MANDEVILLE, Manchester — When Kelsey Minott became a university graduate, she’d already decided to not only join her father in the family’s coffee business, Jamaica Standard Products (JSP), but to open a café here.

Now the manager of JSP’s retail outlets, Kelsey told the Jamaica Observer that she first discussed the idea to launch the now one-year-old Island Blue Coffee House with her father John O Minott Jr as a teenager.

“Every single summer I had to work at JSP and my father made me work in every single department — so I worked in the factory, in sales, on the farm, everywhere — just so that I could have a thorough understanding of the business,” she said last Wednesday at the first anniversary celebration of the café at its Sovereign Mandeville location.

“For a while I have been wanting us to venture out into the café industry, so while I was in college I told my father that this is what I want to come back to do,” she said, explaining that she attended Florida International University in Miami.

“I did a major in economics and a minor in business, it was always my plan to come back to Jamaica and to work in the family business,” added Kelsey.

She credited her father as the driving force behind coffee house.

“I have a lot to learn. He is an excellent mentor and I really appreciate all the guidance and support that he has given me, especially running this new café. I could not do this without him,” Kelsey told the Sunday Observer.

“When he heard about this new shopping centre, he reached out to Sovereign and asked for a space and here we are today. I came back to Jamaica and got right into it,” she added.

Minott Jr, managing director of JSP, commended his daughter on her management of the café.

“Coincidentally, today [last Wednesday] is our first anniversary of Island Blue Coffee House and International Coffee Day, so it is quite significant in our company’s life to [have both] on the same [day], so it goes to show our commitment to coffee and what we stand for as it relates to Jamaican coffee and our customers,” he said.

Minott Jr said the business was started by his grandfather before his father took it over, and now his daughter is involved.

“In fact, the café is her project really, it was something that we discussed some years ago. She graduated university and came back home two years ago and I put her right in the deep end to get this café off the ground, and so far she has been doing an excellent job in getting it up and running and growing day by day. We are quite proud of it,” he added.

The business has its base in Williamsfield, Manchester. There, the company houses its roasting, distribution, and administrative operations. JSP currently operates two farms — a 200-acre one in Baron Hall, Cave Valley, St Ann, and a 60-acre farm in Blue Baron Estate, Springhill, Portland.

Minott Jr’s father took over the reins of JSP in 1972 from his father, Leslie Oliver Minott, who founded the business in 1942 and propelled it into the coffee market. John O Minott Sr, affectionately called Jackie Minott, died in 2020.

JSP previously operated a café in Ocho Rios, St Ann, according to the elder Minott.

“JSP is no stranger to the coffee shop business. My late father Jackie Minott, in the early 80s, opened the very first coffee shop in Jamaica and it was opened in Island Village Shopping Centre in Ocho Rios, where Burger King currently exists, and that shop was called Jack in the Box Coffee Shop and it lasted for about five years,” he said.

“I don’t think the concept was quite ready for Jamaica at the time and, with the advent of all-inclusive hotels at that time, it was difficult to get the tourists attracted to it…and, locally, Jamaicans never fully bought into the coffee shop concept at that time…” he added.

According to Kelsey, Island Blue Coffee House has been getting good reviews from customers.

“Our head office is here in Williamsfield, so we thought it would be only right to start the first café here in our backyard, Mandeville. It has been incredible. It is the first café of its nature here in Mandeville [and] people have been wanting something like this. We have received tremendous support from our community and we are eternally grateful to everybody who has come out to support us throughout the year,” she said, adding that plans are afoot to open other locations.

“…We plan on expanding into the other cities and towns across the island. The goal is to grow and to continue to offer excellent service and products to our customers,” she said.

Kelsey credited her 10 employees for the café’s success.

“It is a very close-knit environment and I just want to take this opportunity to big up my staff. We have a very good team and our customer service is excellent. Thank you for one year of service,” she said, pointing out that the coffee house uses JSP’s products in its menu items.

“[It is] pretty unique for a traditional café. We offer meals like porridge, salt fish fritters, which is a fan favourite…We try to incorporate coffee in every area of the menu, so not only do we have coffee drinks but we have coffee syrup to go on our pancakes. We have coffee vinegar to go with our salads, so that is something unique that I love about our menu at Island Blue Coffee House.

“We are also growers of coffee, so it is incredible to see everything coming together — starting from the farming process straight to selling coffee drinks, everything is us. Even the plantains that we use to make our porridge is from our farm in St Ann, so everything comes together seamlessly,” said Kelsey.

“Another unique thing about our café is the design. There is a lot of character, when you go inside you will see murals of the Blue Mountains to try and tie in that to the café along with the tradition of JSP itself,” she said.

Kelsey also thanked customers for a successful year at the café.

Highlighting that its parent company JSP recently celebrated 83 years in business, Kelsey said the different aspects of the business stretch beyond Island Blue Coffee House to also include seasonings and spices.

The younger Minott also oversees JSP’s retail location at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St James, and kiosks on the cruise ship piers on the north coast.

The decorated entrance to Island Blue Coffee House at its Sovereign Mandeville location (Photo: Gaia Dixon)

Inside a section of Island Blue Coffee House at its Sovereign Mandeville location (Photo: Kasey Williams)

John O Minott Jr (centre), Jamaica Standard Products managing director ,is flanked by JSP retail administrator Sheila Forbes (left) and customer service representative Michelle Simpson-Mitchell at last Wednesday’s first anniversary celebration of Island Blue Coffee House. (Photo: Gaia Dixon)