Porty Vibez

Porty Vibez's name is derived from my hometown of Portland, Jamaica, where I first developed my love for the flavors of Jamaican cuisine. From the age of 12, I have been in the kitchen with my parents, whipping up authentic dishes for family dinners and get-togethers to keep the tradition alive. Those family recipes are the same ones I use to this day.

About this idea

Imported from Portland, Jamaica, the birthplace of Boston Jerk, Porty Vibez is a family-run business founded by Khashana McKenzie. Our approach to Jamaican food is "local and sustainably sourced ingredients, cooked fresh, with Jamaican herbs and spices." I am combining a healthy and innovative take on traditional Jamaican dishes with Jamaica's love for the community into a restaurant concept-driven to bring people closer together around their love of food.

Impact

The thing about Jamaica is that the food is fantastic no matter which parish you go to, although each parish may use its own unique blends of herbs and spices. No two dishes are the same, but the taste is equally impressive. Also, many people do not know the health benefits of our dishes. In my restaurant, I would want to establish nutritional facts about our food to help people better understand its health.

What I'll do with $5,000

We currently cater out of a shared kitchen that we found through a program called Detroit Kitchen Connect. Unfortunately, with using a shared kitchen, we don’t have the ability to cater to our rising demand for lunch and dinner specials. This demand has brought me to the decision to open a brick and mortar. This grant would help us in this process by allowing us to be able to buy some much-needed equipment and giving us a budget to work with a nutritionist to help break down and label the health benefits of our dishes.

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