PARIS — Kool Runnins, a new Jamaican cuisine opening at 130 Main Street this weekend looks to provide clean, healthy meals and an authentic Jamaican dining experience.

Walton Wray, owner-operator and chef at Kool Runnins, stands behind the counter of the new Jamaican cuisine restaurant set to open this weekend at 130 Main St. in South Paris. Evan W. Houk/Advertiser Democrat

“I’m doing it the way we do it back home,” Walton Wray, owner-operator and chef for Kool Runnins, said.

The sign on the outside of the building located between McDonald’s and Big Apple in South Paris promises “good food, good vibes.”

Every day the restaurant is open on Wednesday through Friday, there will be new things on the menu, with some staples like brown stew chicken with rice and beans remaining.

“We’re going to keep the customers on their toes, keeping it fresh, and keeping it real Jamaican authentic style,” Wray said.

Another part of the authentic Jamaican cuisine experience is having a small bowl of chicken or beef soup before eating a meal, rather than an appetizer.

Wray explained that the concept of appetizers doesn’t make sense to him because it fills him up before the main course comes.

The soup makes space and prepares the stomach lining for a real meal. He said he wants to make people “soup-crazy,” especially in the wintertime when soup can be a good way to warm up.

“It’s like clearing a pathway for you to enjoy a meal and be able to take in a meal,” Wray said.

The jerk seasoning and marinade with its eclectic mix of spices is another big part of Jamaican cuisine.

“We season everything overnight for days,” Wray said.

Wray learned from his mother how to cook. He said it was part of his generation that the parents made the kids cook and clean.

“Our moms were hard on us,” he said.

He was a salesman in Jamaica but was inspired to relocate to Maine after meeting Phil Smith, a Bryant Pond resident, who had been coming to St. Mary’s Parish in Jamaica for about 30 years and helping the community there.

“All the work that he’s done, all the good things he’s done, I owe the favor to come to his town and return the favor as much as I can,” Wray said.

The interior of Kool Runnins, the Jamaican cuisine restaurant set to open this weekend at 130 Main Street in South Paris, is decorated with Jamaican flags and the different dishes that will be offered. Evan W. Houk/Advertiser Democrat

Wray moved to Maine in 2019 and currently lives in Rumford. He said people know him as “Jamaican Joe” in the area.

Wray immediately saw the similarities between Maine and Jamaica. He told Smith that people are going to start moving to the natural and peaceful land in Maine once they discover it. Sure enough, when COVID-19 hit the next year, Wray witnessed the migration of many people from cities to the more rural setting in Maine.

Both Maine and Jamaica also legalized cannabis at around the same time. The plant is a big part of Jamaican culture and Wray said that was a factor in his relocating.

“Jamaica is called the ‘land of wood and water.’ And when I came to Maine – nature, wood, water everywhere. The only difference is the climate, the winter,” Wray said. “It’s just like home.”

Before opening Kool Runnins, Wray had a few trial runs to gauge interest initially. He said he had an incredible response at both the Hotel Rumford, where he cooked every weekend for a month and then in Mercer where he ran a restaurant in 2022.

“People came from all over,” Wray said.

With Kool Runnins, Wray is looking to provide a healthier alternative to the norm of burgers, pizza, and fried foods that saturates the area.

“My biggest problem here was I couldn’t get any food,” Wray said. “I can only eat burgers and pizza so much.”

Kool Runnins will be open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.