MANY people told Jannell Turner that her idea wouldn’t work. In fact, after using a month’s salary to purchase supplies and only selling one cup of coffee, the mother of two almost started believing that “nobody nah guh buy” from her coffee stand at the side of the road.

But, almost a year after selling that one cup of coffee on her first day outside Jewellery King on Hope Road in St Andrew, Turner’s Sunrise Coffee on the Go is brewing up multiple cups a day, and the community she’s built on
TikTok is along for the ride via her daily live streams from her beverage stand.

From 6 am to 8:30 am on weekdays she offers customers a variety of hot and cold caffeinated beverages at her coffee stand, before dismantling her set-up and bustling off to her nine-to-five as an accountant at VXI Jamaica.

Turner told the Jamaica Observer that she got the idea for her business while scrolling on TikTok and coming across a live stream with a woman in Thailand selling coffee on the streetside.

“I was fascinated by everything — the culture, the vibes, being on the street. At that point, it wasn’t a business idea… I was just enjoying [watching] her prepare coffee for customers. Then, couple weeks in, I said, ‘Why not provide this Starbucks-type experience to the average Jamaican man at an affordable cost?’ ” she said.

In a leap of faith she spent an entire pay cheque to purchase the items, then did a survey among relatives and friends about whether they thought her dream was possible.

“They were like, ‘Nobody nah guh buy that! Nobody nah go buy nuh hot coffee or iced coffee a morning time,’ ” she shared.

Turner admitted that their words caused her to question everything, and she even considered selling the supplies she’d purchased. However, she pressed on and went in search of a location. Turner contacted her former boss who owns Jewellery King, which is located across from Clock Tower Plaza, and asked if she could use the space outside his store.

“He was a bit sceptical, I would say. He was like, ‘Iced coffee? You sure Jamaicans a guh buy that?’ I said, ‘Yes, because we have Starbucks [and] we have Cafe Blue. We have a lot of cafes in Jamaica, so why not?’ He said, ‘Alright, mi a guh give you a chance. Just keep the place clean.’ I draft up a contract. He signed it, I signed it, and that’s pretty much it,” she shared, adding that she has to leave the location by 9:00 am, which is when the jewellery store opens its doors for business.

This meant the opening hours for her coffee stand would have to be early mornings, hence the name of her business — Sunrise Coffee on the Go.

With her vision and supplies in hand she set up shop on January 29, 2024 — the day she made one sale.

“I gave God thanks for it. I moved from one cup to a few cups now in the morning so what I have to say is… if you have a business idea and only you see the vision, and you know what your end goal is, just work towards it,” Turner encouraged.

Now selling multiple cups a day with repeat customers, she has no regrets. But as a mother of two, balancing a full-time job, and with her coffee stand, her days are very hectic.

Her day typically starts at 4:30 am, with her leaving home by 5:30 am to be able to set up the coffee stand by 6 am. After two and a half hours she packs up her coffee business and makes her way to her nine-to-five job. For the next eight hours she wears the hat of an accountant, then makes her way home where she is in full mom mode while also cleaning her equipment for her coffee stand. And she does it all again the next day.

“I guess the saying is true, ‘If you want good, your nose affi run.’ I really want to make it so I have to do what I have to do,” she reasoned.

She added that the community she’s formed on TikTok has also been a big source of motivation.

“When I don’t come out, my customers curse me. New customers will come to the location and not see me and I get cursed out for that, so I know that I’m doing something good. I even have people from
TikTok who purchase stuff for me — in terms of an espresso machine and a blender — and buy me ingredients for Sunrise Coffee. It’s just the motivation behind it, the kind words, the encouragement,” she said, her voice cracking as she fought back tears of joy.

She believes her coffee stand has great potential, and she hopes to soon expand the business and extend her hours, when she gets a new location.

While the idea of a storefront coffee shop sounds good, she told the Sunday Observer that she loves to be on the roadside and interact with passers-by.

“I kind of like the street vibes setting because you’re surrounded by your people and the vibes on the street. The goal is to have multiple locations, if not a mobile truck — a food truck — or something. In Half-Way Tree there is never a dull moment — it’s just the whole vibes of our people. Just being on the streetside and hearing, ‘Good morning’, and ‘Good afternoon’, people coming up and talking to you, stuff like that I enjoy. To some extent, it’s easier to mix the coffee and go,” she shared.

Turner added that viewers of her TikTok live stream, especially those in the Diaspora, love to get a glimpse of Half-Way-Tree and home.

“Persons overseas definitely come in, and they say that they miss home. They just watch it [the live stream] or put it on their TV at home. They watch the whole live just because they miss home,” she said, a smile evident in her voice.

As the plans for her next step unfold, Turner said she will not allow anyone to deter her.

“I just want to elevate myself and bring my family along. Anyone who is watching me, I want the same for them so I definitely share my ideas and talk to them.

“I’m always trying something. Persons who know me always say, ‘You know seh Jannell always a do this or that.’ If it fails, it fails. Weh me do? Brush off and I try something again,” she said with fierce determination.

TURNER…I like the street vibes setting because you’re surrounded by your people and the vibes on the street

Sunrise Coffee on the Go owner Jannell Turner puts the finishing touch on a customer’s order.

Jannell Turner shares that when she first opened her coffee stand she only sold one cup of coffee. Now she has moved from “one cup to a few cups” with a community she built on TikTok cheering her on every step of the way.