The Richards family was feeling a little homesick earlier this year when a simple idea took hold.
Why not bring a little piece of their former home in Jamaica to the people of Cambridge?
That idea soon grew into Jamstyle, a Jamaican retail and wholesale grocery store that opened on King Street in Preston last month.
“After being away from home for so long you want to have a taste of home,” says store co-owner Garcene Richards, who moved to Cambridge from the island nation with her husband Anthony and daughter Rayana about six years ago.
They quickly realized that while some grocery stores stock a few items native to the Caribbean island, most don’t, and the brands they’d once enjoyed were hard to find.
They’d often have to travel to Toronto to stock up on the real thing and during the pandemic, that idea became even more inconvenient than it already was.
Meat products like oxtail and cow foot, used in the hearty stews, soups and curries popular in Jamaica, aren’t typically available from local butchers.
Even finding salt fish, Jamaica’s national dish, was a chore.
Not anymore. Now they’re all available frozen or fresh at Jamstyle, along with dozens of Jamaican brands like D&G Soda, Maggi Seasoning, various hot sauces, coconut oil, and popular snack staples like meat patties and bun and cheese.
Soon, Rayana says they hope to offer a fresh produce stand at the front of the store featuring green bananas, yams, plantains, dasheen and cocoa.
Over time, Garcene says they’ll expand their inventory as they hear from customers about what they should offer.
Now into its third week, Jamstyle has already welcomed dozens of customers eager to revisit the flavours of the Caribbean.
The family picked their location strategically, in an area with high visibility and just a few doors down from popular Caribbean restaurant Silver Spoon.
Rayana says anyone that tries a dish there and wants to make it from scratch at home, can now stock up on supplies at Jamstyle.
They say they're happy to be part of a new businesses surge in Cambridge that gives residents a chance to explore this city's diversity.
“We want everyone, from all different backgrounds, to experience our food and culture,” Rayana says.
