By: Emily Rumball
Some businesses age. Sam’s Caribbean Marketplace just marinated.
What started in 1993 as a modest storefront in Long Island is now a beloved institution, equal parts grocery store, cultural hub, and culinary time machine. Founded by Jamaican immigrants Andrew Morris and his wife Jean, Sam’s has spent the last 32 years keeping the Caribbean diaspora fed, connected, and unapologetically flavorful.
While big-box chains chase the latest trends, Sam’s has been busy preserving tradition and building a nationwide customer base that spans military families, island kids, and second-generation foodies craving a taste of home.
So, what’s the secret to staying relevant for three decades?
With no formal retail experience, just grit, curiosity, and a deep connection to their Jamaican roots, Andrew and Jean opened Sam’s in 1993. Their mission was simple: build the store they wished existed, and name it after Jean’s late father, Sam.
“We were essential before essential was a buzzword,” Andrew jokes. “From bun and cheese to black (rum) cake, we’ve always been that place where people feel seen and full.”
Caribbean food isn’t just food. It’s memory. Identity. Diaspora. One pack of Eclipse Crackers or a bite of Easter Bun with cheese can transport someone back to a family dinner in Bridgetown, a market in St. Catherine, or a cookout in Flatbush.
Sam’s curated that nostalgia from day one.
With over 1,000 authentic products, from ackee and saltfish to herbal remedies and island flags, Sam’s isn’t just a store: It’s a portal. A one-stop shop for those who miss “home,” whether that home is in Jamaica, Trinidad, Haiti, St. Lucia, Barbados, or anywhere else in the Caribbean.
It’s also a resource for adventurous cooks and the Caribbean-curious: “I always say, start with the spice bun,” Andrew laughs. “Then try a Jamaican-style patty, and work your way up to oxtail and jerk chicken. You won’t go back.”
In a time when most retailers are chasing scale, Sam’s doubled down on niche expertise.
They know their audience and their seasoning. That means stocking the exact brands Caribbean aunties ask for. It means knowing which curry powder hits right and which substitutions are simply not allowed. That authenticity is part of the reason customers say, “If Sam’s doesn’t have it, you don’t need it.” It started as a joke. Now it’s basically gospel.
And that ethos doesn’t just live on the shelves; it shows up in how Sam’s engages its community. Whether it’s a Customer Appreciation Day or in-store recipe tips, this is a grocer that doesn’t just sell to its customers. It shows up for them.
Andrew likes to say, “We bend, but we don’t break.” That resilience showed up most clearly during the pandemic. While many retailers struggled, Sam’s pivoted…hard.
Despite having a 20-year-old website built on an obsolete Windows platform (which Andrew coded himself, without knowing how to stop pictures from jumping around the page), Sam’s still pulled in nearly $400,000 annually in online orders at its peak.
Now? They’ve relaunched with a modern, mobile-friendly e-commerce site, sams24-7.com, led by Andrew and Jean’s daughter, Melissa, and they are expanding digital services like never before.
That includes:
A Predictive AI Delivery (PAID) system for same-day, trackable deliveries within 100 miles.
In-store pickup so customers can skip the lines.
A Caribbean pantry shipped nationwide from Long Island: pastries, snacks, seasonings, and all.
Door-to-door grocery delivery to households throughout Jamaica, via their BreadAndButterExpress.com website.
At Sam’s, flavor and family go hand in hand. Jean still works full-time as a nurse but stays deeply involved in the business. Melissa now leads product and website efforts, bringing fresh energy to a 32-year-old brand. And longtime staff? Many have been with Sam’s for decades, celebrating birthdays, mourning losses, and swapping recipes like kin.
In an industry dominated by trends and turnovers, Sam’s is proof that longevity doesn’t mean losing flavor. It means marinating deeper.
To Andrew, success isn’t just about sales; it’s about staying essential to your people. It’s about shipping a jar of pepper sauce to someone who hasn’t been home in 20 years; about helping a grandmother teach her grandkids what real rice and peas taste like; about sending care packages to family and friends back home in Jamaica.
Sam’s hasn’t just survived. It has seasoned an entire generation of Caribbean-Americans in love, memory, and mouthwatering meals.
