A new snack bar and cafe serving breakfast, lunch and dinner is about to open next to Shelly Bay beach.

Yesterday a “grand opening” was arranged to give a first glimpse of what is in store for future customers of the new Yardie Grill in Hamilton Parish.

A few minor matters have to be attended to before the new eatery opens up for regular business, but owner Sharon Stevens, aka “Miss Yardie,” is confident it will be all systems go within the next week or so.

It has been some time since there was a cafe/restaurant at the edge of the beach. When Miss Yardie won the contract to operate an eatery at the site last June she was delighted and set about tidying up the premises. She was given welcome assistance from Works and Engineering to repair the place and bring it up to the required standard.

The location, with spectacular views out across the shallow waters of Shelly Bay, appears ideal to attract a high number of customers.

Miss Yardie has a vision of people popping in for breakfast, morning coffee and snacks from 6 a.m. on their way to work, and stopping off on Sunday mornings for brunch or lunch after church. And in the evenings there will be dinners until 10 p.m.

A former storage room within the premises has been transformed into a seating area. There will be additional shaded tables on an outside terrace overlooking the bay.

The new Yardie Kitchen is the second to be opened by Miss Yardie, who has run the original in Glebe Road, Pembroke, for 18 years.

“The tourist season is coming, but people should also know that we will be open all year round. People will be able to come in the morning and have a hot coffee and stuff rather than go into town. We will have lunches and dinners,” she said.

“There is a lot of potential here and I’m glad that I got it,” Miss Yardie said, explaining that it was a friend who pushed her into opening a second Yardie Kitchen and bidding for the opportunity to use the cafe premises. Her friend was the one who filled out the original application form for her.

“I want to thank her first,” Miss Yardie said.

“I have ideas for this place. We are going to have Caribbean nights some weekends for families to come and enjoy. On Sundays people will be able to come and sit down and eat after church. The prices will not be expensive. People can eat in or take out.”

A surround-sound music system will allow customers to enjoy ambient sounds and even on occasion request what kind of music they would like to hear.

The prospect of a Yardie Kitchen opening at Shelly Bay has had many people repeatedly asking when it would be doing business. There have been delays along the way, but Miss Yardie said: “Patience is a virtue.”

Now the wait is almost over.

“I’ve had tourists walk past and say they would like to come in for some toast and juice and a sit down,” she said.

The new Yardie Kitchen is to employ two chefs, a number of assistants and offer summer work for students.