As of today, Monday, September 1, the quaint Bridget Sandals boutique at 1 Abbeydale Road is no more! Patrons will instead access the brand’s flagship store at 90 Hope Road!

“Today, we’re celebrating my mother. And a transition… we gather to mark a significant milestone and a truly remarkable entrepreneur, Bridget Brown… as her son, I have had the privilege of watching the brand Bridget Sandals grow from a teeny-tiny thing at the back of the yard, to all of a sudden becoming the entire backyard, then all of a sudden some ladies coming to the store. Then the living room was gone, then… the back verandah was covered,” shared Bridget Sandals COO & director Jonathan Buchanan to much laughter at the flagship store’s opening on Wednesday, August 27.

That covered verandah is indeed the checkerboard-tiled one that many traversed to access the original retail store (the family’s former living room).

“A lot of you may not have realised that Abbeydale Road is the house we grew up in as children… From 1986, we were at Abbeydale Road, we were there for almost 40 years, and every single day, because of you guys, we realised that something had to change… we realised we needed a bigger space… so Mummy said, ‘Jonathan, the brand is growing, we have to take a step’. The first phase of the expansion was this lovely building here. And people kept asking, ‘Why are you not here?’ But there was a plan behind it all along. Our first goal was to get the factory up and running… it took seven long years, but here we are!”

An amazing feat for the iconic Jamaican brand. One that was celebrated by family and friends with much gusto and which culminated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony and store viewing.

Page 2 shares highlights.

Sole To Sole Bridget Sandals COO & director Jonathan Buchanan (third left) invited (from left) JMEA President Kathryn Silvera; Select Brands Retail Wines Category Manager Trizan Chung Ying; retired Bridget Sandals employee Gene Valentine; Jamaica Observer Senior Associate Editor, Lifestyle & Social Novia McDonald-Whyte; and family friend Nora Blake to mark the opening with a ceremonial ribbon cutting. Joseph Wellington

Stop & Smell the Roses Among the first to check out the new Bridget Sandals flagship store was Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA) President Kathryn Silvera, who found herself head over heels in love with a Jamaica-themed pair of Rose sandals. Joseph Wellington

Candid Camera Consultant Urological Surgeon Dr Roy McGregor caught up with the camera-shy Bridget Sandals founder Bridget Brown. Joseph Wellington

Heart of The House You can’t say you’re a Bridget Sandals loyalist if you don’t know Patsie “Miss Patsie” Facey! She showed up to celebrate in one the brand’s iconic styles: The Josephine. Joseph Wellington

[ESTABLISHING SHOT]Joseph Wellington

White On Time In from New York to support her grandmother Bridget Brown, and rocking a fresh pair of Bridget Kay sandals, was Exquisite Vibes Restaurant Bar & Lounge principal Demetria John. Joseph Wellington