerenting them at great profits although they pay nothing! There is a movement to have them move to the Old District Court building that is next to Little Switzerland. There first has to be a structural engineering test done to see what can be done in the buiilding. If that passes then the move will be one to relocate them into the building after renovations. It should be a win win situation. They get spaces in an air conditioned building that will have rest rooms and a place where they can lock up their products at night without having to cart them away every night, and we get rid of an eyesore at the entrance to our town!

RL

Uh, Ron, they do pay their $250/year (at least most of them do I'm pretty sure). They refuse to pay MORE because there isn't a roof or other facilities.

It's not really a win-win, because they lose their visibility. Many visitors to the Caribbean expect to see some kind of outdoor market, and though the current Vendors' Plaza doesn't come close to meeting some Caribbean idyll, it's the only outdoor market we have. Hopefully someone will come up with something better one day.

To the original poster - Robert Smith? I say go to DCLA and get on the list. You never know what'll happen or when, so it's best to let you intentions be known.

I was just repeating what the Comissioner told me about them not paying the rent. You may know different than he. Oh well.
Their visbility vs our eyesore. I say we win when they are hiddin. People will go anyway. They go into stores don't they? With proper signage and advertising, they will enter. Every island that is prospering in the Caribbean right now looks at St. Thomas as a model of what not to do.

RL

I agree with Ron vendor plaza is an eyesore that needs to be taken care of. St Thomas never use to be that way. We don't have to be like the other islands we have our own identity and should be proud of that.

I on the other hand, like the visibility of Vendor's plaza, I think it an island feature not seen in the states! Tho I must say, in the states, they have special craft shows, food activities, fairs, etc. that do just that and people love it!
Whats so ugly about it, it's colorful and I have found the people friendly and cheerful. What would be done with that space if the vendors moved? Parking, yes we need parking, but how ugly!!!!!!! As I do airport escorts, taking guests to their villas, I feel no shame at all driving by it! It's an island thing! 🙂

Sherri: I agree 100%. It is colorful and has been there as long as we have been coming to STT. (23 years) . It is a part of STT. Always a fun place to go at least once during a trip there. Last year while we were there waiting at the hotel for the shuttle to go to town everyone getting on the shuttle wanted to know where the Vendors Plaza was. By the volume of people in there at any one day, I would say it is popular and a lot of money left there that goes into your economy. Just my 2 cents. LOL

sherri: As I understand it, the Vendor's Plaza was supposed to be a place for local vendors to sell local wares. It has turned into a cheap imported t-shirt emporium. The legit business owners downtown have to pay rent, WAPA, gross receipts, etc. The vendors don't. I would be happy to have an open plaza if they could be moved.

We have one of the most beautiful historic towns in the Caribbean. It does not need to have an eyesore like that at the entrance. The area will become green space, not parking, are you kidding? The Fire department will be moved as well. It is not period.
Lots of those vendors front inventory for main street stores, believe it or not. It was intended for a place, like EE said, for locals to sell their handicrafts. It got them off the streets and sidewalks that they were cluttering up. It was not 23 years ago. Instead, we have a bunch of folks selling unrelated items from far away countries. I doubt if there are more than two islanders with tables there. When the idea was first brought forth, they were to have spaces with large different color umbrellas. That space is marked off by the brick pattern on the ground. There is a hole in the middle for the umbrella to fit in. All the tents there, in their ugly colors, and some even have blue plastic tarps on them, should not be there. They overstep the size limits making it even worse.It was the local government who dropped the ball with the umbrellas, unfortunately, but now it it's gone too far.
I believe moving to their own air conditioned building, where they will be able to lock up their merchandise and have bathrooms, will be welcomed by all of the vendors.
Sorry you all feel that is is typical Caribbean. It's not typical Virgin Island.

RL

Vendor's Plaza is an eyesore. I would be glad to see it moved.

I for one will be happy to see it go. Typical knock off stuff and cheap (really cheap) things. Not a place that I like to shop. TYpical of street vendors in some big cities. Definitely not an island thing.

It's neither here nor there to me. I do shop there occasionally as that is where i find my tropical dresses. It has never offended me, nor have I given it much thought. Yes, you are right, they have some cheap stuff, but so do alot of the stores. If they get this space with bathrooms and protection from the weather then that is great! Especially for them as it will be much less work for them! It's been there to some magnitude for all the time I have lived here, in-fact I used to work there in the Jim Dandy Ice Cream truck many, many years ago!
I guess I simply accepted it. I saw it as an island thing as i have seen the same "island thing" on other Islands I have visited. Hmmmm.......

My first impression of Vendors Plaza was it was an eyesore. We didn't even go in there. I'm always leary because I can't stand bargaining with anybody. Husband loves it and when he does it, I just walk away. He learned this in Jamaica and does it everywhere he goes, even in the US.

sherri: I think that the USVI stands apart from other islands. Many people think that pastel colors are appropriate for island homes, but these have never been St Thomas colors. The "straw market" idea is part of history of some islands, but not here.

It may have stood apart from other islands, but now it's having a hard time keeping up with the competition. Now that everybody has duty-free shopping, St. Thomas is having a hard time living up to it's reputation as THE place to shop.

If St Thomas wants to market itself as a shopping destination with "bargains" for the wide income range of tourists it attracts, it should expect that a certain segment is going to expect to find some type of downscale shopping experience. However, it's unfortunate that Vendors' Plaza is located on prime real estate. Most markets are on the periphery unless they're the only shopping option in a location. And most markets carry merchandise that's not found in the surrounding stores, which is not the case with Vendors' Plaza.

The vendors are trying to do what we're all trying to do - earn a living as best they know how. I'm not in favor of how it looks or the products it offers, either, but it appears that any "solution" will benefit only the storeowners.

ms411 I hope some day you will see it's for the betterment of the town and island and has nothing to do with stores or storeowners.
The barkers are now being licensed and controlled. Taxis on Main Street next. Hopefully, soon we will have a product to offer that we can be proud of worldwide!

RL