Culture and community through food

Dallas – a city known for its proud traditions, friendly residents, and of course: great food.

In honor of Black History Month, UberEATS celebrates the city’s diverse culture by highlighting restaurant partner Richard Thomas, owner of The Island Spot, and his mother, executive chef Mamma Joyce.

Below, Richard shares his inspiring story of moving from Jamaica and vowing to recreate the true Jamaican experience right here in Dallas with his restaurant. He dishes on how making food helps him stay connected to his community while sharing Mamma Joyce’s delicious cooking and providing a way to introduce people to Jamaican culture.

“I moved to the U.S. for college. After college, I worked in logistics and as a business consultant. I never intended to get into the restaurant industry, but I wanted to find my culture, my cuisine,” remembers Richard. “While I was traveling the world, I could not find a restaurant that captured the true Jamaican experience, so based on the fond memories of my childhood and my mother’s cooking, we created The Island Spot.”

Pictured: Mamma Joyce in The Island Spot

Through their restaurant, Richard and Mamma Joyce brought a taste of the Caribbean to the Big D, serving up their famous jerk chicken and treating the people of Dallas to the three pillars of Jamaican culture: rich food, reggae, and rum.

“The main reason we created this restaurant was to share our culture through food. We want people to know more about the history of Jamaica through authentic Jamaican food by creating an eating experience,” says Richard. “On our placemats, we have definitions of different ingredients that we use in our dishes and we have family photos from Jamaica throughout the restaurant.”

Their family-focused approach to cooking permeates through the restaurant and extends to their local community, making The Island Spot a community gathering point in celebration of their Jamaican heritage.

“We have so many people who we engage with on a regular basis from all walks of life. The people have embraced us, our food and the Jamaican culture,” says Richard. “People who have been to Jamaica eat our food and visit us to reminisce of island living, while people who have never been get to experience what it is like for a little bit.”

On Monday, February 27th, UberEATS will donate an amount matching the proceeds from sales* of every order of their UberEATS-exclusive Jerk Shrimp to North Texas Food Bank – a non-profit dedicated to providing meals to hungry children, seniors, and families throughout North Texas.

Open your UberEATS app on Monday, February 27th from 11am to 9pm, search for “The Island Spot” and place your order to support North Texas Food Bank. Meals from The Island Spot will be available in the Oak Cliff, South Dallas, West Dallas, Downtown, Uptown, and Park Cities areas.

Don’t have the app yet? Download it from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store or order straight from your desktop.
*Donation to charity, North Texas Food Bank, will match the amount of total sales-not including tax – of specified Black History Month menu item: The Island Spot – ‘Jerk Shrimp’, along with the booking fee associated with that menu item.