The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The former Buena Vista property is set to re-open as a micro rum distillery and tourist attraction by next month, Tribune Business was told yesterday, its developers viewing the property as one of the “anchors” for reviving that area of downtown Nassau.

Pepin Argamasilla, general manager of the John Watling’s Distillery, which will produce rum using the same brand name, told Tribune Business that he and his fellow developers hoped other property owners in the neighbourhood would “jump on the bandwagon” with themselves and Graycliff.

Disclosing that John Watling’s Distillery, Graycliff and other area landmarks were looking to exploit “synergies” between them and provide a better product for tourists, Mr Argamasilla said the majority of construction work at Buena Vista had been completed.

Mr Argamasilla and his fellow John Watling’s principals, cousins Jose and Mario Portuondo, his brother, Leon Argamasilla, and Guillermo Garcia-Lay, are aiming to attract 150,000 visitors per year - both locals and tourists - to the micro rum distillery and history of a remodelled Buena Vista house.

“If we can actually accomplish it, we will be open at the beginning of April, if not sooner,” Jose Portuondo said yesterday.

Confirming that, Mr Argamasilla added: “We’re not hanging our hats on anything, but it’s going along, it’s moving forward, and it looks like April will be the date, but there is still a lot of work to do.”

Outfitting of the renovated Buena Vista house’s interior was set to begin on Wednesday, he added, with the artwork and furniture being installed.

“We’re basically on the finish right now,” Mr Argamasilla told Tribune Business, adding that John Watling’s had “begun to bottle and receive” in relation to the distillery, having obtained all the regulatory approvals necessary.

“It’s definitely coming out the way we set out for it to come out,” Mr Argamasilla said of the Buena Vista redevelopment. “We’ve executed the plan the way we envisioned; we’ve been working like dogs.

“It really couldn’t have gone any better. There’s painting and little things here and there, but the bulk of it is done.”

Keeping one eye on the bigger picture, Mr Argamasilla explained that John Watling’s was in conversation with Graycliff, and the likes of the nearby National Art Gallery and Roman Catholic Church, “to see how we can help each other out, and grow and revitalise the neighbourhood”.

He told Tribune Business: “Graycliff and Buena Vista are like the anchor stores, and we’re starting to fill in the in-betweens. Hopefully, other property owners will jump on the bandwagon and offer a better tourism product.”

When it came to potential business ties between John Watling’s and Graycliff, Mr Argamasilla told Tribune Business: “Rum goes with cigars. There are a lot of synergies.

“We’ll probably make some of our products available to them, and they will make some of their products available to us. It’s all a part of seeing how we can offer a better product.”

John Watling’s Distillery is still set to create 20 full-time jobs when completely opened.

Buena Vista was originally constructed in 1789, and has been home to persons such as Chief Justices and others that have “helped formed the Bahamas of today”.