Midday on Friday, Tony O’Neill will be where he always is at the noon hour: manning the grill and greeting the lunch rush at his Jamrock Cultural Restaurant in Duluth.
But while Chef Tony is dishing up jerk chicken, shrimp po’boys and Jamaican coco bread, the small business owner will also be keeping an eye on the KARE 11 video stream coming carrying Black Entrepreneurs Day at the Capitol as it unfolds.
“I’m interested in what they’re saying and thoroughly intrigued by what they are doing,” said O’Neil, who started catering his Caribbean food delicacies in the Twin Ports five years ago and now owns Jamrock Cultural Restaurant on W. 1st St in downtown Duluth.
While he’s often told that his authentic cuisine fills a need in the Duluth food scene and is often praised by locals and Duluth’s many tourists, O’Neil said he and other small business owners need more than appreciation.
“We are trying to figure out ways to attract new grants. I would like to see the city and the state do more to support us; we need more if they want us to last,” O’Neil said.