Make no mistake about it: The Valley Bistro, owned by Mr Scott Hauser at the wonderfully refurbished historic Old Factory at Wallblake, is a must for every resident and visitor as it provides an opportunity to graciously dine in the heart of Anguilla’s downtown district in a relaxing and quiet atmosphere.
The multi-faceted businessman is involved in numerous businesses and is a legendary naturalised Anguillan citizen. Mr Hauser, who holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and a Master’s Degree in Real Estate Development, moved to the island in the 1977. Along with his New York based parents and family, he owned the Cinnamon Reef Hotel at Little Harbour which then contributed significantly to the establishment of Anguilla’s up-market tourism industry.
Though extremely busy with his various enterprises and his constant creation of further investment opportunities, he has again become involved in the hospitality industry.
“I was captivated by the food and beverage world when I was at Cinnamon Reef years ago and now I am back in the restaurant business with The Valley Bistro,” Mr Hauser told The Anguillian. “I took over The Valley Bistro last March and did a lot of work cleaning, repainting and redesigning by changing the layout, fixtures, fittings and furnishings as well as by adding a timbered back deck. It’s has been about six or seven months that we have been operational under my management with daily improvements and flourishes being part of the fun.”
Mr Hauser is delighted that an ever increasing number of tourists from various parts of the world are joining savvy Anguillans and residents in dining at The Valley Bistro. “ Although the majority of our clientele either live on island or are expat homeowners, we’re seeing a substantial increase in tourists that makes for a varied and diversified dining environment. Guests come because they’ve heard from friends or have read on Trip Advisor or Facebook or seen us on other social media outlets complementing our food as being very good as well as reasonably priced and that the people working here are very friendly and accommodating. Although we fundamentally cater to those of us who live and work on island, I’m thrilled to have our visitors join us.”
Mr Hauser said that the phrase that best describes The Valley Bistro is “serving fine food at fair prices.” He continued: “I understand that many tourists who eat out don’t mind spending US$45 for an entrée, but for those of us who live here that can become difficult. Our prices are less than half of most fine restaurants on Anguilla and I personally believe our food is every bit as tasty if not better than the more famous higher price establishments”.
“While we are not on the beach we have a West Indian architectural environment that happily has beautiful views of the Catholic Church and the stonewalls that surround it. So even though it is not a beach scene we have a trendy downtown location”.
“Our staff is very good; all of the employees are from Anguilla. In total, across all my businesses, I now have nearly 20 fulltime employees of whom only one is on a work permit and she has Anguillian children. My businesses here at The Old Factory which include The Valley Bistro, Sotheby’s International Realty, the Stone Cellar Art Gallery and ZaZAA Treasures as well as my businesses in The Hallmark Building which include Xerox, FedEx and company management all provide valuable services for Anguilla by Anguillans.”
Mr Hauser was asked about the nature of the cuisine at The Valley Bistro. He replied: “It is fundamentally French but, of course, we do tweak it a bit. For example, we have a few Italian dishes as you must have pizza for those who love it. We also serve a number of traditional meals with Anguillan / West Indian variations, for example we serve Eggs Benedict with salt-fish which is delicious. However most of our entrees are French and feature traditional French cream sauces—from tarragon to mushroom to black peppercorn to curry, our array of sauces can be mixed and matched and varied in whichever way a customer might want. But whether French or Italian or West Indian themed, our cuisine is absolutely fantastic.”
