Believe me on this one — I’m not making it up. This is one of the famous beer drinking pigs of Mt. Pellier Domino Club on St. Croix, USVI. Just when you think you have seen absolutely everything in this world, the beer drinking pigs come along. After my lunch at Café Christine, my driver, Joseph, picked me up and we drove out to west side of St. Croix to the Mt. Pellier Domino Club. Here’s a little history from VInow.com:
It all started over 20 years ago. George and Norma, the owners of the place, were farmers. They had many pigs and had decided to downsize on the number. They had sold almost all of them; Ms. Piggy and Buster Pig were kept. Folks would come by the property from time to time, and it happened one fine day that a visitor walked passed Buster, with a beer in his hand, and Buster helped himself!! A star was born. As time would have it, folks kept coming by to visit George and Norma, to have a beer and play dominos and so developed the Domino Club! Visitors would give Buster a beer for sport, since he had indicated his liking for it the day he lifted his first one! Combine the two and you have the Beer Drinking Pigs of the Mt. Pellier Domino Club!
Here’s my video of my encounter with the Mt. Pellier Domino Club beer drinking pigs:
When you arrive at the Mt. Pellier Domino Club, you’ll see a bar area with a thatched roof and most likely, lots of people hanging out having a few drinks and enjoying themselves. Norma will most likely be behind the bar and she’ll encourage you to have a “Mama Wanna” – a house specialty drink that appears to be everyone’s favorite. The sign says that their hours of operation are “8 AM – UNTIL.” You can have a drink or two at the bar before heading over to see the pigs and you’re encouraged to have a few after as well. They do charge admission, which is $1.00 for all visitors as well as $2.00 for a non-alcoholic beer and $3.00 if you videotape the pigs. They used to give the pigs regular beer, but then they would drink too much and pass out. But no one wants to pay to see pigs that drink beer and pass out so they had to change things up, which is why the beer of choice is a non-alcoholic beer. We were escorted over to where the pigs live by Coretta who told me their names and gave me a little history about them. If you listen to the video, you can hear her saying that they are gentle and won’t hurt anyone. I wanted to believe that, but the size of the big pigs were nothing short of mammoth. I had never seen a pig so large before, but that’s because no one ever lets a pig get big naturally.
Norma, her family, and the staff at the Domino Club haven’t forgotten about Buster, the original pig that started it all. He has since passed, but is buried on the grounds of the Domino Club. You can stop by and pay your respects to the beer loving pig that started the trend. I asked Joseph if anyone else had a beer drinking pig on St. Croix and he said, “No.” I was shocked as I would think there would be great competition with beer drinking goats, cows, sheep, and dogs, but I guess I was completely wrong. The only beer drinking animal on St. Croix is at the Mt. Pellier Domino Club or at least the only one where you’re charged admission to see it.
After we watched the pigs down a few beers, we headed back over to the bar area to sit for a little while before heading back to The Buccaneer. As it was December, they had decorated the Domino Club with Christmas decorations to the already eclectic decor. Simply pull up a bar stool or sit at a table and stay a while. People will sit and drink or eat and play cards or dominos. This is what taking it slow and relaxing really means.
I watched as the bartenders at the Mt. Pellier Domino Club poured out glass after glass of Norma’s famous “Mama Wanna” drinks as well as beers, but they were also portioning out something else. They had freshly made hot sauce available for sale. I toyed with the idea of buying some to take back home, but it was too big for my carry on luggage and was packaged in a glass bottle so it would never survive in my checked bag. It would, however, probably taste great with the food offerings that Norma serves. In addition to their regular menu, Wednesday and Thursday is burger day and Friday is Roti with beef, chicken, shrimp, veggie or combo (Trinidad’s spicy curry wrap). For what it’s worth, real roti uses a roti wrapper made of chickpeas. If it looks like a tortilla, you’re not eating a real roti. They serve breakfast as well on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
The pigs are well trained and clearly know what they need to do to get their drink on. I was shocked that they were like dogs, jumping up on the gate door, waiting with baited breath for just one more can of their beloved precious nectar. They can stand up and perch their heads up on the gate door and you can’t help but think, if only for a second, how cute they are. That is until you remember they are beer drinking pigs and pigs have a distinct pig-like smell. That’s when you suddenly remember you probably have somewhere to be. Whether you’re looking to see the beer drinking pigs exclusively or if you’re pondering an afternoon or evening of fun far removed from downtown, stop by the Mt. Pellier Domino Club for an experience you won’t soon forget.
Mt. Pellier Domino Club
Mahogany Rd. Route 76
St Croix, US Virgin Islands
Phone: (340) 713-9052