It’s 9:30 a.m. on a weekday, and the smells coming from the kitchen of 881 Grab and Go are mouth-watering: simmering oxtails, baking jerk chicken, bubbling vegan chili. Out in the customer area, restaurant co-owners and married couple Gabriel Boyd and P.J. DeCordova-Boyd are already juggling six food orders.
“People calling already and putting in pre-orders, and it’s not even 11 o’clock,” DeCordova-Boyd said.
Finding their footing
Eleven is when the doors open each day. That first opening came four years ago in Hartford. The restaurant is a passion project the couple pursues alongside day jobs at a media company and a nonprofit. But a year ago, they questioned whether their business could turn a profit.
“We were teetering on, ‘should we go on with this?’” DeCordova-Boyd said. “Because we were like, ‘is this working?’ And then we just reprogrammed our minds and came up with solutions.”
A campus flashback sparks success
One solution was inspired by their days attending Cheyney University, a historically Black college in Pennsylvania.
“The very first historically Black college in Pennsylvania!” DeCordova-Boyd said. “And fish sandwiches were something we would do after a party. So [Gabriel] came up with his own gourmet fish sandwich, and that was the start of the turning of the tides. The Cheyney Sandwich saved the day! Saturation of social media as well. Once people start talking about it, it goes viral.”
More than what’s on the menu
Gabriel Boyd said the success of the restaurant is about more than the food.
“Treating the staff with the utmost respect,” he said. “If they suggest something, we listen to the suggestions, which makes them feel like not just a worker, but a partner to us in this business.”
The name “881 Grab and Go” partly refers to its location at 881 New Britain Avenue and partly to its operating style. No waitstaff here. The concept is simple: pick up Caribbean food and take it elsewhere to eat.
“During the pandemic, we had found a spot somewhere in the suburbs, and we were literally about to sign that lease the day that we found this spot,” Gabriel said. “So, we immediately reversed gears. Decided to sign here and do a grab-and-go sort of concept.”
Hartford base has been key
The couple says choosing Hartford over the suburbs has been crucial.
“I would say Caribbean food in that [suburban] area is almost like a novelty,” DeCordova-Boyd said. “One day they want it, one day they don’t. So, I don’t think we would have been as successful.”
Navigating challenges
To stay successful, Gabriel and P.J. have had to adjust to price increases tied to the Trump Administration tariffs.
“I mean, obviously, going shopping, you see when the red peppers are tripled in price from the case and the chicken breasts are tripled in price,” Gabriel said. “But you can’t pass those costs off to the customer all the time, because then you price yourself out of the market.”
That’s where creativity comes in.
“We try to find ways to find what we already have in house, sort of reconfigure it, find something else to offer them that we’re already using.”
Building a community hub
Despite its grab-and-go concept, the waiting area offers a chess board, video games, books, artwork and a colorful display of about 70 business cards from local Black-owned businesses ranging from handymen to auto shops.
“So, it’s cross-promotions,” Gabriel said. “We promote them, they promote us, and it just helps everybody get a little bit better.”
The Boyds also give back through pay-what-you-can meals for families in need.
“We had anywhere from six to 10 consistent families that would come through the summer every day,” Gabriel said. “You get to meet the young people and talk to them, and now they’re starting school. It just changes the energy. So, you do have a beloved community. When you walk inside the restaurant, you can feel the energy. You can feel the love.”
They also offer free snack packs for local schoolchildren.
“It’s not going to make us wealthy by getting food donations from people or people saying, ‘Hey, we like what you do,’” Gabriel said. “But it’s just the right thing to do.”
