Nakia Facey brings genuine Jamaican flavors to the Upstate.
Facey, initially from Kingston, Jamaica, runs Junior's Jerk Hut, a pop-up meals stand in Oneonta.
“I immigrated right here to the USA in 2000 and lived in Brooklyn, the place I attended highschool,” Facey, 40, mentioned. “I got here to Oneonta in 2006 and was invited to play soccer right here, then I fell in love with town and have been right here ever since.”
Junior's Jerk Hut, Facey mentioned, was impressed by the tradition of his childhood.
“It simply got here out of a love of meals,” he mentioned. “We, my buddies and I, used to hang around within the backyard and play dominoes and little native video games… and I made a decision to simply get a bit of grill and put some hen on the grill, which resulted in my buddies inviting to their girlfriends and their girlfriends who invite another person. So, it began in my yard right here in Oneonta, I might say, round 2017. And we continued it as a yard factor. I noticed extra folks coming and the chance to begin one thing, so I began Junior’s Jerk Hut in 2019, formally.”
Facey mentioned Junior's Jerk Hut meals is true to its title.
“It's a short lived meals stand: my grills and a few tents,” he mentioned. “You would possibly see me on Most important Avenue; I arrange store at my good friend Cabral's grocery retailer (at 300 Most important St.) on Friday afternoons and all day on Saturdays, if I'm not in Clinton Plaza.
“It's a Jerk shack, so it's authentic Jerk merchandise: Jerk hen, pork and we now have oxtails and curried hen with fried plantains, rice and beans,” Facey continued. “These are all merchandise we make from scratch.”
And whereas Facey mentioned his meals is a labor of affection, the environment is relaxed and festive.
“It’s not a fast course of; Shaking any product takes a very long time,” she mentioned. “It's cooked over low warmth, not likely over open warmth. They’re native spices (pepper, chives, thyme) and Jerk can be ready by smoking in pepper wooden, however it is rather tough to get right here and really costly, so I want charcoal and it tastes principally the identical. I take advantage of the unique Jamaican fool merchandise that I import. I are usually extra genuine with the merchandise I serve and all my seasonings and spices come from Jamaica.
“Rising up in Jamaica, the fool is known for the weekends,” Facey continued. “Folks go to events and after-parties and eat marinated hen or pork. I do it within the afternoons (Fridays) as a result of rising up, Jerk Rooster and Jerk merchandise had been primarily a late night time snack, after folks had been carried out at bars, so I needed to do it within the evenings and on Saturdays all day ”.
Facey mentioned his rotisserie hen has change into a buyer favourite.
“The preferred product proper now’s marinated hen,” he mentioned. “It's slow-cooked, falling off the bone, with actual spices and genuine flavors that come out in a single chew. And I’ve a barbecue sauce that goes with Jerk Rooster known as 'Hut Hut Sauce,' and it actually enhances the hen and is a sauce that I make myself.”
Facey mentioned his buyer base is a mixture of locals and guests.
“The response has been nice to this point inside Oneonta,” he mentioned. “I used to be invited a few occasions after we had 'Meet Me on Most important Avenue' and we had been locals and vacationers alike, however I’ve a superb native assist base. Folks right here attempt to attempt totally different meals and I normally get consideration for that, as a result of we’re doing one thing totally different; It's not Italian, it's not Chinese language, it's one thing completely totally different and it's fairly moderately priced.”
Facey, who mentioned he’s “open for catering or events,” mentioned he hopes to broaden right into a bodily house downtown.
“Proper now, I'm making an attempt to get a retailer on Most important Avenue,” he mentioned. “That's the following step for Junior's Jerk Hut, and I'll be open till four a.m. On (Interstate) 88, if truckers drive by, I need them to see that and likewise, on Most important Avenue, it's comfort. Folks don't need to exit of their option to get a fast chew or one thing correct to eat, so I feel Most important Avenue will likely be a really perfect location. That’s the primary purpose, to get a storefront the place Junior’s Jerk Hut is open each day.”
For extra info, search “Junior's Jerk Hut” on Fb or comply with @juniorsjerkhut on Instagram. Plus, vote for Facey in a chef contest at favoritechef.com/2024nakiafacey. On the time of the interview she was in seventh place.