Little Ochie faces $8m in damage

The damage from Hurricane Beryl to popular seafood restaurant Little Ochie in Alligator Pond, Manchester has amounted to more than $8 million, proprietor Evrol Christian has disclosed.

The Category 4 storm, which battered Jamaica’s south coast a week ago, destroying homes and businesses, tore through the eatery established in 1989.

Christian said that, although operations at the restaurant have not ground to a complete halt, it may be weeks before it is fully functional again.

“It’s the centre of Alligator Pond. We employ over 23 people. We buy 80 per cent of the catch from the fishermen. There are farmers up the road who rely on us to buy scallion and thyme, but, most of all, we have the customers who depend on us for authentic seafood,” said Christian.

He said Beryl’s passage has forced the cancellation of Little Ochie Seafood Festival this weekend, which attracts hundreds of patrons annually.

Christian said $5 million was invested to stage the event.

Added to that, a timeline for power restoration is not yet clear, as thousands of homes and businesses in south Manchester and St Elizabeth remain without power.

‘We will be back’

Still, Christian is assuring the community that the seafood joint will bounce back from the gut punch of Beryl.

“Operations will be back. We will be back. It may take a little time with the electricity and all, but we will be back,” he told The Gleaner.

Tanikah Henry, an employee, described the restaurant as the breadbasket in Alligator Pond.

She said the damage the property suffered has resulted in a “big loss” to the community, as it fed and provided employment for many.

“The community has lost in every way. In every single way,” said Henry.

In the hours leading up to Beryl’s passage, Henry said the sky had become white.

She said the fierce wind made conditions “terrible and rough”.

“Within three or four hours, you could just hear zinc flying here, there and everywhere, and people had no control over what was happening. It was just terrible,” she said.

Several residents lost their roofs and some lost entire structures.

“It’s like the wind have the board them just a shred, just shredding like nothing. There is no tree left in Alligator Pond. Every fruit tree gone, no matter how old it was, no matter how thick the roots are,” said Henry.

In 50 years, the woman said, she had never seen what she witnessed last Wednesday.

“Everything cut off. There’s no light; there’s no water. There’s no work. So, it’s whatever we have put down in the house, because, right now, we cannot go to the bank ... . We have to ping-pong, ping-pong until business come back up,” she said.

For the moment, she said, the community has bonded over the experience and has offered a helping hand to those hardest hit.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com