• About

    Jimbo's Story in St. Martin

    In the beginning...

    In November 1988, Jimbo arrived in paradise for the first time. Friends who had relocated to St. Maarten four years previously extended him an invitation, which he accepted. As he states, "My friend Lenny picked me up at the airport and drove me home, where his Trinidadian wife Sadia had prepared a delicious Indian supper and four of her closest female friends were waiting to greet me. I absolutely adored St. Maarten and didn't want to leave."

    Jimbo returned to St. Maarten to remain three months later. He delivered my motorcycle, his cat, his stereo, his books, and his waterbed (without the water!).

    Jimbololo

    At Pelican, he had his first job selling time shares. Jimbo worked at numerous jobs during the course of the following year, relocated to Grand Case, and "fell in love with a French girl named Lolo." St. Martin's Day, November 11, 1990, saw Jimbo and Lolo launch their first eatery. "JIMBOLOLO" was a moniker for the location that they quickly learned.

    Over Time

    Jimbo began serving his renowned Chili Con Carne alongside their barbecue menu one day. Because of how well-liked it was, a buddy recommended they serve Tex-Mex. Within a few days, Jimbo and Lolo took a flight to San Juan, where they bought the necessary culinary supplies. A week later, Jimbololo was a genuine Tex-Mex eatery.

    Over the next five years, business prospered; Lolo returned to France to pursue her artistic talents as a painter; and then on September 5, 1995, Hurricane Luis changed the island and its citizens forever. "The only thing left of the restaurant was a bottle of Jaegermeister floating where the bar once was."

    Recent Years

    Over the next few years, Jimbo managed restaurants of friends, including "Reggae Cafe" and "The Greenhouse", until opening Jimbo's Mesquite Grill in early 2003 in Simpson Bay Marina on the Dutch side of St. Maarten.

    Since opening, Jimbo's has grown into the best Gourmet Mexican restaurant on the island, still playing great tunes, serving up fresh Mexican food and fun drinks and packing in old familiar faces and new friends every day for lunch and dinner. After standing for over 15 years in Simpson Bay, Jimbo's Cafe an lease ended in March of 2020.

    Happy Clients

    What Clients Say