Popular Jamaican restaurant in Cambridge up for sale

For 17 years Ivey’s Restaurant has been serving up Jamaican cuisine on Wellington Street.

But those days will be coming to an end soon as the family-run restaurant is now up for sale.

Opened in the mid-2000s by Clifton Ivey and his wife Bridget with the help of their daughter Sydjea, the local eatery was always meant to be a family affair and turned into more than just a place to stop for lunch or dinner.

As Clifton sat in his restaurant earlier this week, with the smell of jerk chicken and zucchini bread wafting from the kitchen, he reminisced not about the food, but the impact he hopes to have left on the community.

When looking back, one moment sticks out above the rest. 

Clifton explained how years ago a young man struggling with drug addiction came into the restaurant and upon seeing the hard time the man was going through, Bridget, who passed away last year from cancer, sat and prayed with him as he enjoyed his meal.

That same day, the man was picked up by police and sent to jail. When he got out he headed straight back to Ivey’s Restaurant.

“We gave him food to eat and she talked to him,” Clifton said.

“That young man today is a shining star. He got off the drugs, went to Toronto and got into a program to learn how to do bricklaying. He came back here and said ‘Thank you Ms. Ivey’ and gave her a gift. He left and said he was going to Alberta to work.”

Just this week three men walked in, but only one of them had enough money to buy a Jamaican patty. Not willing to let anyone go hungry, Clifton gave them jerk chicken, rice and peas, and a drink.

Leftover jerk chicken at the end of the day has also routinely made its way to The Bridges shelter.

These are just a few of the countless examples of the Ivey’s commitment to the community, one which they arrived in 33 years ago from Jamaica.

As he’s aged and developed a few health issues of his own, now is the time for Clifton to let go.

“When people see the for sale sign, they say ‘are you really going to sell?’” he said.

“They say they’re going to miss me and that they have to find someone who can cook like me. I’ll leave here and go to Kitchener and people recognize me.”

It’s a feeling of love that's reciprocated.

“I love the community, I love Cambridge,” he said.

“This has been my home since I left Jamaica.”

Sydjea says she’d love to see the business continue and it breaks her heart to think about it closing.

“It’s very important because we’ve always had this way of feeding people and our community because that's what we know back home in Jamaica,” she said.

“I’m going to miss the downtown because there’s so many people in need we don’t know about. We always made sure people ate. We’d love to see the business continue, especially if it’s a Caribbean restaurant. At least it would have that diversity downtown.”

The family admits they’re in no rush to sell, but when the opportunity presents itself they’ll let it go.

As for what Clifton has planned for retirement, he’s excited to do some travelling.

“I’m going on vacation,” he said with a laugh.

“I’m going back to Jamaica for a holiday. I want to go to Cuba and travel to Ghana. I’m saving for that. I have my own savings bucket and I’m quite sure I’ll be able to go to those three countries.”