Jumbey Café Carmichael opens its doors

Jumbey Café Carmichael opens its doors
Double the location – Restauranteur Valentino Munroe stands outside his newly opened establishment, Jumbey Café located on Carmichael and East Avenue. It is the second restaurant for the brand launched in 2016.

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Jumbey Café, a popular Village Road restaurant deeply rooted in Bahamian flavours, has opened a second location on Carmichael Road.

The space the new restaurant calls home was formerly occupied by QBC. It sits across the street from John’s Plaza at the junction of Carmichael and East Avenue.

In the restaurant business where there isn’t much room for mistakes, entrepreneur Valentino Munroe knew now was the right time to grow.

“To be able to move into Carmichael in a more urban area with high consumer traffic gives us the ability to broaden our customer base and increase volume, thereby improving our growth prospects and the opportunity to gain a stronger foothold in the food industry,” said Munroe.

To ease staff into the new routine, the restaurant quietly opened its doors on Thursday, March 21. An official opening is slated for next month.

Since its launch in 2016, Jumbey Café has built for itself a solid foundation, methodically establishing its brand identity as a go-to place for authentic Bahamian dishes heavily influenced by the owner’s Andros roots. Think crab soup, baked crab, crab and rice, boil fish, fresh snapper, crack conch and the like, in a down-home atmosphere.

When many neighbourhood restaurants are closed on Sundays, Jumbey Café made a name for itself opening from 9 am to 6 pm. With its reasonably priced menu, a full meal for three costs between $25 to $30, the restaurant delivers good eats for those preferring not to cook before or after church.

Its friendly staff delivers a great customer experience, while the restaurant’s tasty food is prepared fresh daily by Family Islands cooks from Andros, Abaco and Exuma whose specialty recipes have been passed down from generation to generation.

Budget-friendly prices turned browsers into regulars who referred family and friends to this laid-back spot, ideal for grabbing breakfast on the weekend, picking up dinner for the family when the day is done, or for those with a hankering for something more filling than a salad eaten at their desk and were enticed to “come taste the rhythm.”

“We have a very popular base in and around The Village Road Shopping Centre area,” said Munroe, a computer system engineer by profession, who also runs the computers and accessories store, Onit Systems, located just a few doors down.

Although warmly received by the market, Munroe said there’s still more growing to do at the flagship location. In the coming weeks, he hopes to capture a larger market share when the café rolls out its lighter lunch fare – more salads, boils and fresh vegetables. The goal is to attract and retain more of the area’s professional, health-conscious crowd.

Menu options will differ somewhat between locations. Carmichael will stick to Jumbey’s tried and true menu. However, it will offer breakfast seven days a week. The Village Road location serves breakfast three days a week: Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

“Our choice of locations demonstrates we are not afraid to get close to some of the bigger players who have done really well in business over the years. I’m not worried about the competition. With food, having options make the market more interesting,” said Munroe whose family owns and operates restaurants and lodging accommodations in Andros.

“We look to compliment and improve the product quality and the level of service in our area of the market. A new entrant, even a small player, could have an amazing impact causing its competitors to take note and improve their level of service. Consequently, the customer benefits from better food quality all around.”

The restauranteur said his priority is ensuring both establishments deliver what it promises – authentic Bahamian food made with all natural, fresh, ingredients prepared in the best environment possible, with a welcoming, courteous staff delivering service that is second to none in the industry.

Said the married father of two: “While we look to expand operations, our bigger dream is really to exemplify to the next generation would it means to grow, build and develop ownership in the Bahamian economy.”