Sonia (left) with Donna at the grand opening of their new location
“If I didn’t have CSNDC helping me, I think it would have taken me much, much longer to learn the things that I’ve learned about how to run this business,” says Sonia Satchell, who, along with her sister, Donna, owns and operates the IRIE Jamaican Style Restaurant at 1450 Dorchester Avenue. Sonia runs the business side of things while Donna runs the kitchen.
Sonia is the youngest of 13 children. Her family came to Dorchester from Jamaica when she was five years old, and she still lives in Dorchester now with her husband and son. She remembers fondly how their family and community life in Dorchester have always revolved around the food from their homeland.
“We used to have a lot of cookouts, birthday parties and events and we did a lot of outside cooking,” she recalls. “It would attract all of our neighbors. That’s where the idea of opening a restaurant came from. That’s 23 years ago and here we are today.”
Sonia and Donna originally opened their restaurant on Bowdoin Street near St. Peter’s Parish. The year was 1999.
“That was an era where no one really come out after six o’clock. The area was really bad,” she reflects. “We were the only restaurant that didn’t put up bulletproof glass. I think that’s how we gained the trust of the community. We just wanted to be accepted and feed people.”
Their approach paid off, as the restaurant thrived in that location for 17 years. That is, until their landlord sought to raise their rent in 2016. When Sonia and Donna pushed back, the landlord gave them 30 days to leave. This is an example of the business gentrification that has frequently occurred in recent years. CSNDC fights against this trend by providing support to small businesses and by offering low cost space.
“It was really depressing,” says Sonia. “This was our livelihood.”
But after about four or five months, Sonia and Donna had located a new spot for the restaurant, on Washington Street in Codman Square. They stayed in that location until November 2022, when they moved into the current location (“Our final stop,” says Sonia) on Dorchester Avenue.
“We needed a bigger space to support our growth,” she says. “We wanted to get back to hosting events and doing things to help build our community, and this new space is big enough for that kind of thing.”
Through it all, CSNDC has been a constant support to Sonia, connecting her to people and resources to support her business goals.
“CSNDC’s small business services department has been an invaluable resource to our expansion, growth and development,” Sonia says. “They’ve helped my business become more established and resilient. They connected me with resources to help with my business plan and my budgeting process, as well as getting access to small business grants which helped me sustain my business during the pandemic.”
CSNDC was also instrumental in connecting Sonia with a number of commercial retail locations and a team of small business support providers to help her find the current location. Most important, according to Sonia, is the fact that her affiliation with CSNDC has opened doors.
“When I tell people I’m associated with them, they know I’m a serious person trying to grow my business and trying to be more involved with the community.”
Sonia’s vision for the future of the restaurant is all about community. She plans to introduce some light entertainment options, such as piano playing, poetry readings and other community-oriented activities, which the new space enables.
“I want us to be known not just as a family-oriented Jamaican restaurant, but as an outlet for our community,” she says.
CSNDC is proud to have helped Sonia achieve this vision.
