The proprietor of a beloved Jamaican restaurant in Bakersfield, California, is seeking support to get the business back up and running after he was forced to shutter its doors last month due to financial challenges.

Barrington Lewis, the Jamaican-born owner and operator of Barrington’s Jamaican Kitchen, told the Jamaica Observer that he began experiencing challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic which devastated the restaurant industry amid closures, capacity constraints and a sharp rise in inflation.

What’s worse is that Lewis said he did not receive financial assistance that he was entitled to for his small business.

“(The challenges) started with the pandemic. I fell short of getting the financial support that the nation was getting, and I didn’t get it because they exhausted the money that they had allotted for small businesses like mine. I was kind of counting on that,” Lewis said.

The inflation crisis had a crippling impact on the business, he said.

“Well, the economy in general, you know, prices have skyrocketed and stuff like that. So, things that I used to pay X amount of dollars for last year have doubled. And so, I’m trying to keep my prices the same just to make sure everything is affordable to most of my customers, or all my customers, and things like that,” he shared.

It resulted in the restaurateur falling behind on payments for his lease, and being evicted by his landlord.

“And when one year came by, I couldn’t afford it. And the payments for the lease kind of got a little bit behind. But the worst part is when the landlord, the owner, decided that they could find someone that pays twice as much for the same building. Even though I was behind on the rent, I could have caught up, you know, but they decided to just, you know, get someone else in there,” he lamented.

Lewis has since relocated to 2207 Brundage Lane, also in Bakersfield, five minutes away from his previous location, but he said he lacks the financial resources to kickstart the business.

“Where I am right now, we’re struggling to get the new equipment and the first and last month’s lease and things like that to get going. I already got the health department to sign off that the building is okay and everything, but now I’m trying to get the new equipment in there and the first and last month’s rent, you know, just general basic things to get a restaurant business going. That’s where I’m having a little trouble right now,” he said.

Lewis has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for his business and is seeking to raise a sum of US$20,000. He has managed to raise US$8,000, just under half of the total, so far.

“I started a GoFundMe about a month ago. I thought it would have taken off a lot faster, but so far we have received like US$8,000,” he said.

Lewis, who initially planned to reopen his business on April 1, shared that this was not achievable due to a lack of funds.

“I told people I would open last week Tuesday, and it didn’t happen. And I told people Tuesday, tomorrow, and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be there either. So, I’m looking at trying to get a grand opening or some kind of activity going by the middle of this month. By the 15th, and that all depends on funding, because if it doesn’t, I have to push it back a little bit further,” he said.

Barrington’s Jamaican Kitchen is a hotspot for Jamaican dishes such as jerk chicken, oxtail, brown stew chicken, rice and peas, fried plantains, and more.

“I feel like a Jamaican ambassador here in Bakersfield because a lot of people here, I found out, travel to the Caribbean, specifically Jamaica, a lot. And when they come back, they said they would like to find the kind of food and just the social experience that they had when they were in Jamaica; they could find it here,” he said.

“So, I realised that, and I found out that I could actually do that by creating an atmosphere and the food, for example, culturally, where they can come and talk about their vacation, their honeymoon. And I tell you what, I hear some stories… people tell me, ‘Oh, I just got back from Jamaica; I’m going to Jamaica next week,’ or ‘because of the food I got from you, I’m going to go to Jamaica,’ you know, things like that,” he continued.

Lewis shared that the Bakersfield community has been supportive following his transition to a new location.

“When I got so-called evicted from my previous location and I put it online, there was an outpouring of support, people telling me, ‘We’ll follow you wherever you go,’” he said.

“Every single one of them said, ‘Don’t worry, we will find you wherever you are… we have 520 reviews on Yelp, and we’re five stars, and the comments can let you know for yourself that, hey, this food is good, and we’re ranked number one in the state of California as far as making food is concerned,” Lewis said proudly.

Lewis shared that his restaurant has also been a beacon of hope for many homeless people whom he would normally provide with meals daily.

“One of the things that I’m going to be missing really is the people in the neighbourhood, or where they’re homeless. And what I do is, at closing time, instead of throwing food in the trash, they come around and I feed them. And to be honest with you, I’m going to miss certain customers, but I feel it harder when I realise that the people who used to come and get some free food at the end of the day, which would be their only meal, I won’t be able to do that, at least not right now, but they probably will find me sooner or later,” he said.

Lewis told the Jamaica Observer that Barrington’s Jamaican Kitchen started seven years ago after he lost his job, but he always had a passion for cooking.

“So, it was about seven years ago when I got laid off from my job I had with PepsiCo. But I decided to do something that I truly love, something that I was doing from before I came to America from Jamaica, as a Boy Scout and cadet. I used to cook on camp, and everybody seemed to love it. So I feel like a drawback on that because I used to love that. And I started doing that, and everybody started loving it. And so I just got my licence and decided I’m going to do this forever,” he shared.

Barrington Lewis and his three children at the previous location of his restaurant Jamaican restaurant Barrington’s Jamaican Kitchen in Bakersfield, California.