Mahfood

Well-known and celebrated businessman Derrick Linden Mahfood (Baba) died Tuesday morning in Miami, Florida, after battling a long illness.

Mahfood, who was an inspiration to many young entrepreneurs, leaves behind a thriving legacy of landmark developments, including several plazas in the Corporate Area, real estate and construction ventures, as well as a chain of popular restaurants which brought an exotic and unique variety to the Jamaican dining experience.

He leaves behind his loving wife of 50 years Joan, sons Ricky, Mark, daughters Debbie and Suzanne; daughters-in-law Sandra and Margaret; sons-in-law Andrew and Mark; grandchildren, Luke, Joanna, Anthony, Peter, Isabella, Nicholas, Matthew, Sarah, Jeremy, Stephen, Noah, Jessica, Anna, Samantha and Daniel; brothers, Maurice and Kenneth. Innumerable friends and loved ones.

Memory lives on

The memory of his vision will be sure to live on in the hearts of the many he inspired.

In 2006, Mahfood, who had a passion to see Kingston become a destination for fine dining, invested what he said was "in excess of $15 million" to renovate the courtyard at Marketplace to create a vibrant dining spot.

The result was that three of Jamaica's upscale restaurants - Habibi Latino, Café Aubergine and Jewel to India, a subsidiary of Passage to India - joined the long-established China Express and East Japanese Restaurant to form a food court at the complex.