TWO Jamaican entrepreneurs, trying to make a go of a jerk and juice business in Miramar, Florida, have received a body blow with the theft of a truck which they had bought to expand their offerings.

Christopher Crooks and Xavian McKenzie, both from Jamaica’s eastern parish of Portland, operate Go-Jerk, a food establishment, and Go-Fresh which does natural juices in the American state where several Jamaicans live.

Having started Go-Jerk in 2019, which catered to parties and other events, they decided to purchase a truck which would allow them to increase mobile deliveries.

But on December 4, they found out that the truck had been stolen.

“The truck was last seen on the afternoon of December 3. We noticed that the truck was not there on the 4th, after my girlfriend called us asking if we had moved the truck from the print shop where it was parked to be wrapped with our logo,” Crooks told the Jamaica Observer.

“This loss set us back tremendously in many ways. Firstly, we need the truck in order to be mobile and be able to get to our gigs across South Florida. The fact that it took us over three years to save and invest to get to this level, is really weighing on us. But we are not discouraged,” added Crooks who was supported by McKenzie.

According to McKenzie, the truck was bought through their savings over three years based on the support they had received from the Jamaican community in South Florida.

The two have established a GoFundMe page to attempt to raise funds for the purchase of a new truck and Crooks told the Observer that this has started well.

“The South Florida community has been giving plenty of support and empathy to the situation. We aspire to keep our Jamaican heritage alive in the community through native dishes [jerk chicken and jerk pork] and this setback has kind of put a big dent in that movement.

“Regularly, people would have a bite of the food and that would instantly spark a conversation on us giving a history lesson on our beautiful parish of Portland. I would definitely say it’s not only a financial setback but it also puts a pause to our way of giving knowledge and cultural retention through our skill of cooking,” said Crooks.

McKenzie and Crooks have had a passion for cooking since they were children living in Port Antonio and Buff Bay, respectively.

Their love affair continued into adulthood and despite not being formally trained, they have managed to build a reputable and enviable list of clientèle across South Florida.

Go-Jerk has been involved in several events and activities in the community including Jerk and Wine Nights, ZoneZ Mask party, Palm Beach Jerk Festival, Miami Reggae Sound System Festival, Bikini Sundays Miami, Ice Cream Sundayz Miami, and Pon D Endz Street Dance.

The business also does private catering for birthday parties, weddings and graduations.

Aside from jerk dishes, Go-Jerk also offers veggie soup, curried chicken, brown stewed chicken, oxtail, curried goat and curried chick peas on its menu.

— Kevin Jackson