Magens Bay Authority Weighs Food Truck Proposal for South End of Beach

A proposal to expand food service to the far end of Magens Bay drew immediate public pushback last Thursday, as a concessionaire outlined plans for a mobile truck on the south end of the beach and a resident warned that additional concessions would undermine what many locals view as one of the beach’s last quiet areas.

The discussion came during the March meeting of the Magens Bay Authority, where board members were told that the request from the food and beverage concessionaires had already been contemplated under the operator’s agreement. Board Chair Barbara Petersen said the arrangement already allowed food and beverage service at the southern end of the beach, over the bridge, through a cart rather than any permanent structure, and said the intent was to make sure visitors on that side would not have to return to the main concession area or get back into their vehicles for food. Petersen said the proposal had first come to the authority back in January.

Patrick Mullett of Elevated Hospitality, which has been running the concession, told the board he had been approached over the past 18 months by local patrons and tour operators asking for service at the other end of the beach. He said the idea under consideration would place a mobile truck, similar to a food truck, as far down as the area where the King of the Wing event is held.

Mr. Mullett said he would work with management on the location if the plan moved forward. He also said the vehicle would not remain there overnight, explaining that it would be returned to the restaurant each evening to be restocked and cleaned before the next day. Asked whether the offering would mirror the full concession menu, he said it would not, and described it instead as an abbreviated menu.

No objections were raised by board members during the discussion itself, but the proposal quickly drew criticism during public comment.

Judy King-Edmeade told the authority she opposed the idea of a food truck on the south end of Magens Bay, saying it would not be conducive to the environment or the esthetics of the beach. She noted that another truck already brings snorkeling gear to the opposite end and said adding food service to the quieter side of the shoreline would change the character of the area.

“The thing about that end of the beach is that it's like the quiet sanctuary end of Magens,” Ms. Edmeade said. “We go down there and you can just enjoy and to have all those concessions down there with with all of that stuff. It just, it just takes away.”

She added, “The whole beach is being overrun. You know, we know that the tourists like that the shed one side, but when you go down on the other end, you have a lot of the locals down there, where we enjoy the peace and quiet and to see concessions being allowed down there. I'm not with that. That's just my opinion, but I'm not with that.”

Ms. Edmeade also used her public comment to raise concerns about activity she said she had recently seen on the same side of the beach, including people carrying blow-up kayaks, chairs and other inflatable items beyond the gate and toward the far end. She questioned whether that activity was allowed and also raised concerns about whether there were lifeguards regularly rotating into that area.

Magens Bay General Manager Monique Simon said the authority was not aware of the activity she described. Ms. Simon told Ms. Edmeade that if something of that nature was happening, the authority wanted it brought to its attention, especially because the area is off the main path used by most guests. After Ms. Edmeade said she had already alerted an enforcement officer, Petersen said management would monitor the area more closely and follow up.

Responding to the lifeguard concerns, Ms. Simon said Magens Bay has a regular rotation system in place, with guards moving on roughly a half-hour to one-hour basis and staffing adjusted depending on cruise passenger volume, tourism traffic and local use. She said the authority had recently implemented a rotation schedule to improve coverage and was continuing to recruit more lifeguards amid a broader shortage.

The discussion ended without a vote during the public portion of the meeting, leaving the proposal as a developing issue that now carries both operational and preservation concerns for one of St. Thomas’s most heavily used public beaches.