Bon Vivants Puts Bahamas On The Map With Top 50 Award

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NASSAU, THE BAHAMAS – For more than half a decade, Bon Vivants has grown into more than a neighbourhood café and cocktail bar.

Now, it is the first Bahamian bar to be named among North America’s 50 best bars and only the third in the Caribbean to earn that recognition.

As Kendeno Knowles tells us, the honour could open doors far beyond the bar, creating new value for the Bahamian economy and changing how young people see careers in hospitality.

Walk into Bon Vivants and, almost immediately, you know where you are.

Vinyl records line the walls. The menu, as colourful as the culture that inspired it.

And throughout the café and bar, pieces of The Bahamas are built into the experience.

It has that international feel but it has never stopped feeling like home.

And now, the rest of the world is taking notice.

“So we were just named, uh, top fifty bar in North America. Yeah. So we play top fifty. Um. It’s historic. We’re the first Bahamian bar to ever receive this accolade and also only the third bar in the Caribbean.” – Old Pal Hospitality VP Rashad Davis

Rashad Davis is Vice President of Old Pal Hospitality, owners and operators of Bon Vivants.

He and several members of the team were in Vancouver recently, when the announcement was made surrounded by industry professionals they had admired from a distance.

“To hear our name included in something that prestigious was almost overwhelming. Yeah. You know, almost every emotion, I was happy, I was overjoyed. I think I cried a little bit…something like that possible.” – Old Pal Hospitality VP Rashad Davis

But the value of making this list extends beyond one business.

For international travellers, the 50 best list can become part of the itinerary, giving visitors another reason to explore The Bahamas, spend within the local economy and experience the country beyond sun, sand and sea.

“Whenever they go to a new country, they’re looking to see, is there a fifty best in that area, you know? Yeah. So it’s obviously a great significant marker for anyone that’s traveling to the Bahamas ….A 50 Best there.” – Old Pal Hospitality VP Rashad Davis

For more than six years, Bon Vivants has been part café, part cocktail bar and, above all, a community space, hosting live music, local collaborations and farmers’ markets.

It’s latest evolution brings Bahamian culture into the glass – a story we’ll explore next.

But this story is also about the people behind the bar and that’s where it gets personal.

Rashad and I once walked the same school hallways. Years later, his talent is helping a Bahamian team earn international recognition – proof that our careers do not always follow the paths we imagined in school.

Davis says bartending and mixology are still often treated as temporary work – not “real” careers.

This recognition he says challenges that thinking.

“Something like this really lets people know that this isn’t an industry of its own. There are expertise in this industry. There are levels in this industry that you could attain.” – Old Pal Hospitality VP Rashad Davis

Those levels can mean specialised skills, meaningful careers and opportunities for Bahamians to carry their talent onto international stages.

And for the people like Rashad who have devoted themselves to this craft, being named among North America’s best is their industry’s highest kind of recognition.

“That’s our Grammys, that’s our Oscars, that’s our Tonys. Yeah. You know, so yeah, that’s the celebration within our community….with small means” – Old Pal Hospitality VP Rashad Davis

The award carries Bon Vivants’ name but it’s message belongs to a much wider community.

It demonstrates how Bahamian creativity can build meaningful careers and when local talent is given room to grow, how even a small island can earn a place on the world stage.