Get Ready for Erica Miner’s French-Inspired Fine Dining The Terrace Restaurant Will Be Opening This Month

 

Erica and Robin Miner will welcome diners to The Terrace Restaurant to enjoy fine dining and amazing Cruz Bay harbor views.

After a short stint as a Mexican eatery, and an even shorter time as a steak house, the former Stone Terrace location across from the Cruz Bay waterfront will open later this month as The Terrace Restaurant.

With Chef Erica Miner, formerly of La Tapa and Waterfront Bistro, helming the kitchen, The Terrace is the most anticipated new restaurant opening of the season on St. John.

Known for her clean palette, Miner promises French-inspired fine dining at her establishment. Think classic French techniques, fresh ingredients, locally sourced whenever possible, highlighted with  light herbs and complimented by a well-curated wine list and classic cocktails.

Although Miner grew up around food — her mother was a chef who ran her own catering business — it wasn’t until she was in college that she discovered her passion for cooking. Miner got her first job in a kitchen while working toward a degree in Political Science at the University of Wisconsin.

After finishing at UW, she studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Chicago and returned to Madison in time to help open a new eatery.

“It was a restaurant I used to work in and they were reopening in a new location,” said Miner. “That was the first restaurant I helped open and I really enjoyed it. This will actually be the third restaurant I open, and I hope I like owning a restaurant as much as I like opening one.”

Miner and her husband Robin, a veteran hospitality worker as proficient behind the bar as he is in the kitchen, moved to St. John eight years ago from Wisconsin. She cut her Love City culinary chops at La Tapa, where she secured a job before even stepping foot on the island.

“I knew I wanted to move somewhere tropical,” said Miner. “Before we moved, we had friends who had vacationed here, and they said ‘You have to move to St. John and you have to work at La Tapa.’ They had eaten there four times during their trip and loved it.”

Miner spent three full seasons at La Tapa before helping open Waterfront Bistro at Wharfside Village. She helmed that kitchen until she was eight-and-a-half months pregnant with her son Elijah, who turned two in August.

Over the past two years, Miner and her husband have juggled work and raising their son, rotating schedules while keeping their creative juices flowing.

In June, Miner was visiting her husband at work at Banana Deck when they noticed the owner of the building next door putting up a ‘For Rent’ sign.

“We looked at each and said, ‘We have to check that out,’” she said. “We did a walk-through right then and I fell in love. This is my dream kitchen and my dream location.”

“We looked around and said, ‘We’re silly if we don’t jump on this,” said Miner. “I’ve always wanted to open a waterfront restaurant and this building was designed to be a high-end restaurant. It’s perfect.”

Miner took the summer to get the space ready and is excited to open for business by the end of October.

“We took our time and really wanted get everything right before we opened,” said the chef. “It has been such a positive experience. Our landlords, our family and our friends — everyone has been so supportive.”

“I can’t walk through town without someone stopping me to say how excited they are about the restaurant,” she said.
While Miner’s menu will be fine dining, patrons can expect to feel comfortable at The Terrace Restaurant, the chef explained.

“It’s a fine dining restaurant, but it’s also a family restaurant,” she said. “A lot of chefs cook what they want to cook. I don’t want to create a menu that people won’t understand without a ton of explanation.”

“I like to make people happy,” said Miner. “I want to make food that people want to eat.”

While Miner didn’t share a firm date for the restaurant’s opening night, patrons can expect to be dining on her French-inspired fare while enjoying excellent service in a relaxed atmosphere in a few shorts weeks.

For more information about The Terrace Restaurant, check out theterracestjohn.com, or call 779-8550.