MANCHESTER, Jamaica — Evrol “Blackie” Christian, the owner of the Little Ochie Seafood Restaurant and Bar in Alligator Pond, Manchester is awaiting the return of a public health inspection team after changes were made to a garbage receptacle which, he said, led to the closure of the popular eatery last week.

Christian told OBSERVER ONLINEthat his business was closed after a health inspection team said the garbage receptacle, made from zinc sheeting, should have been built using blocks, steel and concrete.

He said he has now replaced the zinc structure with the recommended building materials and that he and his 32 employees are anxiously awaiting the health inspection team in order to reopen for business.

“I have bills to pay, staff to pay and a business to run,” Christian told stated.

A release on Wednesday from the Manchester Health Department said only that “The Little Ochie Seafood Restaurant in Manchester has been ordered closed by the Manchester Health Department, effective May 3, 2022. This is as a result of breaches of the Public Health Act and its Regulations”.

When contacted, Charmaine Palmer-Cross, the chief public health inspector for Manchester said she was in a meeting and unable to speak but would be able to respond to questions later.

Efforts to reach Dr Nadine Williams, Medical Officer of Health, proved futile.

– Garfield Myers