Students are returning to the Hill from tropical locations post-spring break, sporting fresh tans and sunburns. But those who spent the week away from warm weather don’t have to feel left out. A little tropical spice will arrive to the village of North Syracuse on Friday.

Mr. Bigg’s Restaurant, an authentic Caribbean eatery on North Salina Street, opens its doors at 11 a.m. Friday. During the grand opening, the first 50 people at the door will receive a free meal gift certificate for use on their next visit.

The eatery will operate as delivery/take-out only, catering to the area’s student-centric demographic. Their dishes can be ordered through popular online platforms like Grubhub and Uber Eats.

Edirin Igho-Akiti operated Caribbean restaurants of the same name in northern New York for the last few years before deciding to relocate to Syracuse. He attributed the decision to the diverse, robust market and feedback from locals who ate at his Watertown location.

“Eddy,” as his friends call him, spent the first 12 years of his life in Nigeria, his father’s birthplace. He lived on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Lucia, his mother’s native land, for the next four years. This is where Igho-Akiti learned the majority of his cooking abilities, observing his mother’s expertise around food.

“When all my other siblings were playing outside, I was always with my mom in the kitchen or at her Caribbean restaurant,” Igho-Akiti recalled. “My mother and a good friend of mine taught me all the secrets of good Caribbean food – with great flavor and spice.”

Igho-Akiti brought these secrets to Watertown, where in 2014, he opened his first restaurant in the Salmon Run Mall. “Eddy’s Caribbean Cuisine” was well-received and a group of loyal customers emerged quickly, convincing the owner to expand to a permanent location downtown.

“His uniqueness was obvious and caught the public’s attention immediately,” said Gainslee Raymond, a longtime customer. “(Eddy) was the only one to offer that type of cuisine around Watertown.”

His success continued, and after a few months downtown, Igho-Akiti moved the restaurant to a larger spot around the corner. He changed the name to Mr. Bigg’s to accompany the increase in size.

Edirin Igho-Akiti is the owner of Mr. Bigg’s. Adam Lehner | Staff Writer

The restaurant’s cuisine became popular among soldiers stationed at Fort Drum, a U.S. Army military reservation just outside of Watertown in Jefferson County.

Michael Ademeso, a retired military personnel, remembers having lunch daily at Mr. Bigg’s.

“My friends in the military always looked forward to grabbing some lunch at his restaurant,” he said. “(Eddy’s) meals are quite unique with a little touch of African, Caribbean and Jamaican style put together.”

Spices are critical to generating the food’s flavor, Igho-Akiti said. Mr. Bigg’s Restaurant’s Instagram states that “prepping and consistent, accurate seasoning is the most important step in any Caribbean food.”

Like the restaurant’s meals, Igho-Akiti said that Caribbean food itself is a conglomeration of influence. Tessa Murphy, an assistant professor of history at Syracuse University, echoed that statement.

“Many of the foods that are now considered ‘Caribbean mainstays’ first came to the islands as a result of the Columbian exchange — plantains are from Southeast Asia; oxen and poultry are from Eurasia,” said Murphy via email. “So the emergence of a distinctively ‘St. Lucian’ cuisine might be seen to reflect this mixing of cultures.”

The diverse entrees on the menu include jerk chicken, curry pork and oxtail, each served alongside sweet plantains, mixed veggies and a choice of rice.

Spicy jerk chicken seems to be the consensus favorite among Ademoso and his fellow customers.

“For me, jerk chicken and rice — I would pay $50 for those if I had to.”

Luckily, everything on the menu can be purchased for $12 or less.

Chicken wings — an ode to the city of Buffalo, where Igho-Akiti earned his MBA — also capture the true zest of Caribbean cuisine. “Henny Jerk wings” and Friday fish fries are a few of the specials offered.
After focusing on a successful opening, Mr. Bigg’s plans to launch a food truck called “The Caribbean King,” a title even Jack Sparrow would appreciate. The truck would make stops across upstate New York in the coming months.

During “hospitality runs” each Monday, local businesses can feel the love as the restaurant delivers them free food “as a thank you.” Interested businesses can contact Mr. Bigg’s by phone at 315-299-5588 or email at mymrbiggs@gmail.com.

Mr. Bigg’s hopes to make an impact that transcends their cuisine.

“I think what makes us stand out is our humility and core values: customers first and quality 100 percent, while staying true to the tradition and culture of the cuisine,” Igho-Akiti said. “At Mr. Bigg’s Restaurant, we treat all of our customers like family.”

Published on March 18, 2018 at 8:57 pm

Contact Adam: aglehner@syr.edu