COLCHESTER, Vt. (WCAX) – Two Chittenden County women are trying to break into the restaurant business, serving Jamaican cuisine. Jessica Tara reports on their challenges and successes.
From the outside, you wouldn’t think the Colchester storefront would house a Jamaican restaurant. Shaneall Ferron says she puts her heart and soul into her food and hopes to bring her Jamaican culture to the Green Mountain State.
“I want to make Vermont a destination place for Jamaican food, ” said Shaneall Ferron, the owner of Thingz from Yaad. She says she moved to Vermont just a little under three years ago. “I started getting homesick and so I was like, I need some Jamaican food.”
She started off catering events but in February Ferron started to look for a kitchen space to make more food for more people. “There’s a need, there’s a market,” she said.
By March she found a space on Mountain View Drive where she prepares take-out orders and has big dreams to turn into a full-on dining experience. “I want to offer this to more people because I know people love Jamaica. From here, there’s a great connection in Vermont to Jamaican food and I really appreciate that,” Ferron said.
Operating in a primarily white state, Ferron says she is not worried about her business being lost. “One thing about Vermont that I love — Vermont, Vermonters are foodies. They love to try new things,” she said.
On the other hand, Jacqueline Thomas of Country Roads Jamaican Flair says it’s been challenging as a woman of color running a catering business in Winooski.
She started back in 2021 and now has her own office space in the Queen City but it’s not enough. “Not everybody respects to see this person as a leader,” Thomas said. “I hate to feel like I’m discriminated.”
But Thomas continues to do what she loves for one reason…”Impact the youth, especially in our ethnic community,” she said. “I think it’s high time that we have a Jamaican Caribbean restaurant here in Vermont because people are raving about Jamaican food.”
Thomas says she wants to educate and inspire others about Jamaican culture and she also hopes to have a kitchen space where she can teach kids how to make these kinds of food. “We’re ready for change. I mean, they’re the future and we can’t hold on to just our ways, we have to pass on what we have,” she said.