By Pamela Somers Solomon

Rumfish y vino opened in November of 2008. John and I married June 21st 2008 on Ambergris Caye, Belize. I had been traveling here for years visiting my good friends who own El Pescador Lodge there. Over the years, I was offered a few interesting job opportunities, none of which ever panned out. In 2006 I was offered a job in Hopkins to run a small resort. I was only a few weeks away from my departure date when the owners called me to tell me they were selling it and I would not be moving to Belize to run their resort after all.

I was devastated, but it was that night that John and I had our first date. I cried into my wine glass that I would not be moving to Belize, and yet finding myself glad that I would be able to pursue this budding romance! Two years later when John proposed and asked me where I wanted to be married, we both said at the same time- Belize! So the plans were made, and we decided to honeymoon in Placencia at Turtle Inn. I had heard about the Placencia peninsula for years but had never been. Additionally, I was in the wine business in California and wanted to go somewhere that I knew I could enjoy good wine (not to mention the fact that my whole family was staying in San Pedro and who wants to honeymoon with your family!!).

It so happened that I had known of the owners, Frank Gagliano and Yvette Guild, of the Placencia Village Square through some different friends. At the time Frank Gagliano also had a sailing charter company. It was my friends at El Pescador (Yvette was their accountant) that suggested as we were leaving to head to Placencia, that we should look them up. Perhaps we could go on a day sail with him. And so we did. Although, we never did actually get to sail, but we did get to talking. At the time, John and I were living in New York City. Over the years we had both had jobs in the Food & Beverage industry. John primarily in restaurant management, managing some of the best restaurants in LA, and in NY he was in food distribution, and where I worked for a wine & spirits supplier. We had a 'restaurant project’ in the works too that we had put the project in the backburner until after our wedding. It just so happened (unbeknownst to us) that our friends renowned cookbook author Brigit Binns and her husband Actor Casey Biggs had also booked at Turtle Inn after our wedding!

And so there they were on our honeymoon with us, and hearing the same information we were from Mr. Gagliano which was, there is a great restaurant location that is brand new and vacant, and he was looking for just the right occupants. Attempting to respect our honeymoon and NOT do any business (unusual for us as we were always looking for opportunity wherever we went), we declined a trip to the village to check it out. It wasn’t until we were standing outside of the Turtle Inn, luggage in hand, waiting for our taxi to the airstrip that Frankie (Mr. Gagliano) screeched in and insisted, as our friends had done incessantly all through breakfast, that we see the empty space now known as Rumfish y vino. We had 30 minutes until our flight departure, Frankie sent our bags to the airstrip, and called to say we would be arriving just before takeoff, and then hurried us down to take a look. There was not much said as we walked through, but inside John and I both knew, this was our spot. Frankie was also flying to Belize City that morning, so he met us at International, and it was there over a few Belikin that we drafted the deal.

We flew back from Belize to our friend’s home in Upstate New York, the same friends who were on our honeymoon with us. They did not have the luxury of picking up and moving to Belize, but encouraged us to do it without reservation. We sat on their screened in porch one afternoon when we returned from our trip. We had planned on staying with them after our honeymoon for a few days to work on our other restaurant project in there in Upstate New York. Instead, we sat around thinking of names for our new restaurant in Belize. We all agreed that we should incorporate rum, fish, and wine…so, of course, we came up with Rumbar…Fishy Rum Bar…The Winey Fish Bar…The Wishy Bum Bar…I actually can’t really remember there was so many silly names, but we all came to “Rumbar” and sat with that for a while. I was less than impressed because it sounded contrived and because ‘wine’ was not involved in the name. That would be a big part of our offerings due to my insistence on importing my own wines. John decided to take a nap. The rest of us hemmed and hawed over names. An hour later he came out and said, “Rumfish!” And I said, “Y vino! And there it was- Rumfish y vino. Or, rum, fish and wine!

Eight weeks later we arrived to Placencia with our dog and a container filled with everything you need to outfit a restaurant on the water right behind us, from the glassware to the fabric…to the wine. And, eight weeks after that, we officially opened our doors.

Who makes Rumfish y vino what it is? In short, John bust’s his ‘you-know-what’ seven days a week, 10 hours a day. I was shoulder to shoulder with him from the opening, until the spring when I discovered I was pregnant and couldn’t be around anything food related or otherwise (terribly inconvenient in our business)! I was really sick for months. All worth it, of course, when we had our beautiful (and Belizean born) baby girl, Libby, right smack dab in the middle of high season three days before Christmas! So, I give all my props to John. He continues to run Rumfish tirelessly.

That being said, we couldn’t do any of it without our fantastic and extremely committed staff. Our kitchen cranks out the best and most timely food on the peninsula with great consistency, and our servers provide excellent service that is noted time and time again on Trip Advisor and in our own personal guest book at Rumfish. Without them, and especially our incredible Chef Sam, we would be lost. Rumfish is what it is because of them. Oh, and I should mention my Mother who spent 6 months here caring for our baby (and us) while we worked like madmen during the peak season! She just left this week to return to the states and I am on full time Mommy duty which I love. I still manage to work a few nights a week too.

Rumfish y Vino stands out because of our food, drinks, music, and atmosphere. From what I read in our guest book- it’s a combination of things that create a whole visceral experience. That was our goal and continues to be our goal every day. Creating an atmosphere, an experience, that moves people. I know that sounds silly, but people who come to Rumfish leave feeling like they’ve had a complete experience. The breeze, the music, the amazing cocktails and food…we strive for excellence in everything. The best Pineapple Mojito, the best music, the best Ceviche, the best wine list, the coldest draft beer, the most attentive service…etc. etc. Frankie pushed us from day one on our concept and how to hone it and make it as specific as possible. He helped us on many levels to pin point our potential and help us make it a reality. But, really, I think what makes it so special is that for us we are technically still on our honeymoon. Ok, yeah right!! No, really, personally for me, I had such a desire to live in Belize for so many years, and now I do! But, not as a single woman working for someone else. But coming down with the man of my dreams, fulfilling my dream! And did I mention I have a brand new beautiful baby! We are happy to be here and I think we so enjoy what we do that people can feel that and want to be around it.

We feel our biggest achievement is our broad appeal. So often you hear in this business ‘you cannot be all things to all people’, but I think we have come quite close. Our proudest moments at Rumfish are when we have a bar filled with locals. It’s not the nights where we serve only a room full of tourists that will be gone in a week that warms our hearts. But when the room is sprinkled with all walks of life! The music is vibing…the beer and wine flowing…our local fishermen are kicking back with a draft, next to some of our local resort staff friends from Turtle Inn, Robert’s Grove, Chabil Mar, or The Placencia, who are chatting with expats from Maya Beach, who are sitting next to a couple on their honeymoon from San Diego, who are talking to a group from Ontario they met that afternoon on a tour in Monkey River, who’s guide is sitting there drinking a Mojito with them. It’s truly the best!