Seasoned Delicious Food

It’s rare to step into a cafe, pre-caffeine fix, and feel as energized as you do at Seasoned Delicious Foods Cafe, which opened this past September in Midtown Kingston, an area that’s largely considered a food desert with extremely limited access to healthy food. “One of the reasons we decided to place our store in Midtown—near the Center for Creative Education, which has hundreds of kids going in and out—is because representation is important and minority people, particularly kids, don’t see us owning businesses,” says Tamika Dunkley, owner of SDF Cafe. The popular market and cafe sells more than 60 products from mostly minority-owned companies focusing on vegan, non-GMO and gluten-free items. In addition, SDF Cafe carries its own brand of hot sauces (try the sherry wine BBQ flavor), jams and seasonings, some of which are also sold on Amazon. Customers enjoy Jamaican and Caribbean dishes like the jerk chicken with mac and cheese and the jerk mahi-mahi tacos, but it’s the mission behind the brick-and-mortar that feeds their soul. Dunkley established a mentorship nonprofit in 2019 called Seasoned Gives, which guides BIPOC entrepreneurs through the challenges of starting a business, from developing a marketing plan to providing financial literacy. “I learned the hard way and want to prevent folks from going through that,” said Dunkley, who has personally helped more than 30 people apply for the Paycheck Protection Program loans during the pandemic. Seasoned Delicious also launched the Support Your Neighbor program, which provides free healthy meals and pantry staples for people experiencing food insecurity. “We’ve given away 1,000 pounds of food,” said Dunkley. “It’s a beautiful thing to see the community helping each other out.”
How to get there: One hour, 45 min by car