From 24-hour marinated jerk pork to perfectly golden salted cod fish and lump crab fritters, the creations of Marlon Llewellyn at Scotchy Jamaican Grill embody their catchphrase, “Catch ah vibe.”
Born in Jamaica to a restauranteur mother, Llewellyn was called to action one morning in church.
“The Holy Spirit spoke to me, and it said, ‘I’m not going to let you leave this Earth until you have tried everything you need to try,’” Llewellyn said.
After that, Llewellyn and his son, Bryce, developed Scotchy Jamaican Grill, dedicated to embodying the spirit of traditional Jamaican cuisine and honoring his late mother. Llewellyn’s efforts, however, share time with his full-time job, and balancing the two can be challenging.
Llewellyn has been an educator for over 20 years and is currently the director of recruitment for teacher partnership at Marian University. Prior to his current role, Llewellyn was the principle at Tindley, where he promoted excellence and the success of the students. That emphasis on success followed Llewellyn on his culinary journey.
All three of the Scotchy Jamaican Grill pop-ups at Fisher’s Test Kitchen have sold out thus far, and, while Llewellyn loves feeding his community, his full-time job will begin to pick up in August and he’s not sure if time will allow for another one so soon.
Llewellyn and his family continue to chip away at their goals, however. They aspire to open 100 fast-casual restaurants by the year 2030 with the first location in Fishers by next year.
“Our goal is to disrupt the fast-casual model of dining,” Llewellyn said. “We have an amazing repertoire of food in Jamaica. I just want everyone to enjoy it.”
To learn more about Scotchy Jamaican Grill and stay up to date on their pop-ups, follow them on Instagram @scotchy_jamaican_grill.
Contact Health & Environmental Reporter Hanna Rauworth at 317-762-7854 or follow her on Instagram at @hanna.rauworth. If you would like your business highlighted by the Indiana Minority Business Magazine, click here.
