Sam’s Caribbean Marketplace: Merging Technology With Tradition
June offers many special occasions – Father’s Day, Flag Day, Juneteenth, the first day of summer – but in the town of West Hempstead, on New York’s Long Island, the month is also known for Sam’s Caribbean Marketplace’s Customer Appreciation Day, which this year is on the 14th. Started by founders Andrew and Jean Morris back in June 1994, the event embodies Andrew’s motto of “Treat people the way you want to be treated.”
This is not always easy, as Andrew would be the first to admit. “There have been days when customers came in angry — maybe about a product or just life — but once they realize the staff is here to listen, the temperature changes,” he notes. “One guy came in yelling, furious about something he bought. I let him talk for eight minutes straight, then said, ‘Would you like a refund or an exchange?’ His whole demeanor shifted. Sometimes, people just need to be heard.”
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With Customer Appreciation Day, “the goal was one of giving something back,” explains Andrew, “so we cooked, gave out samples and discounts, had live music — the works. It’s grown over the years and turned into a reunion of sorts. Grandparents come in with grandkids. Families meet other families. It’s not a store that day — it’s a celebration of culture and community.”
Humble Beginnings, Tech-Enabled Future
Named for Jean’s late father, the store opened in 1993 in a tiny 1,600-square-foot space with an old toaster oven used to bake Jamaican beef patties, after Andrew realized that the area had Caribbean people, but no places for them to purchase food from their home countries. As Andrew tells it, the idea was “a Caribbean store owned by Caribbean people, where the folks behind the counter didn’t just stock products, but used them, and could tell you which spice goes best with which dish.”
Since that time, Sam’s has added a takeout kitchen and expanded its product line to include more than 1,000 Caribbean staples. Customer demographics have also expanded: While Sam’s remains rooted in the Caribbean-American community, it increasingly serves foodies, younger tech-savvy shoppers and those seeking authentic international flavors as well. Additionally, the store has evolved digitally, transitioning from a dated Windows-based website to a modern e-commerce platform with nationwide reach and home delivery options.
Of this system, which Andrew gave the “techy” name of PAID – short for Predictive AI Delivery – he notes: “It was born out of necessity. Harsh winters, immigration worries keeping folks home and just plain convenience made the business ask: How can we meet our customers where they are? Now folks within 100 miles can order hot meals or groceries and get same-day delivery. They get real-time tracking and notifications — it’s like Uber Eats meets your grandma’s kitchen.”
Adds Andrew: “One woman called recently, said she and her husband are both wheelchair-bound and hadn’t had a taste of Jamaica in months. That same day, she got dinner from Sam’s at her doorstep. She cried. The team cried. That’s what it’s all about.”
He further points out that the in-store pickup option has likewise been a hit. “No lines, no waiting — just pre-order, pick up and go,” he enthuses. “Caribbean efficiency at its finest.”
More to Come
Beyond AI-powered delivery, Sam’s has a few other tech enhancements in mind, among them subscription boxes so customers can get monthly essentials shipped automatically, collaborations with Caribbean chefs and influencers to demo products online, SEO and backlink campaigns to put Sam’s in front of people from coast to coast, and even AI-driven product recommendations on its website, tailored to regional Caribbean tastes.
“The goal is always to merge technology with tradition,” notes Andrew. “You can order curry seasoning from your phone, but it still tastes like your grandma made it.”
In the next five to 10 years, Andrew, Jean and their tech-oriented daughter, Melissa, want Sam’s to become “the Amazon of Caribbean culture, minus the cold warehouse vibes,” asserts Andrew. “I want folks across the U.S. to say, ‘If Sam’s doesn’t have it, you don’t need it.’ That’s something a customer once said, and it stuck.”
