Vee Jay’s Restaurant: How it all began

Opened on November 30, 1977 by Veronica John, the restaurant took the initials of her name VJ and started as a cookshop and snackette in Paul’s Avenue, Kingstown.

At that time, the restaurant had a seating capacity of 12 persons. Veronica had the help of her children, Linette, George and Steve, who assisted with the cutting of meat; her youngest daughter Julia, who assisted during her lunch hour and after school; and her niece Angel John; all their combined efforts made the day-to-day running of the restaurant possible. In no time, VJs became a household name and hangout spot, known for its great food and hospitality.

Vee Jay’s has been known throughout St Vincent and the Grenadines and within the diaspora for its food…or more specifically, its rotis.

Then there were the pelau, bread and chicken, fish, chicken, beef, mutton and goat lunches. Patrons looked forward to hot banana and coconut bread on Saturdays. Mauby and peanut punch were the drinks in hot demand. Added to this was the small scale catering service for surrounding business places.

In 1984, when renovations commenced on the original building, Veronica John was asked to relocate the restaurant. Naturally, she was stressed and pondered whether to discontinue operations completely, but God had another plan.

As He would have it, Veronica came upon an abandoned building at Lower Bay Street opposite a cement and lumberyard, and despite being warned of the possible interference the lumber yard could have, she persisted and persevered, creating a back entrance with a beautiful stonewall walkway, which gave birth to its present location and the realization that her dream was now a reality.

The Vee Jay’s brand expanded to accommodate the opening in 1992 of Vee Jay’s Rooftop on the reclamation site by Julia. The new venue promised a new and different dining experience, especially for visitors and locals to experience a more sophisticated type of cuisine and ambience.

When the matriarch of this establishment passed in 1995, her children George, Steve and Julia took over the day-to-day running of the business. It was under their astute watch that another branch, Vee Jay’s Prime Lime, was opened in 2002, opposite the ET Joshua Airport, making it the first and last stop for visitors and locals alike, who were looking for something to eat or simply, just hang out.

With the expansion of the business came additional responsibilities and so the younger generation of managers took the difficult decision to close the Uptown Rooftop location and expended all their energies into renovating and enhancing the operations at Lower Bay Street and Arnos Vale. Over the years, the number of employees increased from two to 30 to include supervisors, chefs, waitresses, bartenders and janitors.

Currently, Vee Jay’s offers a daily buffet service, with a menu that changes daily to include four different meats with a soup of the day, while maintaining its Creole menu. The dinner menu is inclusive of pork, chicken, seafood ‘a la carte’ service. Rotis are prepared with beef, chicken, vegetable, fish, chunks, shrimp, conch, goat and liver.

The Vee Jay’s Bar offers customers over 150 cocktails from all over the globe. Catering remains an integral part of the services offered by Vee Jay’s, to include more modern additions such as catering to Carnival bands and all-inclusive events and house parties.

Events that were proudly sponsored by Vee Jay’s Restaurant include Vee Jay’s Karaoke Star Search, J’Ouvert Morning Breakfast, Adonal Foyle’s Basketball Summer Camp, Mirage Mas Band; and for the employees, the annual staff picnics; while carrying out its social responsibility to give back to the community with its School Feeding Scholarship Programme for the less fortunate.

It speaks volumes when a local establishment remains at the forefront of the restaurant landscape after preparing and serving food for four decades. One thing is evident: the management and staff at Vee Jay’s are truly honoured “to prepare and serve food to the people they love in 2 locations that they love.”