Jamaican Jerk Hut & Island Scoops has brought a vibrant splash of Caribbean flavors to the local food scene. 

The restaurant, owned and operated by Rowan and Renae Dallas, is known for bold flavors created by blending Jamaican heritage with American cuisine.

The couple ventured into the restaurant industry in 1999 by opening Jam-USA Restaurant and Variety in Massachusetts, but they barely had time to build a following. 

“We were only in business for a year due to location and, surprise, I got pregnant three months after opening,” Renae says. “We weren’t in the position at the time in our young lives to maintain family and balance business with four children, so we closed in August of 2000.”

In 2016, Rowan and Renae retired to Florida. But someone couldn’t sit still.

“I came down here to retire, but I got bored fast,” Rowan says. “So, I started a food trailer in Clermont.”

For the next seven years, the couple traveled all over Florida for corporate lunches, private parties, block parties, concerts and festivals, becoming widely known for their savory Jamaican dishes. 

In 2022, they finally decided to open a restaurant featuring their trademark Jamaican fare and Island Scoops ice cream featuring flavors you’d find in Jamaica, like grapenut and rum raisin, along with American favorites like red velvet, toasted coconut, banana cream pie and Superman.

“After doing some research we found that the Fruitland Park, Leesburg and The Villages area was lacking Caribbean food,” Renae says. “We decided at that moment to relocate our business to this area.”

We, as in family. Everyone who works at the restaurant is family in some way. Rowan and Renae’s daughters and cousin work the front of the house, and a nephew and cousin take care of business in the back.  

The menu at Jamaican Jerk Hut & Island Scoops reflects Rowan’s Jamaican heritage.

“I learned to cook growing up with the boys in Jamaica,” he says. “We’d pool our money, buy ingredients, and cook together. This is the way it was in Jamaica. The boys on your street were sort of like your gang, only with no violence. We cooked together.” 

Renae infuses her American background into the dishes to craft a unique “Ja’merican” menu.

Guests can savor “big tings a gwan” (main entrees) such as oxtail, curry goat, smoked jerk hut chicken, brown stew chicken, BBQ chicken, jerk hut pork, BBQ jerk ribs, snapper fish and curry shrimp or chicken. All meals are served with choice of sides like rice and peas, baked beans, mac and cheese, cabbage, collard greens or green beans. 

A new menu item is the Jamaican-style meatloaf, which is Nana’s traditional recipe with some Jamaican flare. There’s also the new mac and cheese bowl with a comfort-size portion of five cheese mac and cheese topped with pulled jerk chicken or pulled pork, and bar-bi-fried chicken tossed in a sweet and spicy barbecue sauce. Want their famous smoked meats as a sandwich? Try their pulled jerk chicken, pulled pork, fried chicken breast, buffalo chicken or fried fish on a kaiser roll, served with French fries. 

They also serve all-day breakfast of ackee and saltfish, or callaloo and saltfish, with a choice of rice or boiled food and fried sweet plantains. 

For appetizers, they offer Jamaican patties in beef, chicken or veggie, with options of adding coco bread and cheese. They also have island tacos with choice of jerk chicken, pulled pork or shrimp, and island nachos loaded with choice of pulled jerk chicken or pulled pork. 

Desserts include traditional Jamaican black cake and American favorites like red velvet cake and cheesecake. And don’t forget the ice cream. 

Jamaican Jerk Hut & Island Scoops recently received its beer and wine license and will be adding bingo and karaoke to its event list. A celebration in honor of Jamaican Independence Day is also planned with special menu items, festive music and a true island party atmosphere. Look for that the first week of August.  

Jamaican Oxtail

Jamaican Escovitch Fish

Fun Fact: The name “escovitch” comes from the Spanish word “escabeche,” which means “marinated.”

Jamaican Smoked Jerk Chicken