Commercial activity is buzzing in Kingston 8
Starting from humble beginnings in the 1960’s, Kingston 8 has always offered residents basic conveniences with a small village feel as they traversed from Manor Park down through Constant Spring and the many offshoot neighbourhoods such as Norbrook and Cherry Gardens. Over the years, the area has seen a few sporadic upgrades, but up until recently the area seemed devoid of significant change in terms of amenities.
Change, as they say, is inevitable. A recent injection of youth and vibrancy now has peppered the landscape with a myriad of new retail options, restaurants, watering holes and a slew of modern residential and commercial developments. With Cellar 8, Candy Craze, Sizzling Wok and international brands like Payless Shoe source, Domino’s and Little Caesars in the mix, along with MailPac, Flirt boutique, Cannonball Cáfe in lower Manor Park, the community has a host of new conveniences right at their fingertips.
Cannonball Café’s Manor Park location is a staple café, prime for meetings or a quiet cup of Blue Mountain coffee, where one is always apt to see a familiar face or two. Derrimon Trading has opened Select Grocers in upper Manor Park, as the new upscale market on the block. Chief Financial Officer, Ian Kelly explains that “shopping is about an experience and we want to make the customers’ experience at Select Grocers be first class, in a very comfortable atmosphere and at a price that is reasonable.”
Derrimon Trading is not the only company looking to shake things up, as Nasma Chin, partner in Cellar 8 explains, “we saw great potential in the Kingston 8 area for investment and in September of 2016 we opened our doors in great anticipation to residents’ eager for somewhere well designed with great food and wine.” Proud of their footprint in the community to date she continues, “we pride ourselves on being the neighbourhood wine bar bistro and over the past year we’ve made great friends and loyal customers and look forward to creating more memories where we now call home. As this town expands and more people follow in our footsteps of creating spaces and experiences all can enjoy, we are extremely excited as Kingston 8 deserves this!”
Plans for further development of the area are being kicked into high gear and as it was reported recently that the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAC) has plans to sell the historic Constant Spring market to the Government in order to pave way for road expansion, mirroring the plans for Kingston 6. Residents have bittersweet sentiments about these impending changes, given the historic contribution the market provided to the area, but there’s no dispute that the neighbourhood will benefit from an improved roadway up Constant Spring through the Manor Park corridor.
A hop, skip and jump down the road, Manor Centre has received a facelift with a new coat of paint and a host of new offerings from fitness to casual dining and family fun. A kaleidoscope of offerings includes Express Fitness, JamZone, Core Fitness, Popeye’s, Little Ceasar’s, Vietnam 4U restaurant and Eyeland Eyewear.
Core Fitness, a pilates studio owned by Selena Deleon has been welcomed as the new kid on the block. As Deleon explains, “it has been great to see a lot of people who once supported me in Kingston 6, come to my new location.” Deleon adds, “I’ve gotten an amazing response from people who live in Kingston 8, because now they have a lifestyle option available on this side of town. What has been pleasantly surprising is that I have discovered a large amount of people that make up a target market for my business.” Core Fitness, a pilates studio owned by Selena Deleon has been welcomed as the new kid on the block. As Deleon explains
