Jake’s Café Closing Tuscaloosa Location After Year Serving Caribbean & Soul Food

A restaurant in Tuscaloosa offering Caribbean cuisine alongside Southern soul food is closing after about a year in business.

As the Thread has reported, Jake's Cafe opened on McFarland Boulevard next to Dunkin' last December, more than 18 months after announcing plans to bring the Hoover concept to the Druid City.

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Owned and operated by Christina Renteria, the restaurant offered jerk chicken, oxtails, jumbo wings, curry chicken, and other Jamaican-style favorites, alongside soul food classics such as collard greens, black-eyed peas, and cornbread.

Now, 11 months after opening, Renteria announced they are closing the Tuscaloosa Jake's Cafe.

In a Friday post on social media, management at Jake's announced that their location at 3615 McFarland Boulevard East will permanently close.

"Y’all showed us so much love, and we’re grateful for every bit of it," they wrote. "We’ll see each other again. That part is certain."

The original Hoover location will remain open, and Jake's will continue to offer catering services here in West Alabama, according to their post.

The message closed with love, a Roll Tide and a promise to return some time in the future with a concept better suited for the Tuscaloosa area.

For more exclusive coverage of restaurant and retail development in West Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.