Flavor R E S T A U R A N T
SPOTLIGHT
JAMAICAN YARD VIBES
Restaurant Transplants Customers to the Caribbean Written by J O H N K I R K PAT R I C K Photos by J A M I E A L E X A N D E R
Jamaican
Yard
Vibes
opened
on
Parrish Avenue as Owensboro’s only Caribbean
restaurant.
Owned
and
operated by Dwayne Whyte and his wife Shanetha, the restaurant offers traditional Jamaican dishes with no shortage of flavor. The carry-out establishment truly personifies Jamaican culture, despite being sandwiched between the U-Haul storage
facility
and
Ollie’s
Bargain
Outlet on Parrish Avenue. Jamaican Yard Vibes and Whyte transport customers to the island through scratch-made dishes, a native Jamaican accent, and a “ya mon” mentality. “It’s a pleasure,” Whyte said. “I love seeing people enjoying the food; it brings pleasure to my heart. It feels so good for my wife, family, and myself to put all this together. It makes me happy.” The opening process presented some challenges, delaying the grand opening by a few months, but Whyte said he’s ecstatic to bring his home-style cooking to Owensboro. Whyte previously sold plate lunches online but can’t wait to try his hand in an industrial-sized kitchen. “It was a little challenging at first, especially getting the system for the kitchen,” he said. “We finally put everything together. It took a while, but it feels so exciting. We have all this space in the kitchen, no one is bumping into each other, and everyone can roll.”
116
Owensboro Living M AY / / J U N E 2 0 2 2
I love seeing people enjoying the food; it brings pleasure to my heart. It feels so good for my wife, family, and myself to put all this together. It makes me happy.
