Caribbean and Japanese Eateries Are Setting Up Shop in Reading Terminal Market

Two new vendors are joining the lineup at Reading Terminal Market, the 126-year-old food market at 12th and Arch streets that draws crowds of locals and tourists daily. Careda’s Caribbean Cuisine is slated to open early spring, with Umi Seafood and Sushi Bar following in the summer.

Umi, going into what was previously 12th Street Cantina, is a collaboration between two seafood experts: chef Yong Kim of the Philly suburbs’ Bluefin restaurants and purveyor Suzi Kim of John Yi Fish Market (also in Reading Terminal Market), Under the C Seafood (in the Comcast Center), and Ardmore Seafood.

Umi will sell a selection of prepared seafood items along with more than 100 varieties of sushi, sashimi, and maki, available for eating in the market or takeout.

“We chose the name ‘Umi’ because it means ‘ocean’ in Japanese and we want to emphasize our dedication to providing the freshest fish,” Yong Kim said in a press release.

At Careda’s Caribbean Cuisine, Careda Matthews, who is originally from Jamaica, will sell dishes like jerk chicken and oxtail. Matthews used to work at Delilah’s and Keven Parker’s Soul Food Cafe, both soul food eateries in Reading Terminal Market.

“I’ve always loved the market, and my dream was to come back and have my own space one day,” Matthews said in a release. “I realized there was a demand for Caribbean specialties like oxtail, and I wanted to create a space in Center City for people to enjoy authentic Caribbean cuisine.”

Careda’s is going into what was Carmen’s Famous Italian Hoagies and Cheesesteaks, which moved across the aisle.

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