Wicky's

Introducing Wicky’s – a new restaurant in Playa Del Carmen that’s raising the bar on local dining.

Published: 2009-12-14

Jazz Poulin

Travel Professional,

Rank: 1

Montreal, Canada.

Age: 24-35

Total Visits	0

PLAYA DEL CARMEN – There are many restaurants that claim to offer a fine dining experience but don’t deliver. Fortunately, Wicky’s does. Wicky’s is a fine dining establishment in Playa Del Carmen, co-founded by Craig Caldwell, who discovered his love for the area ten years ago while vacationing from Denver, Colorado.

“I fell in love with the place, the people and the beaches,” said Mr. Caldwell, who founded this new restaurant along with partner Jerry Napolitan. “Then, about three years ago, we were fortunate to meet Robert Burnside, a Canadian from Calgary, whose development was looking for a five-star restaurant. We convinced Robert that we were the right people for this project.”

Without question, he had the experience required in launching a successful restaurant in what’s become a very competitive market in Playa. Over the years, Mr. Caldwell has bought and sold businesses in Denver and currently holds shares in Brooklyn's, a restaurant located in the Pepsi Center, home of the NHL Colorado Avalanche and NBA Denver Nuggets teams.

When asked about the name Wicky’s, Mr. Caldwell immediately credits his partner’s wife Tanya, who did some extensive research online and suggested the name.

“The lighthouse is located beside Wicky’s. Tanya had discovered that a lighthouse keeper responsible for lighting the lamps was also known as a ‘wickie’,” says Mr. Caldwell. “So the name was bounced around the group and a decision was made - the group loved Wicky’s.”

The team then employed Semple Brown Design, a well-respected architectural firm based in Denver. Mr. Caldwell had used them before with some of his other local business ventures. When you walk into Wicky’s you’ll notice the modern design, central bar, flat screen televisions (great for watching some football) and of course its beautiful beachfront location. But what was also really refreshing is the central air-conditioning.

“The location isn’t the only unique thing, we offer air conditioning,” says Mr. Caldwell which is perhaps one of the many reasons why the restaurant is attracting banquets.

Striving for perfection, Mr. Caldwell and his team have been taking advantage of the restaurant’s launch during the low season to work out the bugs. It’s allowed them to properly train staff, work out software issues, and everything else that goes into running a successful restaurant.

The team is preparing for a busy new year and hopes it can achieve similar success they’ve had in Colorado. With a quality developer from Calgary and an experienced restaurateur from Colorado, all the right elements seem to be in place.

And for those of you following ice hockey, it just so happens that these are currently two of the best teams this season….could it be the hockey gods are trying to tell us something?

26 Comments | Leave a comment