Island House
With three Providence high schools near Island House on Broad Street in Providence, pre-pandemic, students regularly crowded into this Jamaican restaurant to buy meals and highly popular, non-carbonated juices—sorrel and ginger, a traditional Jamaican drink made from hibiscus, and pineapple and ginger.
These drinks are what Ricky Bernard and Marcia Ricketts, the husband-and-wife owners, are working to market for retail sale.
“We’re going to be making [the drinks] at Hope & Main,” which is helping the couple with branding, bottling and all the related paperwork for the healthy juice drinks. “The sorrel drink is popular in Spanish restaurants,” said Bernard, who plans to market these drinks to the many Hispanic eateries along Broad Street. During Covid, the restaurant nearly closed permanently but the couple stuck it out and were inspired by customers’ support. When Bernard heard about Dish Up RI, “I got on it immediately. I felt at home at Hope & Main.”
Optimistic about the drinks’ popularity, Bernard said, “If they get popular, we’ll do what Coca-Cola does: offer a dedicated refrigerator space.”
