This Caribbean spot was a hit in Aventura. Now it’s open in downtown Miami
When the first Jrk! Jamaican restaurant opened in the Treats Food Hall at Aventura Mall in 2020, it had to close two days later. Not because of the pandemic, but because the spot was swiftly overwhelmed with customers, and the staff couldn’t keep up.
“We sold out of everything,” says chef and co-founder Wayne Sharpe now of the chaos that ensued. “We couldn’t manage. We had to regroup.”
Two days later, Sharpe and his partners reopened the counter with the understanding of just how strongly South Florida craves the spice and flavor of Caribbean food.
Now, Sharpe and his partners — Kavan Burke, Annie Cassius and Harrison Bernstein — have opened a Jrk! standalone restaurant in downtown Miami that serves the same fast-casual Jamaican fare that caused a stir in Aventura.
The new 2,518-square foot restaurant, just east of Government Center, will seat 52 indoors, and its menu will include the bestsellers that made it a hit: homemade Jamaican patties, pineapple plantains, oxtail, rice and peas, curried chicken and — of course — jerk chicken.
But Sharpe ventures beyond the boundaries of the classics, adding such menu items as a jerk fried Jamaican rice and jerk quinoa.
“Our mission is to bring Jamaican food to the rest of the world without compromise in quality or the health of the customers,” he said.
The menu includes vegan- and vegetarian-friendly dishes, and jerk chicken has always been a reasonably healthy choice, he said. It’s cooked on the grill, after all, not fried. But when Sharpe set out on his mission, he discovered he had to make a few changes from the classic Jamaican style to please customers.
“Our biggest takeaway was that people didn’t like the bone in the chicken,” he said. “They didn’t want to be fighting with the bone like we do in Jamaica! The jerk chicken is our no. 1 seller, but they didn’t want to work for the food.”
You can also grab breakfast to go via a “patty window.” Think of it as a ventanita for Jamaican breakfast patties, fresh pastries and Blue Mountain coffee as you head to your downtown destination.
Sharpe said he’s confident the new location, which is now open, will find an audience.
“We have a huge Caribbean population here, and our neighbors’ food from places like Cuba and Haiti are similar,” he said. “Because the food is similar, Jamaican culture is very popular. People always say Jamaican restaurants aren’t necessarily known for their service, but I want you to find everything here — the people are nice, the service is good, the food is good. We strive for that.”
Jrk!
Where: 95 NW First St., Miami
Hours: 8 a.m.-7 p.m. daily
More information: www.eatjrk.com
