THE various iterations of Island Grill as we know it today have a deep story, but mostly one of passion rather than profit. Chief Innovation Officer Michael Lyn Jr credits his family’s success to a shared purpose: making everyone’s life better. This mantra drives Island Grill’s approach to business.

Lyn Jr, the son of Thalia Lyn, founder of Island Grill, shared his family’s inspiring journey from poverty to prosperity. His great-grandparents arrived in Jamaica in the 1900s as indentured labourers, struggling to repay their debt. However, Gladstone, Thalia’s father, transformed the family’s fortunes through hard work and determination. Gladstone built Purity Bakery and supported his siblings, establishing successful businesses like the Macaroni Factory. Notably, he prioritised education, sending all his children and nieces and nephews to college, despite only completing high school himself.

With a background of working in business with her father, Thalia, growing up in a large family with nine girls and three boys, observed a stark reality: the family business was exclusively reserved for the males. Upon returning from university, Thalia eagerly announced her readiness to join the family enterprise. However, she was met with a disheartening revelation: there was no place for her.

“I tried to buy Butterkist, and I was rebuffed. And it was sold to someone else,” Thalia recalled during an interview with the Jamaica Observer.

This pivotal moment sparked Thalia’s resolve to carve her own path, paving the way for her future success. Thalia’s entrepreneurial journey began at Dairy Castle at Manor Park, born out of a realisation while travelling with her husband Michael Lynn, an airline pilot, and partner David McRae. Noticing Jamaica’s lack of soft-serve ice cream, they opened a small shop in Manor Park.

“I wanted to open my own business, which is something that my father kind of instilled in us. It just made it hard for us to work for somebody else; we wanted to work for ourselves,” said Thalia.

Initially focussing on ice cream, they soon added hamburgers to the menu, as Thalia, driven by ambition, recognised that ice cream alone wouldn’t yield substantial profits.

“We needed to get into food, and we love food; that’s our favourite pastime,” Thalia shared with the Business Observer.

Dairy Castle’s menu slowly started to expand, to include hamburgers and eventually chicken, rebranding as Chicken Supreme. Seeking to capitalise on Jamaicans’ affinity for foreign cuisine, Thalia intentionally adopted a foreign aesthetic. She continued refining her grilled chicken recipe, transitioning from American seasonings to authentic Jamaican flavours, when a colleague’s suggestion to ‘try something different’ led her to experiment with jerk seasoning, igniting a quest for the perfect blend.

“Putting the jerk seasoning on was really what made us take off, and you know, people were telling us no, no, don’t do it; we love Chicken Supreme,” she said.

Following the successful introduction of jerk-seasoned grilled chicken, it prompted a re-evaluation of the brand’s identity, leading to a transformation into a distinctly Jamaican concept, courtesy of her daughter-in-law Denise’s suggestion to adopt locally inspired names.

“We had a housekeeper who had been with my parents for ages, and she went and said, ‘Miss Telly, give us some names’, and out of that came Just Nuff, you know, which is so popular. Yabba came later, but she gave us a whole lot of names, and that’s where we have learnt as well as where we go forward. Go to the staff; you know they remember what their grandmother told them, and that is how I’ve learnt to be a lot more inclusive as well,” she revealed.

Thalia then played with the menu further, introducing innovative dishes that defied conventional fast food norms. Callaloo rice, previously unavailable in commercial settings, became a staple. Festival, traditionally paired with fish, was daringly matched with chicken, replacing the standard dinner roll. This move challenged the established fast food paradigm, where two pieces of chicken and a dinner roll were the norm.

“We were never given a manual, for better or for worse, so the better part is that we make up our own rules,” said Michael with a smile.

The fast food restaurant chain has rejected the idea of emulating industry giants, instead choosing to forge its own path. Recognising that mimicking others would lead to failure, the company discovered that its unique strengths are the keys to success. Following the 1991 rebranding of Island Grill, Thalia aggressively expanded her restaurant chain, with the first Island Grill opening in Twin Gates Plaza in Kingston. In the late 90s, Island Grill even ventured into Florida, but after the terror attackes of September 11, everything came tumbling down.

“We didn’t have deep enough pockets to stay there and just weather it out. So we packed up the equipment and sent it back. And you know, as Mike will tell you, I didn’t have a strategy. I was just opening stores,” Thalia admitted with a small chuckle.

But the serial opening of stores continued locally, with 17 restaurants now open islandwide.

“This was not a business exercise,” Michael told the Business Observer.

He explained that when his mother started, she did it all out of passion, at one point dressing up Michael as Santa Claus to give out balloons.

“You really have to be an entrepreneur to make these really big leaps because a businessperson, if you look at an Excel sheet, would never do this,” Michael emphasised.

The funding for Thalia’s exploration had been steady, courtesy of her husband Michael and business partner McRae, both pilots. They received a portion of their salary in foreign exchange, intended for travel reimbursements such as meals and expenses. Thalia used this funding for her experiments.

“I said, well, you better pack your crackers on cheese because I’m using up your money business,” shared Thalia, reminiscing on her early days of securing funding.

However, her progress was soon hindered by foreign exchange restrictions. When Finsac caught up with Island Grill when the interest rates went up, Island Grill had an overdraft, and since then, Thalia has never had an overdraft again.

“Because if you went over your limit, it was punitive for those rates that were being charged over 100 per cent. It was horrible,” said Thalia.

Having overcome the initial financial hurdle, Thalia felt empowered to tackle any challenge. However, the pandemic struck then, forcing Island Grill to close 43 per cent of the time in August. Undeterred, the company swiftly adapted, leveraging its social responsibility to support essential workers. With 85 per cent of employees being single mothers, Island Grill partnered with institutions and businesses to subsidise meals for doctors, nurses, policemen, and others on the frontlines. This initiative kept the restaurant afloat, enabling them to maintain staff salaries without incurring additional debt. The key to success lay in a clear, communicative plan, built collaboratively with staff. Empowered employees embraced the challenge, responding with determination: “Yeah, man, we can do it!” Through collective effort and resilience, Island Grill persevered.

Today, Island Grill’s primary objective moving forward is to maintain a family-centric culture, prioritising employee appreciation and well-being. Embracing the philosophy that ‘doing well enables us to do good,’ the company remains committed to its core values of employee-centredness. After 74 years in business, Thalia stepped down as CEO, ensuring a thorough interview process to find a successor who shares these values and prioritises staff welfare. Tania Waldron-Gooden, the new CEO, embodies this family-oriented approach. Under her leadership, Island Grill plans to expand locally, with potential future plans including a public listing on the Jamaica Stock Exchange and exploring international franchising opportunities, solidifying the family business’s legacy and growth.

“In an ideal kind of linear sense, we’re looking at how we can maximise what we have in Jamaica, because there’s a lot of market research, we know there’s a lot of room left here, and then eventually we might explore regional, or at the same time, we’re exploring our regional opportunities as well as international, especially in North America,” said CEO Waldron-Gooden.

“It’s more wanting to show that Jamaica can develop a chain of stores overseas. That’s just the feeling of nationalism and patriotism alone. If we maintain our quality and our standards, I just want to see that Island Grill brand,” added Thalia.