BOSTON, Portland — Slapped with an order to close and four of its vendors hauled before the court, Boston Jerk Centre has started making changes. Work was being done on the jerk pit and a team was seen painting inside a section of the popular eatery Thursday. Vendors will meet with health officials today.

Boston Jerk, one the island’s more famous visitor attractions, was closed on September 6 after what health officials described as months of trying to get operators to address shortcomings.

“After monitoring food safety and sanitary proceedings at Boston Food Centre, and exhausting all the possible options, the environmental health team carried out a series of activities over the last year — and before — to get improvement at the facility. For the most part, they were unsuccessful,” Portland’s Chief Public Health Inspector Lorenzo Hume told Thursday’s meeting of the municipal corporation.

“Hence, the decision was made to advise the parish medical officer of health to close the facilities in Boston, particularly those who operate at the jerk centre… This wasn’t something we wanted to do; we have worked hard as a team to have them understand that public health is serious,” he added.

Hume told the Jamaica Observer that the counter on which the food is served needs  resurfacing and painting as it had become unsanitary; the jerk pit is in deplorable condition and needs to be rebuilt; and the washing station needs improvement.

These appeared to be among the areas of focus as a small team worked at the facility Thursday afternoon.

The health authorities are also concerned about its vendors, four of whom were recently fined a total of $110,000. Hume said, before taking action, he and his team provided some of the parish’s vendors with training at the end of which they had Level 2 certification for food safety from HEART. However, when they monitored the facility and used a mystery shopper system of appraisal they received dismal reports and a decision was taken to close the facility.

He said over the last two months there had been a “gradual decline” in the number of individuals who attend the clinic related to obtaining a food handler’s permit.

“We have constantly been having challenges with a number of the vendors and they were taken to court to show that we are serious about food safety. They were charged for not having a valid food handler’s permit,” Hume told the meeting.

“We prosecuted vendors and the condition remained the same. In going forward, we will have a meeting with the vendors at the facility at 10 in the morning [Friday]. After that we will meet with the stakeholders and others with a vested interest in Boston Jerk Centre. Culturally and economically the facility is important to the economy of Portland. I call on all the entities that have a vested interest in this facility, bearing in mind the difficulty in managing the area,” he urged.

Councillor Wayne McKenzie (People’s National Party, Prospect Division), who recalled that the health department also shuttered the facility in 2016, recommended that a committee be set up to meet with the vendors and monitor the operations.

“Boston Jerk is a brand and is world famous and is of great economic importance to the parish and the country,” he stressed.