East Hampton Jamaican Grocery Store is One-of-a-Kind

North Main Street in East Hampton is now home to the East End's first Jamaican food market.

Jamaican Specialties, opened June 24, is a dry foods market selling Jamaican groceries and household items. The market also offers a home-cooked hot takeout menu of Jamaican staples each day, including jerk chicken, Jamaican beef patties, curry goat and oxtails.

Owner Rena Hewie Stoutt cooks all of the meals herself, preparing the dishes at an off-site location early in the morning before starting her job at . Though she serves very traditional Jamaican dishes customers from all walks of life have been stopping in, Stoutt said. 

"One customer came in and said 'I'm 50 years old, and this is the best food I've ever eaten,'" Stoutt said. "Jamaican food is all natural, there are no artificial [ingredients]."

Stoutt moved to East Hampton from Jamaica in 1982. Originally from Hanover Parish, she opened the store as a retirement investment. She had the idea to open a dry-goods store in April, and those who tried her home-made samples and displays encouraged her to cook.

"I opened thinking the neighborhood would need the Caribbean spices," she said. She said most customers are curious walk-ins, but patrons are starting to seek out the store because of it's uniqueness. "You have to drive two or three hours to get this stuff."

Stoutt said she learned to cook at the age of 12, when she began taking care of her family. Cooking, she said, is a special source of pride for Jamaicans.

"Oxtail is there in other countries, but we make it the best," she said. "I'm a good cook, finger-lickin' good."

The goods found at Jamaican Specialties range from the familiar to exotic. The market has an extensive collection of jerk spices and Jamaican fruits and vegetables: Stoutt imports oranges -- bigger than softballs -- coconuts, and ackee, the Jamaican national fruit that tastes like potatoes.

There are several varieties of citrus sodas and canned items as well, including cheese and sugar cane. Patrons can also find island remedies like oil for bruises, an alternative to Tums, and tea for high blood-pressure.

Besides the spices, the most popular items so far, Stoutt said, are teas, Jamaican bread, and Ting, a grapefruit soda. She said one customer comes in every few days to order an entire case of Ting.

Stoutt doesn't let anyone else cook the meals. A mother of seven, she has for decades been the family chef cooking for holidays and get-togethers. Instead, she said the toughest part has been not running out of food.

Jamaican Specialties is located at 110 North Main Street in East Hampton, and is open seven days a week. For updated menus and feedback visit the market's Facebook page.