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Mo Green grew up helping her mom cook in Manchester, Jamaica.
“We would cook outside and my mom would make a fire, so I would make my own smaller fire next to hers and copy what she was doing,” she said. “So it’s been my dream to open something with the food my mom and dad taught me to cook.”
Green never gave up on that dream, despite a career in banking. When a Subway closed near her home in Setauket, and the store went up for lease, she jumped.
Mo’s Island Spice opened right before Christmas, after Green cleaned up the former sandwich shop and made it her own.
Decorated with Jamaican maps, Bob Marley mementos and records, Mo’s is a tribute to Green’s home country.
And she’s using her island ties to craft fresh meals daily.
“We use authentic ingredients and spices straight from Jamaica,” she said. “Our food has that flavor so people say it reminds them of food from there.”
She works from morning to night, serving up breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus a dessert menu that offers cookies, rum cake and cheesecake.
“We’re another option to the neighborhood,” Green said. “We’re something different, so come check us out.”
Mo’s Island Spice is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. They’re closed on Sundays.
Check back in with Greater Long Island for updates on the restaurant’s grand opening bash this spring. Green is looking to host an outdoor party featuring a live reggae band, and a tasting of all the Jamaican flavors Mo’s Island Spice has to offer.
— photos by Julianne Mosher
