Minister Wilchcombe Officially Opens Lukka Kairi

Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe said recently that he’s looking forward to new life coming to downtown Nassau this year through new restaurants and other forms of nightlife.

The minister said as much at the opening of Bay Street’s newest waterfront restaurant Lukka Kairi.

Lukka Kairi, which is owned by Arturo Salas, is located on Oceanfront Prince George Wharf –  a few steps down from Pompey Square.

The restaurant offers fresh, Bahamian dishes like conch fritters, lobster rolls, tamarind ribs, macaroni and cheese and a unique spin on tasty desserts like guava duff.

Bahamian culture exudes in Lukka Kairi as Bahamians artists painted all of the art décor on the walls.

The paintings tell a story of Bahamian history from the Lucayans to pirates to the cultural expression of Junkanoo.

You can also hear live Bahamian music playing at the restaurant.

Minister Wilchcombe said the restaurant is setting the pace for the transformation of Bay Street.

“I have no doubt that in this restaurant you are going to see one of the highest standards and this restaurant is going to be extremely successful,” he said.

“I think it is deserving that we give our Bahamian artists a round of applause for this wonderful work. This is exceptional. They took a concept, understood it and brought Bahamian culture to life. They have been able to show you how you can turn a bar into a mural that represents the history of our country that we are so proud of.

“Let me encourage all of you to do more to assist the economy of our country. This will help us. The visitors tell us is that they want more to do. They want more activity. They want more restaurants. If we are going to be the best in the world, we have to create more. We have to do more. We have to be more creative and seen to be investing in our Bahamas. And so Auturo you are setting the pace because we are transforming this whole area of downtown. This is but the first step and after 13 months you are going to see more restaurants and more added to this area.”

Mr. Salas, who is Mexican, said the idea was to come up with a restaurant that has Bahamian history and targets locals.

“It took us two and a half years to develop this concept. We are targeting more to the locals. We want the locals to be proud of this place so they can bring their friends and guests because we know once the locals accept it and like it, the tourists will be here,” he said.

“We are very excited that more restaurants are coming. That is going to help downtown and we are all for it.”

Over 200 persons attended the grand opening of the restaurant.

All proceeds from the opening went to Teen Challenge.