Its decor will be more like a gastropub, he said, with art that evokes Jamaica. Customers entering the restaurant will see large images from Jamaica’s parishes, including St. Catherine, where Jackson was raised.
“We want everybody to be comfortable in the space,” Owner and head chef, Dwight Jackson
Besides a dining room, the new restaurant will have a 14-seat bar and a lounge area where diners can have cocktails and appetizers. A semiprivate space at the back of the restaurant could be reserved for business meetings and other gatherings of up to 16 people.
Jackson is pleased with the location for two reasons, one practical and the other historical.
“King Drive is such an up-and-coming area in the city, especially the Bronzeville district,” he said. Jackson expects the proximity to downtown and nearby access to the freeway will be good for business.
In 1968, when the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, Jackson’s father led a large demonstration in Jamaica in response, Jackson recalled.
“For me to be on King Drive, it’s like a dream come true,” he said. “So that’s kind of satisfying for me.”
Jackson makes the Jamaican dishes he grew up with but puts his own spin on them. One of Pepperpot’s best-known menu items at 4120 W. Capitol Drive is its jerk-chicken egg roll.
At the King Drive Pepperpot, Jackson plans to offer items other Jamaican restaurants typically don’t, such as lunch bowls and jerk salmon sandwiches. He hopes to appeal to customers in part with “the excitement of something different,” Jackson said. Pepperpot’s current menu includes classic dishes such as jerk chicken, oxtails, goat and curry chicken.
Jackson started Pepperpot Catering out of his home, selling takeout dinners from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. before leaving for his printing job at night. He did that for eight years or so — until the city found out.
He next operated his catering from rented space at various commercial kitchens before opening the first brick-and-mortar Pepperpot on Capitol Drive in 2013.
Went here today for 1st time and I will definitely be back. My hubby and I had the dry rub jerk wings, spicy shrimp egg rolls and jerk chicken with the rice & beans & mixed vegetables. The portions were huge and the taste was on point. If you haven’t been you need to check it out. Oh yeah, the restaurant has very modern decor.
