LOCAL singing sensation Jumo ‘Rubber Waist’ Primo is opening his 592 Bar and Grill in time for the holidays, and he has his heart set on offering “something different” to his customers.
“When last you was on the outside and feel like you in the inside? Just a few more days trying to make it perfect for you guys,” Jumo expressed on social media as he was addressing his supporters.

The facility is shaping up nicely, according to him, and if all goes as planned, the opening will be on December 4 at the Lot 23 John and Norton Street location.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic here in Guyana, Jumo decided to close his night club, which is located at the same address. “But things have been rough since then. As an artiste, the entertainment world has suffered since then; no work, but you still have bills to pay and all that.”
So as the holiday season approaches, Jumo decided that he can operate a different business in the meantime. “And that’s how the bar and grill came up; every day from 12 noon to the curfew. You can order lunch such as BBQ, fries, wings, and fish.”

However, Jumo prefers that people take away their food and so he is in the process of creating a delivery service that will be right there on spot. The reason is also that the sitting area at the bar is very small and caters to only a small number of people.
“We’re trying to keep the social distancing, masks of course. We will be sanitizing people to ensure we follow the rules as much as we can. That’s all we can do; we all have a responsibility to take care of ourselves. We will try to put all measures in place. Only a certain amount of people can sit down in keeping with COVID rules. We have plans to provide masks for people who don’t have.”

He reminded that the facility is mainly outdoors. “This is not indoors. We closed the night club, so this is outdoor. And if you think you had enough to drink and you don’t want to drive, we have a taxi service on the premises. We also have a super bet.”

Persons can also order vegetarian meals. “As we establish ourselves, we want to be more creative and do more things. As we go, we will experiment with different types of lunches and so forth. We want to make sure that what we’re doing is a little different and works for everybody.”

Jumo is one of the local artistes who have been severely affected by the Coronavirus Pandemic. His livelihood has practically been halted, as he continues to try to find alternatives means of bringing in an income for him and his family.

Jumo said he has so far refused to open his night club and studio for work as he does not want to contribute to the number of COVID-19 cases in Guyana. He has so far observed that many persons in his line of business are continuing to do as they please.

For persons like him who want to adhere to the guidelines, though, life is very difficult at the moment, financially. “Music is my daily bread and knowing that you cannot perform, travel, earn money for your family, it’s hard. The entertainment business in the whole is suffering because there is nothing in place for artistes. Some of us might be having a day time job, but I invested in my studio, in my night club. So it’s been hard for me; every day you have to study your kids, mortgage, etc.”