Jamaican Pat rebranding Caribbean Kitchen with new changes

CEDAR RAPIDS — Patrick “Jamaican Pat” Rashed’s restaurants at NewBo City Market are undergoing a shake-up with one closure and one rebranding.

Fat Pat’s Gumbo YaYa, opened in October to serve Creole-inspired New Orleans classics, closed on March 26 after less than six months in business. It was the first spot in Cedar Rapids to specialize in gumbo.

“Fat Pat’s was just testing the waters,” Rashed said.

But as others like Torch Kitchen Company have closed at NewBo City Market in recent months, Rashed’s signature restaurant is repositioning with a new stall and a new name.

Soon, Caribbean Kitchen will be moving to Torch’s old spot with a new extension following its name: “Soul Food and Jamaican Joint.” There, he plans to drive his Caribbean menu to its intersection with soul food.

“I want to specialize in a few extra items,” he told The Gazette. “The menu will be mostly the same, otherwise.”

With new openings in the Cedar Rapids soul food market, Rashed plans to add things like fried chicken, collard greens and candied yams to the menu.

With a void left for soul food sides after Vivian’s Soul Food’s closure late last year, Rashed hopes to add a broader appeal to Caribbean Kitchen’s year-round customer base, which is bolstered during the warmer months by brisk food truck business.

The owner, who takes regular trips to New Orleans every year, found inspiration for his fried chicken recipe from Willie Mae’s, a popular restaurant in that city.

“Everybody eats fried chicken, but not everybody eats jerk chicken,” Rashed said. “A little bit more diverse menu may bring in customers afraid to try something they think is spicy.”

The change is one of the biggest he’s made to his business since it started about 11 years ago.

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