Slow but steady progress in Negril

Along Negril’s beachfront and bustling roadside, recovery after Hurricane Melissa is unfolding not in sweeping declarations but in quiet resilience with one plate of food sold, one tourist taxi trip completed, and one customer welcomed back at a time.

For Brian Sanders, a street vendor better known by his business name World Spice, survival after the storm has been about patience, gratitude, and persistence.

While preparing Ital and vegan food for years, Sanders believes he has been in the business long enough to know what a prosperous Christmas and New Year holiday shopping season looks like.

Originally from Kingston, he migrated years ago to build his livelihood in Negril, where he says his business has thrived since. He explained that vending in Negril has always been seasonal, but Melissa disrupted even that rhythm.

“I had stopped [for] a while and … came back out for the season and take on a proper system. I [built] a nice proper cart to come back out to do business,” he told The Sunday Gleaner.

Reflecting on Christmas sales, Sanders said the season had less to offer than the usual.

“Kind of shaky, but you can’t complain still because people come out the same … . We’re happy because we’re resilient people, you know,” he said.

Despite the setbacks, he remains philosophical.

“It’s a good vibe doing business. Things kind of shake up by the storm, but we kind of jump out and make things right and proper and give thanks to life in the same way,” he said.

As for Negril’s recovery timeline, Sanders believes progress depends heavily on visitor confidence.

“Well, it takes a little while, you know. But the people have to do the right thing. Tourists have to come back out and make things go right and come together.”

Rushing to conclusions

Still, he cautioned against rushing to conclusions as the winter tourist season was barely settled in.

“I say it just a start. We’re not going to jump and say it’s better because it just start … . We can’t jump to it and say it’s going to get better or worse,” he said.

Further along Norman Manley Boulevard, farmer and chef Dave Minott of Dave’s Homemade Pastry and Ital Food described hurricane damage that went beyond sales to the land itself.

“I mostly do farming and chef work,” Minott explained. “I plant most of the stuff – cassava, banana, coconut, beans.”

Melissa’s impact was devastating, he said.

Pointing to the crops behind his stall, he told The Sunday Gleaner: “Some of the trees, they blew down. I have two farms, … they blew down all the grown-up trees. You can’t see them.”

His other farm he says is located in Red Ground, Negril.

Rebuilding, so far, has been slow and physically demanding.

“I have to chop them up so we can [clear] the place again. So we’re just trying to get back to normal again.”

But although this holiday season’s earnings were modest, Minott said things could have been worse.

“Things are not that strong, but at least we’re making something out of life so we can stay alive,” he shared.

Minott estimates that full recovery could take time.

“It could be over like a year and some months … . That’s the most it takes to fix up.”

Still, he hopes to see improvement before year-end.

Beyond damaged crops, rising food prices have compounded the struggle.

“Whatever stuff we don’t plant and we don’t have, we buy it. It’s super expensive now,” Minott said, adding that one pound of pumpkin at the Negril Market was being sold for no less than $350.

The prices are further affected by the scarcity of certain commodities.

“Even coconut … can’t get that. This morning, I had to go outside before daylight … to go get two coconuts to sell.”

Minott says that although he has not received any hurricane relief, this has not stopped him from getting his business back in order. However, he still hopes for some assistance from agricultural entities.

Registered farmer

“I’m a registered farmer, and I haven’t gotten anything yet, but I’m trying to get things back to normal as I can,” he said.

Meanwhile, on Negril’s roads, JUTA Tours driver Nedrick Young echoed similar sentiments of slow but steady movement.

“We give thanks for the season, you know. Because, I mean, we have life and we live to see the new year,” he said.

Melissa, of course, disrupted tour flows.

“It affects a lot of things because it slows [things] down. No power – we get a setback from that, too,” he said.

However, recent weeks have shown signs of improvement with the winter season as well and the Christmas, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Day holidays. “Around two weeks now things kind of pick up back a little bit.”

Young believes infrastructure restoration is key.

“Westmoreland will take a long time to recover … but by the end of the month, we’re supposed to see some great changes,” he said with much optimism.

Power restoration, he reasoned, could unlock broader recovery in places such as Burnt Savannah, where he lives.

Large-scale tourism operators reported a more optimistic outlook.

General Manager of Margaritaville Negril Nadette Davis said turnout during the holidays was strong even though sales lagged behind last year.

“The turnout was really, really good. In comparison to sales, it did not touch last year,” Davis said. “Last year was way better, but we’re just really happy to see people out and spending money.”

She noted that Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve stood out: “People were here up until 3 o’clock trying to order food.”

Davis, however, rejected the notion that Negril had significantly fallen off.

“I don’t feel like Negril has fallen off too much from Hurricane Melissa … . Businesses were not damaged all together.”

Walking the beach Friday morning reinforced her optimism.

“The beach is full. The place is busy. People are in Negril.”

While acknowledging uncertainty in the weeks ahead, she remains hopeful for 2026.

“This week is good. Last week was good, and that is hope enough for us,” Davis said.

Most importantly, she highlighted local support.

“The locals, they have never dropped the ball on us, and we appreciate and we love them.”

mickalia.kington@gleanerjm.com