For 12 years, Debbie Monfries and her husband Junior—owners of beloved London Caribbean restaurant, Umana Yana—have been fighting to keep their business afloat.
It began when local councils granted permission for five huge telecom units to be installed right outside the front of the restaurant in 2012. The boxes obscure Umana Yana almost entirely, an absurd piece of town planning that the Monfrieses say is severely damaging trade. One council officer has admitted that it is the “worst case” of its type he’s ever seen.
This summer, their campaign to have the boxes relocated went viral on TikTok, giving the Monfrieses hope of a resolution at last. However, to their dismay, Southwark Council restated that it won’t be taking action, insisting the boxes were installed “lawfully.”
Now, Central Cee is adding his voice to Umana Yana’s noble fight, in a special episode of Family Food by Munchies—you can watch it now, in the player below:
In the film, the rapper—who recently found out his dad used to eat at the restaurant—aprons up and joins Debbie in the kitchen to whip up a delicious feast of chicken curry and paratha roti. “I couldn’t even imagine the biggest rapper in the UK would be at my shop,” says Debbie.
Central Cee enjoyed the shoot so much that, afterwards, he donated £15k to the cause of the restaurant—whose name means “meeting place of the people” in the language of the Wai-Wai, the Amerindian tribe indigenous to Guyana.
To support Umana Yana’s campaign, visit linktr.ee/umanayanaa.
Watch the film at the Munchies YouTube channel now.
The post Central Cee Is Joining the Fight to Save a Beloved London Restaurant appeared first on VICE.
The post Central Cee Is Joining the Fight to Save a Beloved London Restaurant appeared first on VICE.
