MONTEGO BAY, St James — Anticipation is high among business interests that the newly opened Usain Bolt’s Tracks & Records (UBT&R) location in Montego Bay will add life to the entertainment scene along Gloucester Avenue, popularly known as the ‘Hip Strip’.

UBT&R Montego Bay is operated by prominent businessman Chris Issa, and is the KLE Group’s second local franchise arrangement for the brand, increasing the chain to three locations.

The other two are the flagship location in Kingston, and the first franchise in Ocho Rios.

Chairman of Summerfest Promotions — promoters of Reggae Sumfest — Josef Bogdanovich, who is also CEO of Downsound Entertainment (DSE) and majority shareholder of the KLE Group, is among those who welcomed the restaurant to the Hip Strip.

“What Chris Issa did with the Usain Bolt’s Tracks of Records Montego Bay, outside of the Spanish Court Hotel, is an absolute masterpiece. It’s a great addition to the UBT&R franchise and I am certain this location will enjoy tremendous success. This is exactly the type of investment we need to keep building and developing the entertainment scene in Montego Bay,”Bogdanovich stated.

Montego Bay’s businessman Mark Hart concurred that the opening of the eatery, which has a large statue of sprint king Usain Bolt mounted at the front of the facility, will revitalise the once lively strip.

“Between Christopher Issa and Usain Bolt, the strip which has been drab for too long is definitely on its way to being hip again,” Hart said.

KLE CEO Gary Matalon revealed that when Tracks and Records was conceptualised a decade ago, Montego Bay was foremost on the minds of the investors.

“To be quite honest with you, for us, Montego Bay was the obvious choice. It’s a really, really special place to us and I have to say, in large part, this concept was really designed for Montego Bay. We obviously opted to open the first one in Kingston and I think that was driven by the fact that we were physically located in Kingston, and to develop a concept from scratch we really needed to be there and be on it around the clock,” Matalon said.

He added: Tonight (last week Wednesday) is like a dream come through for us. We finally get to be in Montego Bay, to be a part of Montego Bay, and we are really, really excited about that.”