By Fernando Davis

The elegant corridor of Rose Hall, St. James, recently welcomed its newest attraction in the form of a multi-purpose shopping centre that facilitates both shopping and dining, aptly named, Main Street Jamaica.

Formerly known as the Shoppes at Rose Hall, the rebranded and newly renovated facility, in addition to retaining much of its duty free themed concept, now houses ice cream giant Devon House as well as the popular Scotchies jerk franchise.

“It is also a platform on which the top local artisans can now showcase their products alongside global name brand products for the consumption of locals and visitors alike,” said Anup Chandiram, Main Street’s chief executive officer and chairman.

“To our visitors and locals alike, we managed to secure the number one in each category of food, music shopping and sports and entertainment— all unfolding before your eyes. We have Scotchies, best jerk; Cafe Blue, Devon House Cream, Kaya Herb House, offering CBD products; entertainment and art.”

Chandiram, who was addressing the media, business interests and other stakeholders at the official opening of the facility, said it makes a lot of sense to diversify the tourism product, adding that the new concept will cater to both locals and overseas clients.

He added that Main Street Jamaica is also a place where families can come to relax, noting that it has the space and ambiance for proper social distancing and “that rare location where there’s a little everything for everybody”.

“Our team had a vision that this facility needed to showcase the best of Jamaica, all in one place. We sat, reimagined, repurposed and rebranded it to be Main Street Jamaica. When you are thinking about a typical main street, you think of everything being where you want to see it.”

Calling tourism and culture “a very critical marriage,” Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports Olivia Grange, for her part, said she was very excited to see what the Chandiram family has managed to conceptualise at Main Street.

“I am really excited about Main Street and the concept because what it has done is to highlight what Jamaica is about— its music, its food and the great talent our artisans have,” she pointed out, adding that “it also opens opportunities for artisans, for crafts people, for the fantastic food that we have to offer”.

 “What it has also done is bring a local vibe and pair it with brands of the world. Main Street shows that we can stand up, take our place in the world.  Shopping is a major feature of our tourism product and Destination Jamaica is one of the great brands of world tourism, so it’s great that Main Street has come about because it means that you can come here now and get the world’s brands and you can also get what is Jamaica,” said Grange.

Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett, who was also in attendance, noted that for many decades the Chandiram family has been one of the leaders of the in-bond industry and should be congratulated for making such an investment “especially in a time like this”.

 Said Bartlett: “This is a really inspiring vision by Anup Chandiram and his team to bring shopping at this level where we can be looking at world designs and using Jamaican designs to compete with them.”

He added: “I am very pleased with this because it will inspire our producers to do more. It will get us into the realm of things.”