Grill on the go - Jamaican-style quick-service restaurant goes mobile

Sheldon Williams, Gleaner Writer

Today, Automotives continues its series on mobile businesses with a look at Island Grill's two units.

Island Grill, the fast-food restaurant chain known for its 'Real Jamaican Jerk' meals, has mobilised its quick-food service, with two-custom-built units.

One has been placed at the University of the West Indies Western Campus in Montego Bay, St James, while the other is on call. Thalia Lyn, Island Grill's chief executive officer, explained, "We introduced our first mobile unit two years ago, mainly because it gives us an inexpensive way to reach more of our customers and we were launching our catering arm to the business."

The units, both 20 feet long, sport Island Grill's logo and have generators on board. They can also be connected to external power sources. Lyn explained that the mobile units can help determine if a traditional restaurant should be introduced into an area. " It's a great way for us to test new areas before committing to a fully built-out restaurant," she remarked. Lyn said feedback has been favourable, with "high enthusiasm, especially at events".

Lyn said the units can cater to a large number of customers on any given business day, depending on how fast they can be restocked. "It is limitless. As long as we are close to a store, we can continually restock it. For example, we had a unit at UTech and at the Kingston Container Terminal (KCT) operating temporarily in a limited capacity but like a regular store, until we moved into permanent restaurants," Lyn said.

However, she said, "We have to keep the units close to a restaurant or our commissary/centralised kitchen so we can restock them. The mobile units present a challenge in that there isn't a lot of storage, or room for full-sized equipment ... ."

However, Lyn was quick to emphasise that the quality of the food is not compromised. "The food is the same high quality, but we can offer additional menu items for a catered function. If we're selling at a big event, it's a restricted menu for high volumes, to facilitate quick service," she said.

Lyn said the unit is rugged enough to travel to remote areas, but admitted, "We prefer places where there are a lot of people around to buy more chicken".

Specially trained staff are assigned to the units. "The staff is oriented first of all in the company's strategy and they do customer service training and learn how to operate the different workstations," Lyn said. "We have a training plan, so within the first six months, they would have learnt at least one station," she added.

Lyn told Automotives that the helpfulness and convenience of the mobile units cannot be over-emphasised, as the returns and far-reaching benefits are evident.

"It's a nice part of the mix. It helped to launch Island Grill's catering arm and we can readily accept those over 200-plus meal orders which were difficult to handle in-store. Right now, we are still working out how to best use the units and we expect to have more trucks on the road soon," Lyn said.