Last spring, Omar McKay announced his plans to open a fourth Irie Jamaican Kitchen. McKay had claimed a spot on Chagrin Boulevard in Shaker Heights, across the street from Heinen’s in the strip mall at Chagrin and Lee. His new restaurant was going in next door to Upper Crust.
Early in the process, the Upper Crust business closed and McKay called an audible, moving the construction team one address over.
“That spot was a quicker build-out — and cheaper too,” McKay explains.
This fourth location, which opens on June 1, joins the original on the border of N. Collinwood (621 East 185th St., 216-350-6112) and others in Old Brooklyn (4162 Pearl Rd.) and in Akron’s Highland Square neighborhood (837 W. Market St.).
The fast-casual eatery in Shaker will be grab-and-go with a handful of seats. Diners can look forward to a delicious selection of jerk chicken, curry chicken, curry shrimp, braised oxtails and vegetarian options dished up in bowls, wraps or traditional style with warm cabbage, rice and peas, and plantains. New for this summer is jerk butter shrimp.
Also new for this season is an Irie Jamaican food truck, which will soon be available for parties, events and food truck meet-ups.
Not one to sit still, McKay already has his eyes on location #5, which will open in Lakewood this summer.
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This article appears in Apr 5-19, 2023.
