Charlottetown Jamaican restaurant bringing Caribbean community together | CBC News

When Shacharouna Gordon and her husband moved to P.E.I. in 2010, there weren’t many other Jamaicans on the Island.

She said there was a bit of culture shock at the time because there wasn’t much Caribbean food available.

It has been the couple’s goal since then to open a restaurant to introduce Islanders to Jamaican flavours. More than 10 years later, they are now “living the dream,” Gordon said.

But it was a long road to get there. “The few people that came here with me, they leave to the bigger city because they wanted that vibe,” she said.

Gordon originally worked in community care while her husband studied restaurant management at Holland College. Always the cook, he’d pack her lunch each day.

When Gordon heated up her food at work, her co-workers fawned over the smell, and all wanted a taste.

“I normally have to bring lunch to work to share with my co-workers,” she said. “Just for that, I said we need to open a restaurant for P.E.I. just so they can know a little bit more about our culture.”

Their restaurant began in November 2022, as a ghost kitchen inside the BioFoodTech building. They were only open one day a week and customers could only place take-out orders. 

But seven months later, Boonoonoonoos moved to its current location on Great George Street. The name of the restaurant is a Jamaican patois word that means something or someone that is special, cherished or loved.

Gordon says the top dishes include jerk chicken, oxtail and curried goat. But the food isn’t the only attraction.

Since November, Boonoonoonoos has been organizing evenings every few weeks where people can come together to play cards and dominoes and sing karaoke.

“The event is all about having Caribbean people to want to stay here,” Gordon said. “Caribbean people feel like they’re left out because they’re not hearing their music, they’re not hearing their vibes.”

There have been a handful of events so far, with up to 30 or 40 people in attendance. Gordon says just like back home, things can get loud.

Domino games start at 2 p.m. on Saturdays. Karaoke begins around 8 p.m. and goes until the wee hours of the morning.

It’s an opportunity for people from all Caribbean cultures to come together over a mutual love, something Gordon says she grew up watching her family play.

“My grandfather and his friends would always be outside, on the roadside, playing dominoes,” she said.

Island to island

Gordon says there’s a wide range of customers that stop by Boonoonoonoos, some who’ve never had Jamaican food before.

“This is what I wanted, for Canadians to come in, join in,” she said. “We don’t just want Jamaicans and Bahamians. We want them to learn about our song, dance, music, everything.”

Gordon isn’t stopping with just the restaurant. She’s also planning to bring Jamaican flavours to Island grocery stores

“We do have five things that we want to put on the market, but we’re going to be starting with our spices,” she said.

From a dry jerk rub to hot sauce and fresh juices, Gordon has big plans to bring Jamaican culture to every Islander, Caribbean or not. She hopes to start selling the dry rub in local grocery stores starting in 2025.

“I really want these things to keep going because we’re really bringing vibes to the Island,” she said. “We’re letting people know we’re here.”