Jerk chicken gurus go big

Self-described “jerk-loving duo” Chris and Kai Grant of Roxbury knew a good thing when they had it.

Eighteen years ago, the couple scored a secret jerk chicken recipe from Chris’s mother and began cooking the Jamaican dish for family and neighborhood gatherings. Soon, their chicken was legendary among neighbors, inspiring them to take their product to market. After conducting market research and building their customer base, they launched Fort Hill Jerk Chicken LLC in 2011.

Author: Kai GrantChicken offerings from Fort Hill Jerk Chicken, a Roxbury family-owned take-out service. FHJC seeks to expand to a full restaurant by next spring.

Now the Grants, who have been married for 23 years and have four children, are looking to the next frontier. They have been working for the past four years on a plan to open a full service restaurant in their home in Fort Hill by spring 2016.

Kai says the couple envisions the project as a trailblazer in the neighborhood that will help encourage the development of a more vibrant local restaurant scene.

“We want to be the watering hole that Roxbury doesn’t have,” says Kai. “We want to kick it off…[But] we don’t want it to be the only game in town. We would actually prefer to have multiple places around. We want to add to the landscape.”

Home cooking

They plan to have their restaurant, dubbed Fort Hill Bistro, open six days a week with dinner and brunch offerings. They plan to operate out of the first floor of their home and on their deck, hosting a total of 48 seats. Grant says they will aim to be as locally-sourced in terms of food and staffing as possible – including a goal to be CORI-friendly, a model that Grant credits another local spot, Haley House, for trailblazing.

The restaurant’s concept will expand upon their current focus on jerk chicken by creating a fusion between British West Indian and American cuisine — Chris has British Jamaican roots, and Kai’s heritage is British Guyanese. Menu items will include dishes like jerk chicken and waffles, braised oxtail and hamburgers.

They plan to include entertainment as well, including some TVs for sports games, projectors for occasional movie nights, and performances from live bands.

The couple also is gearing up to apply for a full liquor license, with the hopes of serving cocktails named after famous streets and historic landmarks in the neighborhoods.

Author: Kai GrantChicken from Fort Hill Jerk Chicken.

License limits

Last summer the city council passed a law that will expand Boston’s number of liquor and beer/wine licenses by 75 over the next 3 years. All of the new licenses are required by the law to go to areas that are currently underserved by restaurants and bars, such as Dorchester, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Mattapan and Roxbury.

However, Jean Lorizio, Executive Secretary of the Boston Licensing Board, told the Banner that so far the board has not received any applications from Roxbury for the new licenses. She said that at the moment, there are two licenses left.

Grant says the process of filling out all the required paperwork with the city has not been as arduous as one might think.

“Under the Walsh administration, it has been so much easier to navigate and understand the process of opening a restaurant,” she says. “It’s so different from four years ago, when we were like a pinball being passed around from person to person. It’s like night and day.”

The couple plans to open up next spring. Grant says she hopes the space will serve as not just a restaurant, but also a community gathering space.

“It’s about community and breaking bread together,” Grant says. “We want a place where people can watch a Pats or a Red Sox game together. You don’t get to do that here – not in Roxbury. Why not? We’re Boston too!”