Golden Crest, a longtime Jamaican restaurant in Uniondale owned by Kenneth Johnson, is welcoming customers back after a three-month renovation project that refreshed the nearly 30-year-old business while preserving its role as a gathering place for food and community.
The restaurant, at 540 Jerusalem Ave., reopened March 26 after extensive renovations to its interior. A formal grand reopening, featuring Jamaican fried fish, is planned for Sept. 19, timed for when families have returned from summer vacations. Johnson said his own busy schedule also contributed to the delayed celebration.
Originally from Kingston, Jamaica, Johnson, operated a restaurant there before coming to the United States in 1979 and bringing the Jamaican-food experience to Uniondale. There were no other Jamaican restaurants nearby, which he saw as a chance to serve the community and share his culture. Golden Crest became a destination for customers looking for traditional Jamaican fare with the taste of either the Caribbean or their home.
“I saw it as an opportunity to provide food for not only Jamaicans who lived in Uniondale,” Johnson said, “but also to share that part of my culture and cooking skills with the community.” Among the eatery’s most popular dishes are curried goat and jerk chicken.
“It’s more than a restaurant,” he added of Golden Crest. “It’s like a community center where people chitchat and they play music sometimes. They play dominoes.”
The restaurant’s temporary closure, he said, did not go unnoticed: Customers regularly approached him to ask when it would reopen. Their enthusiasm inspire him to plan the formal grand reopening and fish fry.
“Everybody wanted the restaurant to reopen,” Johnson said. “When it was closed, people came to me every day and asked, ‘What happened?’ When am I going to reopen again? But when we came back, people were glad.”
The renovations included a new restroom, ceiling, flooring, tables and chairs, coolers and kitchen equipment. The walls were tiled, giving the establishment a refreshed appearance, while its original sign and its glass display area, where customers can see the food being prepared, were preserved.
Johnson admitted to being “a little bit nervous” about beginning renovations — starting a new chapter of his life after building the restaurant he cherished for nearly 30 years.
“The closure allowed me to refresh the building pretty much,” he said. “And to improve the curb appeal and hope for future success.”
Claudia Barnes, a longtime customer and a family friend of Johnson’s, echoed his feelings about Golden Crest’s community atmosphere. The restaurant has become more than a place to eat, Barnes said.
Customers who came as young adults now bring their children, and many grown children are customers themselves. Johnson has watched many young diners grow up, as if they were his own family.
“I’ve seen a different set of customers come in to only find out that these are different generations of customers,” Barnes said. “Customers shake hands and greet everybody in the store, sit for a while, chitchat, get their food and leave. Everyone seems to know each other.”
The restaurant’s first night back was less about serving food than it was about welcoming back frequent diners. They came by to see the renovated space, reconnect with friends and celebrate the restaurant’s return.
“The first night, I don’t think he made food that day,” Barnes said. “People just came to say, ‘We’re glad you’re back.’”
The restaurant provides a convenient option for Jamaican families who may not have time to prepare dinner after work, while welcoming people from other backgrounds as well. “I think for a lot of people who are Jamaican and they work — they go home and make dinner; it can be tedious for a lot of families,” Barnes said. “It’s very convenient on the way home to pull over and get Jamaican food.”
According to Neilsberg Research, Uniondale’s population is 6.7 percent Jamacian— more than 2,200 people — while the Jamaican portion of the Town of Hempstead — more than 19,000 people — accounts for roughly 2 percent of its population.
For longtime customers, Golden Crest’s reopening represents more than a renovated dining room. It marks the return of a familiar Uniondale institution where generations have gathered over Jamaican food and conversation.
