Murray’s expands to Di Lot, sets sights on more locations

Lovers of Murray’s Fish and Jerk Hut, especially those who reside in the capital city, now have the opportunity to get their freshly cooked favourites from the popular Clarendon restaurant at their new location at Di Lot in St Andrew.

The new restaurant was opened in March by Tiffany Murray, the daughter of Courtney Murray, director of Murray’s, along with her fiancé, Brett Phang Sang, whose family owns Di Lot.

While pursuing a bachelor’s in hospitality and tourism at Florida Atlantic University, Murray knew from the get-go that she needed to return to her beloved home country and continue the legacy of her family’s business.

“I had originally planned to come back and help with the family business. Family has always been, and still is, one of my main priorities [and] one of my main values. When I saw that my dad was expanding, and my fiancé, he was travelling back-and-forth [from Florida] building up Di Lot, I was like, ‘Let’s just move back’ [and start the business at Di Lot],” Murray told Food during an interview on Tuesday.

Although both are from Jamaica, Murray and Phang Sang met in Florida, during a Chillin on the Farm Miami edition event and would go to Jamaican-based events held there.

Now, one month after the Kingston business was opened, Murray told Food that business is going good thus far.

“I can say we’ve really had the support of customers, both repeat customers, as well as new. We’ve gotten good feedback on it so far. Even though it’s not a brand-new restaurant, it’s a new location. We’ve still been trying to get settled in our new space and uphold the brand and the consistency,” she said.

She noted that Phang Sang and his family transformed Di Lot from a mere dirt bowl on Constant Spring Road into a vibrant space where food lovers can sit, eat, and host parties.

In addition to her connection with Phang Sang, she said she loved the space for the restaurant, which is family-friendly and in the capital city.

On the part of her father, he said there has always been an interest in opening a location in Kingston.

“We think it’s a lucrative market. A lot of our existing customers and supporters of the brand are from Kingston. One of [our] aims is to bring our brand and our product to Kingston, and we still believe [there are] a lot of people who do not know about our brand that we’ll want to expose it to are in Kingston, and don’t come out of Kingston and come to the south coast,” Courtney Murray said.

He noted that all three Murray’s locations in Jamaica share a standard menu, but prices in Kingston might differ slightly because the food is seasoned in Clarendon, the home of Murray’s, and transported to the Kingston location.

“The food in Clarendon is a little bit cheaper because we don’t have to pay any toll,” he said with a laugh, adding, “We also own the property [there] in Clarendon.”

He said there are plans to expand to other locations across the island and take the Jamaican brand overseas, as well.

Murray’s was founded in 1998 by the late Keith Murray and his wife, Joan, who both operated a farm behind the current restaurant in Clarendon. The duo began the business to sell their farm produce and animals raised, by jerking chicken and pork and cooking the Tilapia fish they raised at their fish farm along with more delights.

Courtney, son of Keith and Joan, has continued the business as a director with the help of the current generation of their family and his wife, Nicole Murray. The business first expanded to the neighbouring parish of Mandeville in 2022 before making its way to the capital.

ainsworth.morris@gleanerjm.com