Yardie Spice Nears 13 Years as a Homestead Favorite

For nearly 13 years, Yardie Spice has been serving Jamaican and Haitian flavors from its home on South Krome Avenue, becoming a familiar part of Homestead’s growing restaurant community along the way.

During a recent sit-down interview with South Dade News Leader Managing Editor Cameron Smith, owner Jean-Paul “JP” Cadotte could tell almost exactly how long the restaurant has been open.

“12 years, eight months and two days today,” Cadotte said.

Then came the philosophy that has helped turn the passing years into something worth celebrating.

“Every day’s an anniversary.”

Cadotte did not always count the days. He began the tradition years into the restaurant’s life after noticing how often first-time customers asked how long Yardie Spice had been there.

“I started to count the days probably eight, nine years ago because so many people come here every day, first time, and that’s the first question they ask,” Cadotte said.

“So every day, I just add one.”

The restaurant, located at 225 S. Krome Ave., dates back to 2013 and is operated by Cadotte and his wife, Rochelle.

Their backgrounds are reflected in the restaurant itself. Cadotte is Haitian and Rochelle is Jamaican, allowing Yardie Spice to bring together two Caribbean culinary traditions under one roof.

But owning a restaurant was never part of their original plan.

Cadotte and his wife spent years working in corporate America before an unexpected health scare changed the direction of their lives.

“In 2013, I had a tumor, and I got sick,” Cadotte said.

“I took some time off from work back then.”

At the time, Cadotte could not drive. While riding with his wife one day, he noticed a large for-sale sign outside the restaurant that previously occupied the Krome Avenue location.

He wrote down the telephone number.

The next day, he met with the seller.

“They accepted my offer, and I never went back to work,” Cadotte said.

Almost 13 years later, what began with an unexpected phone call has developed into one of Homestead’s longstanding independently owned restaurants.

Yardie Spice is also among the Black-owned businesses that have established roots in South Dade while the surrounding community has continued to grow and change.

For Cadotte, however, longevity is not something that happens simply because a restaurant keeps its doors open.

It comes from consistency.

“The quality of food, the quality of service,” Cadotte said when asked why he believes customers have continued returning.

“We don’t only care about the food. We care about the package, which is service and food.”

Cadotte said diners sometimes find themselves making a trade-off at restaurants — accepting poor service because the food is good or overlooking average food because the service is exceptional.

At Yardie Spice, he wants customers to receive both.

“We’re very consistent in what we do,” he said.

That consistency begins in the kitchen.

Rather than having every employee responsible for every part of a meal, Yardie Spice divides responsibilities so team members can concentrate on specific parts of the process.

“We don’t have one person that does everything,” Cadotte said. “There’s one person that does rice only. I cook all the meat, and there’s a person that does the legumes, the vegetables only. Everybody does one thing.”

For Cadotte, specialization means maintaining the same flavor and quality customers expect when they return.

That approach has become particularly important as Yardie Spice has built a menu that spans both Jamaican and Haitian cuisine.

The restaurant serves Caribbean favorites ranging from jerk chicken, curry goat and oxtail to griot, seafood, vegetables and other dishes inspired by the Cadotte family’s heritage.

Asked by Smith which dish best represents Yardie Spice, Cadotte would not choose just one.

“That’s a really tough question to answer,” he said. “To really tell you the truth, it’s everything on the menu that represents Yardie Spice.”

That answer is intentional.

For years, the restaurant regularly reevaluated what it served. Cadotte said menus were once updated roughly every 10 or 11 months, with dishes that failed to connect with customers removed and successful specials sometimes earning permanent spots.

Older menus remain near the current menu inside the restaurant, providing a quiet timeline of how Yardie Spice has evolved.

“If something is not moving, doesn’t represent us, it’s got no place on the menu,” Cadotte said.

While the menu has evolved, one thing has remained critical to the restaurant’s survival: its relationship with South Dade.

That relationship was tested perhaps more than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Homestead sits along a heavily traveled corridor for visitors heading toward the Florida Keys, Everglades and other South Florida destinations, giving local restaurants a mix of residents and travelers.

When travel slowed dramatically during the pandemic, much of that outside traffic disappeared.

“During COVID was a great test,” Cadotte said.

For Yardie Spice, the customers who remained were the people living nearby.

Cadotte credits the community with helping the restaurant survive that period and continue growing afterward.

“We did not have any of that,” he said of the normal tourist traffic. “People did not travel.”

South Dade continued showing up.

“I want to thank the community for their support,” Cadotte said. “Without them, I would not have been here.”

Today, Yardie Spice remains on Krome Avenue as Homestead continues changing around it, with new development, new residents and new businesses entering the city.

The rest has been built one meal, one customer and, quite literally, one day at a time.

“I love them,” Cadotte said of the community.

“And they love me too.”