When in the summer of 2013, I announced to a group of Jamaican friends that I would be opening a Greek restaurant in Kingston, what echoed in the room was that Jamaicans were not ready for Greek food. And since there is no Greek community in Jamaica to support such venture, they told me I would be wasting my time and money.

Now, three years later, Opa! is a fixture of the Jamaican restaurant scene. We are thought by many to be the best restaurant of any type on the island, and we have become a measure of success for others to compare themselves, when it comes to customer service and marketing.

I am not Alexx anymore. I have become Mr. Opa. I hear familiar or strange faces call me that as far away as JFK Airport and the streets of Manhattan.

Opa’s success has not been easy. Juggling my recording career and recording studio in New York together with 14-hour days at Opa! has frequently driven me to the limits. Nevertheless, I love what I do. And I have great help from my team and in particular Orlease King, my business partner at Opa!

I give thanks that Jamaicans have welcomed this Greek boy to the Rock. And I am proud when customers tell me that they have, or are planning to visit Greece as a result of the little piece of Greece that I have introduced to them. I feel at home in Jamaica. My friend, and member of the parliament, Juliet Holness might have put it best when she said, “You’re practically a Jamaican now, one of us.”

Alexx Antaeus

OPA! OPA! OPA!