And somewhere between adjusting to all of it, new food - food that becomes a kind of anchor, a language, a way of staying connected to where you came from while figuring out where you’re going.

For Devon Wells, owner of Carib Dish in Barrie and Toronto, Ontario, that tension didn’t just shape his life. It shaped his menu.

Wells came to Canada from Grenada at 14 in the early 2000s, curious, open and ready to take in everything his new environment had to offer. 

“The challenge for me is fun,” said Wells.

In fact, he looked at preconceived obstacles as developmental phases as he explored and engaged within communities.

What he couldn’t have anticipated was how quickly those two worlds - Caribbean and Canadian, would start informing each other. In 2024, he opened Carib Dish.

The name was intentional.

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“I wanted a name that represents the whole Caribbean,” Wells said. “‘Carib’ speaks to the culture, and ‘Dish’ keeps it simple - it’s about authentic food.”

That authenticity runs through everything on the menu. Jerk, steamed, curried, fried all prepared to true Caribbean standards. But Wells didn’t stop there. He took those same techniques and applied them to Canadian staples: jerk chicken poutine, jerk chicken waffles, Caribbean-spiced wraps, pastas and quesadillas that carry the heat and soul of the islands. The result is a menu that doesn’t choose between two cultures. It holds both.

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“The Caribbean is diverse, and I wanted the menu to reflect that — not just one island, but the culture as a whole,” he said. 

Excitement and relief has been a common reaction among customers, specifically in the Holly community of Barrie. Many had been waiting for a restaurant like Carib Dish — Caribbean, not strictly Jamaican.

Wells credits the welcoming reception to Caribbean restaurants that had previously opened in the same area. He recalled a Sunrise location that was up and running just a few years before his arrival.

“The spot that we’re in right now, Sunrise was there. I heard that because of some challenges selling Black Caribbean food, they shut down after a few months,” he said.

However, diversity has grown since then, allowing Caribbean restaurant owners to express their backgrounds through evolving plates and palates.

“It’s a mix of tradition and experience,” said Wells. 

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That mix is, in many ways, the story of Caribbean cuisine itself. The curried dishes that stretch across the region trace back to Indian labourers brought to the islands in the 1800s. When those flavours met the local environment — scotch bonnet pepper, pimento, the particular heat of Caribbean soil — something new was born. Distinct from its origins, but deeply connected to them.

Every fusion dish on a Caribbean menu carries that history. Migration, adaptation, and creativity folded into one plate.

Carib Dish is the latest chapter in that tradition. Now with two locations, and a growing following that crosses cultural lines, Wells is serving proof that immigrant stories don’t disappear when you cross a border. They find their way onto the table.

ByBlacks Restaurant Week runs May 11 to 17, 2026. Visit byblacks.com/restaurantweek to find participating restaurants near you.