Harold Shepherd of Harolds Bar
Harold Shepherd, of Harold’s Bar was awarded ‘Employee of the Year’ by the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA) for his impeccable skills and hard work in tourism.
Harold was working at The Sandpiper Hotel in the 1990’s and realised that his guests liked it when he brought their drinks to their sun loungers on the beach.
This gave Harold an idea – to open a bar right on the beach. At first he built this bar out of wood and cuss-cuss grass thatch. He served his own delicious cocktails and developed some exciting new recipes. His bar was an immediate success and became wallpapered with the photos of happy visitors from all over the world.
Today the bar is another story. It has been renovated to become a glamorous venue at which hotel residents and non-residents can relax, soak up the sun and sip on one of Harold’s exquisite cocktails in style.
Today’s cocktail menu was produced by Harold himself, and contains many of his tasty recipes which are exclusive to his bar. He has even developed a special kids menu containing a list of cocktails which are named after the kids who regularly visit the hotel.
Harold is the bar supervisor and ensures the service is impeccable and that everything runs smoothly. Harold never forgets a face and has many customers who visit his bar again and again. He calls the people who visit his bar in February his ‘February crowd’ and the people who visit at Christmas his ‘Christmas Crowd.’
Another big development to Harold’s Bar is the restaurant which is now attached to it. You can now eat a delicious, freshly prepared alfresco lunch right on the beach in the new exclusive restaurant.
People come from far and wide to take lunch in this elegant setting on the beach with views of the azure ocean. On Old Year’s night this restaurant will be serving a special meal and a dance floor will be erected.
On New Year’s Day they will be serving a fabulous lunch with a steel band playing. These events now happen at The Sandpiper every year.
Another annual event which is extremely popular is their Good Friday BBQ which takes place under the stars at Harold’s Bar. Hotel residents and non residents are welcome to join in the fun.
Harold’s entrepreneurial spirit and love of people have catapulted him into running one of Barbados’ most acclaimed and popular bars. What started as a beach bar at The Sandpiper Hotel has transformed into an elegant, outdoor dining space that is often frequented by the rich and famous.
When asked what his advice to hospitality bright sparks he says,
“To do this type of job you must love people for who they are, and embrace their varying backgrounds.”
This is the same advice that his boss gave him when he started out and it has stuck with him ever since.
Author: Brett Callaghan
