Niki Gordon runs Irie Jerk, a small “hole in the wall” Jamaican restaurant in Brooklyn, New York, that sells an average of 400 pounds of jerk chicken daily. Gordon’s restaurant was not always as vibrant as it is now before a Tik-Tok star helped give her restaurant a boost to its popularity.
According to NBC News, Nicolas Nuvan and his videographer, Jaime, spotlighted Gordon’s establishment as part of Nuvan’s focus on New York’s boroughs, which he told the outlet is often wholly spontaneous.
“It’s just me and my filmer Jaime, and we almost never have a plan,” Nuvan said.
“Sometimes we’ll walk like 30 blocks, and nothing will happen. And sometimes we’ll go out, and we’ll walk around, and something will happen. I’m just somebody that’s interested in cultures and communities and sharing with people.”Gordon and her establishment felt the result of Nuvan’s focus on Caribbean communities in New York to his 2.3 million followers on TikTok, which she relayed to NBC News. Gordon also discussed her family’s influence on her and her work ethic.
“I think about my grandmother, born 1915,” Gordon said. “I have two nieces who graduated from Howard University. The younger one is summa cum laude, just got her nanotechnology degree from Johns Hopkins. They are descendants of a lady that used to sign her name with the red X because she couldn’t read.”
Gordon continued, “Giving up is not an option. Had she given up, I wouldn’t be here to tell you her story of how much sugarcane she used to chop. So, they have to persevere. She chopped sugarcane so I wouldn’t.”
Nuvan, meanwhile, said that instead of idolizing famous people, more people should look to community institutions like Gordon and her restaurant for inspiration.
“Growing up, we idolize famous people,” Nuvan told NBC News
. He added that he believes that Gordon and other people in the community do extraordinary things and “are the people that we should be learning from.”For her part, Gordon looks at the community, particularly the Caribbean community in New York, as one family that always comes together when they face challenges.
“We have every nation you can think of — everyone,” Gordon said. “And the good thing is we all come together. One thing affects the Jamaican. It affects a Guyanese. It affects a Bajan. It affects a Trini. We just all come together. You know what I mean? Because it’s one Caribbean, and that’s what we have here in Brooklyn.”
Gordon also marveled at the fact that she has customers from every corner of the world who come to her shop to eat her chicken, telling NBC News, “I have customers from Singapore, California, London,” Gordon said. “I mean, these people flew here just to get my chicken. Miracles happen every day. And they do exist.”