BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Barrington's Jamaican Kitchen, a cultural staple in Bakersfield for 7 years, is set to close its location.
- Owner Barrington Lewis, a Jamaican native, opened the restaurant in 2017 after moving to Bakersfield on a track scholarship.
- Regular customers express nostalgia for the authentic Jamaican cuisine and the community aspect of the restaurant.
- The restaurant has faced challenges like break-ins and rising overhead costs, contributing to its closure.
- Lewis is actively seeking funding for a new location to continue serving the community.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Barrington Lewis said, "By bringing it here and having it here in Bakersfield most of our customers, they come and they say wow. I just got back from Jamaica."
Lewis is native to the island of Jamaica. He first came to Bakersfield in 1983 on a track scholarship to Bakersfield College.
He left for a few years before returning in 1989, this time bringing a sense of home with him, opening Barrington's Jamaican Kitchen in 2017.
After 7 years of being on Ming Avenue, he tells me this location is closing.
Barrington Lewis mentioned, "I already found a new spot not 100 percent yet."
Being one of the only Jamaican restaurants in Bakersfield, regulars in the community like Matthew Toves say this location brings back fond memories.
Toves said, "That home cooked meal, you know every time you come here it's got the rice with the beans, the plantains, the cabbage, just everything."
As Toves traveled all the way from Fresno, he said meals like this remind him of his college days and keep him coming back over the last 3 years.
Not only will locals in the community miss the location, but so will the homeless, like Mark Rew, who come after hours to eat the leftovers just to get his only meal of the day.
Rew said, "This could've been somebody's only meal that day, you know, and the fact that these guys are doing something like that, it's I mean look at this, it's a little small store, you know what I mean."
Over the years this little oasis has had struggles like break-ins but Lewis has kept faith.
He stated, "Now I have the homeless people in the area would call me and say hey we got some people hanging around your building 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning."
Lewis says he also dealt with higher rates for overhead leading him to close, but what he needs to figure out as of now is funding for his new location.
He shared, "I'm working on that right now, you know I did a go fund me and hopefully, that can help me with the transition, new equipment and the fees."
Lewis tells me the Jamaican Kitchen's last day may be the 27th of March and is hoping his new location on 2025 Brundage Lane Indoor Swapmeet is open before his closure.
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