With just $50 and a dream of a lasting legacy, Jamaican-born Andrew Morris tells his story of Sam’s Caribbean Marketplace in West Hempstead, Nassau County, Long Island, which he owns with his wife, Jean.
“I often think back to 1979, when Jean and I, two teenagers from Jamaica, arrived in New York—separately, strangers to each other, but unknowingly bound by fate,” Morris told Caribbean Life on Friday, June 20. “We each stepped off different planes with just $50 in our pockets and hearts full of ambition, navigating a world that felt both exhilarating and unforgiving.
“It wasn’t long before our paths crossed in this vast city of endless possibilities, and, together, we found not only love but a shared determination to carve out a future,” Morris added.
“No one hands you the American Dream; you have to chase it, wrestle it, and shape it to your own,” he continued. “Sometimes, that means taking risks that others would call reckless. But, when you have someone who believes in the dream as much as you do, it no longer feels like a gamble; it feels like a joint mission.”
Morris said his first job in New York had him “pounding the pavement — literally.
“I was a foot messenger, darting through the city’s chaos, delivering envelopes, and learning firsthand the relentless rhythm of a place that never slows down,” he said.
But Morris said his heart was restless. He said he earned a degree in television and radio from Brooklyn College, City University of New York, and later a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Columbia University, hoping to secure his future in Corporate America.
Yet, Morris said something was missing.
“Success felt hollow without purpose,” he said, stating that he and his wife “longed for the flavors and warmth of home, the laughter over plates of curry goat, the comfort of warm coco bread in hand.
“More importantly, we saw a need,” he added. “Caribbean immigrants, like us, were searching for a taste of familiarity, a connection to the roots they had left behind.”
Morris said that realization planted the seed for Sam’s Caribbean Marketplace on Hempstead Turnpike, West Hempstead, Nassau County, Long Island.
In 1993, Morris said he did something most people—especially those with an MBA—would never dream of doing: He quit his corporate job to open a small Caribbean grocery store, with no prior retail experience and no big investors—“just faith, a work ethic forged in the struggle, and the hope that, if we built something real, people would come.”
Morris said he and his wife named the store after his wife’s late father, Samuel “Sam” Bonar, as “a tribute to the kind of resilience and love that holds families together.”
Soon, he said Sam’s wasn’t just a store; it became a cultural landmark.
“I’ll never forget the day a customer told her sister, ‘If Sam’s doesn’t have it, you don’t need it,’” Morris said. “That kind of loyalty has kept us going for over 31 years.”
From tracking down the rarest Caribbean spices to slow-cooking oxtail like grandma used to, Morris said Sam’s grew into something far greater than a business.
“It became an anchor, a bridge between where we came from and where we are now; a place where homesick immigrants could step inside and, for a moment, be back home; and where those less familiar but eager to try Caribbean flavors were welcomed not just with the correct ingredients, but with advice and assistance,” he said.
Over the years, Morris said customers didn’t just come for the products – “they came for the feeling, the familiar greetings, the smell of fresh breadfruit, the unspoken understanding that culture isn’t something you leave behind.
“It’s something you carry, and, in the right place, it flourishes,” said Morris, stating that running a business as an immigrant isn’t like following a map. “It’s like sailing uncharted waters, never knowing when the next storm will hit.”
He said there were days when the numbers didn’t add up when banks turned them away when they questioned if they could keep the doors open.
“But Jean and I were never built to back down,” Morris asserted. “We’ve fought our way through more than just financial struggles; we’ve fought for our health – both surviving cancer side by side.
“We’ve fought against doubt, against the fear that maybe we had dreamed too big,” he added.
But Morris noted that dreams, like roots, are “stubborn.”
“They push through cracks in concrete, refusing to wither,” he said. “And through every hardship, we reminded ourselves.”
However, he said this was never just about selling products.
“It was about preserving history, feeding nostalgia, and proving that no matter how tough the journey, we belonged here,” Morris said.
He said their daughter, Melissa, grew up in the business, learning “the rhythms of the register and the faces of our customers.”
Today, Morris said Melissa brings that same “sharp eye and dedication to helping steer the future of Sam’s.”
He said that Andy, their son, who once packed bags for customers, later filled his duffel bag and served in the US Navy, “carrying with him the same perseverance that built this business from nothing.”
Morris said Andy has since joined the US Army Reserve and is currently in boot camp, set to graduate this month.
“Sam’s Caribbean Marketplace isn’t just a store; it’s a time capsule of ambition, sacrifice, and the stubborn refusal to let our culture fade,” Morris posited. “Every jar of Scotch Bonnet pepper sauce, every bundle of callaloo, and every warm beef patty served proves that the Caribbean spirit thrives – no matter where we plant our roots.
“For those still out there chasing a dream, wrestling with doubt, and wondering if they’ll ever ‘make it,’ know this: the American Dream isn’t a perfectly paved road,” he added. “It’s a market stall built from scrap wood; it’s a late-night hustle; it’s baking 200,000 patties in a home oven for years; it’s the choice to keep going when the world says stop.
“And, when you get there, you’ll realize the dream was never about the destination; it was about the climb,” Morris said.
Sam’s Caribbean Marketplace is 225 Hempstead Turnpike, West Hempstead, NY 11552.
You can reach Morris at (516) 481-6602 or team@sams247.com.
![image00003[1]](https://www.bxtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image000031.jpeg?quality=51&w=560)
