MPR News with Angela Davis

Pimento Jamaican Kitchen’s secret sauce? Community spirit

Tomme Beevas
Tomme Beevas owns and operates Pimento Jamaican Kitchen.
Courtesy of Tomme Beevas

There’s a little Jamaica right here in Minnesota and it’s called Pimento Jamaican Kitchen.

Tomme Beevas started his restaurant 11 years ago with a $99 tent and a backyard grill.

Now he’s an award-winning chef and entrepreneur opening two new locations this summer — one at 354 Wabasha St. in St. Paul and a second Minneapolis location at the new Bde Maka Ska pavilion.

Beevas has found a way to make his restaurants more than a place for food.

Pimento Kitchen’s secret sauce is community spirit.

Listen to this rebroadcast of MPR News guest host Nina Moini’s conversation with Beevas about how his grandmother inspired his cooking and the vision for his businesses.

two people smiling and posing for a photo
MPR News guest host Nina Moini and Tomme Beevas at MPR News Headquarters in St. Paul on May 18.
Danelle Cloutier | MPR News

Guests:

  • Tomme Beevas is an award-winning chef and entrepreneur. He’s the owner of Pimento Jamaican Kitchen and the founder of Pimento Relief Services, an organization that aims to support and uplift communities of color in the Twin Cities.

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This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment's Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.