From Jamaica to Colombia: How Anasia Reid Built Medellín’s Only Jamaican Restaurant
What’s it really like being a Jamaican doing business in Colombia? For Anasia Reid, the journey began with travel, curiosity, and a longing for the flavours of home, and eventually led to building a thriving Jamaican restaurant in Medellín.
In this episode of Jamaicans Doing Business Abroad, Jamaicans.com founder Xavier Murphy sits down with Anasia to explore her journey from corporate engineering to entrepreneurship, and what it means to plant Jamaican culture in South America.
A Jamaican Roots, Global Journey
Anasia is British-Jamaican, born to Jamaican parents who migrated to the UK in the 1960s. While she grew up in Britain, Jamaican culture was always central to her life, from the food and music to family gatherings and community.
Professionally, Anasia trained as an electrical engineer and spent years working in the corporate world. Alongside her career, she developed a love for travel, living and working in places like Dubai and Canada before eventually turning her attention to South America.
In her early 40s, Anasia decided to take a break and explore somewhere entirely new. She arrived in Colombia with plans to stay for six months, learn Spanish, and experience life outside the familiar Western world. That short stay turned into seven years.
Living in Medellín, she found herself increasingly missing Jamaican home-cooked food. Each time homesickness crept in, she cooked Jamaican dishes for friends, who quickly took to the bold flavours and seasoning. That response helped her recognise a clear gap in the local food scene.
Opening Jamaiquita in Medellín
Two years ago, Anasia opened Jamaiquita, now known as Medellín’s only Jamaican restaurant. The name reflects her vision: creating a small but authentic piece of Jamaica in Colombia.
Despite having no formal culinary background, Anasia leaned on years of being around her mother’s cooking and her own problem-solving mindset as an engineer. Setting up the business moved surprisingly quickly, helped by her familiarity with the language, local systems, and professional networks she had built over time.
Today, Jamaiquita serves Jamaican staples like jerk chicken, oxtail, and escovitch fish, introducing Colombians and visiting Jamaicans alike to the flavours of home.
Life in Colombia and Building Community
Living in Medellín has required cultural adjustment. Anasia notes differences in communication styles, pace of life, and social norms, but describes Colombians as warm, welcoming, and community-oriented. Through food, music, and even domino games, Jamaiquita has become a gathering space for Jamaicans, locals, and visitors.
Beyond the restaurant, she enjoys Colombia’s lifestyle, vibrant festivals, and natural beauty, all of which remind her in subtle ways of Jamaica.
Advice for Jamaicans Thinking of the Move
For anyone considering moving to or working in Colombia, Anasia encourages taking time to understand the culture, choosing the right location, and building a business around something you genuinely care about. While language helps, it is no longer a major barrier, and opportunities still exist for those willing to learn and adapt.
Looking ahead, Anasia hopes to expand Jamaiquita and explore franchising, continuing to share Jamaican culture far beyond the island’s shores.
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