The popular Big John’s Restaurant on Broad Street has had its doors padlocked because of a $154 000 debt to the landlord.
“They couldn’t have picked a worse time to close us,” the restaurant’s owner, John Naime, told the SATURDAY SUN. “This is the Christmas season.”
Customers’ reaction varied from disappointment to amusement yesterday when they found Naime’s home of “deep south Caribbean cooking”
in Mall 34 shut, with padlocks on both doors and two notices explaining the reason for the closure.
The notices, reportedly posted overnight, said the action was taken because the business owes landlord M. I. Juman and Son Limited $154 000 in rent for a period of seven months.
Seven days
Unless the rent is cleared within seven days of the publication of the notice, the restaurant’s “goods and chattel” will be sold off, a notice warned.
One notice bore the name Yearwood & Boyce, the law firm representing the landlord.
The other was posted by the landlord and the bailiffs, Credit Collection Barbados Limited.
Big John’s is one of about 28 businesses listed in Mall 34. It operates under the business name Emian Inc., occupying a prime street-side spot.
It has operated on Broad Street for six years.
“The Broad Street operation supplies food for all our businesses, so with Broad Street closed, it looks like they are out of work,” said Naime.
The businessman added that he could not determine what would happen in the next few days. “We will have to see how things go,” he commented.
Big John’s has more than 60 employees, with an operation in Hastings, Christ Church, and a mobile unit.
“We have good food and we have good taste,” Naime remarked.?
