When Dwain Gilzene came to Canada from Jamaica, he had $40 to his name.
He was 25-years-old, had never been out of his home country and was hoping that by following his sister to Jasper, he’d be able to create a better life for himself and his daughter. Because he was relocating halfway across the world, he decided it was best to leave his baby behind.
“I didn’t want to uproot her before I got settled,” he recalled.
Eight years later, Gilzene is more than settled, he’s on the cusp of realizing a lifelong dream. After obtaining his Canadian permanent residency, meeting and marrying the love of his life and adding another child to his Jasper-based family, Gilzene is about to open the doors to a new restaurant in Jasper. This April, the 33-year-old is bringing the flavours, the passion and the culture of the Caribbean to the Rockies. As this publication hits newsstands, The Spice Joint is open for business.
“I see a market in Jasper for real Jamaican and Caribbean food,” Gilzene said, two days before he hung his black, green and gold sign outside the facade at 614 Connaught Drive. “I take great pride in it.”
To get to this point, Gilzene has had to grind. For years he answered the call in local hotel kitchens, slaving and saving with the long view of eventually being his own boss. On March 27, as he brewed the first pot of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee—a premium cuppa which java bean connoisseurs covet—he reflected on how far he’d come.
“The road I was on [in Jamaica], I could have lived, but to actually go out and make a business, no. I had to change my path.”
That path has been rocky at times. When Canada was cracking down on immigration violations several years ago, Gilzene’s former employer failed to nominate him for permanent residency. Wanting desperately to be reunited with his daughter, he was devastated.
“Other people who had not been here as long as me were getting their PR,” he said. “It was frustrating.”
In response, Gilzene paved his own way, applying for residency through the provincial government. He recalls being a nervous wreck whenever a letter with an Ottawa return address came in the mail.
“Every time I saw a piece of mail from the government my heart was vibrating in my chest,” he said.
Finally, word came down that Gilzene had qualified for permanent residency.
“It was freedom,” he said. “It was like I was carrying a million tons on my head and I put it all down. I could breathe easy.”
More recently, Gilzene has felt a similar weight lifted as his labours getting The Spice Joint established have finally borne fruit. With only a few items left to check off—including getting the health inspector, fire chief and Parks Canada’s realty department to approve his premises—Gilzene is buzzing with anticipation.
“I’m so excited I can’t sleep,” he laughed.
Eight years ago, Gilzene was excited, but for different reasons. He had just landed in Jasper after a marathon flight and shuttle by way of Kingston, Jamaica, Toronto and Edmonton. The clouds were thick, so he couldn’t see the mountains he would soon be scrambling with his colleagues. And even though it was July, fresh snow was falling from the sky. Feeling the cold, wet flakes land on his arms, Gilzene was amazed.
“I was blown away,” he said.
Today, winter is his favourite season, and despite being so scared the first time he took the chairlift to the top of Marmot Basin that staff had to give him a ride down in a skidoo, Gilzene loves to ski. He even taught his wife and daughter.
“I think it’s important to embrace something new,” he says.
This spring, Gilzene is hoping Jasper will want to embrace something new. Like a jerk chicken-coleslaw sandwich on coco bread, for example. Or a Jamaican beef patty. Or oxtail with rice and beans.
For Gilzene, who believes strongly in the food and the culture of his home country, and who is living proof that dreams come true in Jasper, he hopes The Spice Joint is the beginning of something bigger.
“I want this to be a movement,” he says. “The Spice Joint is just the start.”
Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com
