A Court Street institution that, nearly 30 years ago, managed to win the island over to the Caribbean faces tough decisions on how to carry on its creator’s legacy.

Albertha Waite, widow of Trevor Waite Sr, told The Royal Gazette at the weekend: “We’re giving up the space and going to continue, we hope, with the concept of the business under a new name.”

As Mrs Waite and her sons packed up the last of the family business by the corner of Court Street and Dundonald Street, she added: “We have to put the Waite enterprise to bed. We will start a new chapter.”

The Caribbean Food Market helped break cultural as well as culinary barriers — opening its doors in the 1990s at a time when many in Bermuda appeared less than welcoming to people and customs from islands to our south.

“This store is known for its friendliness, compassion to the community, its love for people from all walks of life,” Mrs Waite said.

Her Bermudian sons, Sherwin and Trevor Jr, brought up steeped in their Jamaican roots, remember the difficult sell of the early days. Long before Caricom or Carnival, Jamaicans in particular were second-class in the eyes of many Bermudians.

Sherwin Waite said of primary school: “We took the brunt — we had to fight every day.”

The family’s establishment joined a confluence of cultural forces, from the popularity of reggae and Jamaican culture to changing immigration demographics in Bermuda, shifting how much of the island viewed Caribbean people.

As Mrs Waite tells it: “Bermudians were naive and embarrassed to know they had ancestors that came from the Caribbean. They didn’t realise when we had Caribbean teachers here, our educational system was top-notch.”

She added: “For some reason, proud Bermudians didn’t want to associate with them. My family at first didn’t take too kindly to Trevor because he was from Jamaica.”

The two met while attending different colleges in New York. A postal strike in Bermuda kept Mrs Waite and her cousin, Grace, from getting money from home.

Cash transfers from Bermuda were far from simple in 1969. As their money ran short, Grace suggested aiming for the $200 prize at a dance-off in another college. The dance partner she introduced her to would quickly become her husband of 56 years. They won, and split the takings.

Despite cutting a less than impressive figure at first glance, Mr Waite won her over, and followed her to Bermuda after she graduated. They married in 1970, and have a third son, Christopher.

Mr Waite got work at the Bank of Bermuda as well as a major wholesaler and, in time, created the Caribbean Food Market based on skills acquired on the job. Caribbean seasoning and sauces, or products such as ackee and Jamaican cheese, were few and far between.

Mrs Waite said: “No one else was doing it. Which was a good thing.”

The couple acquired their shop and, importing from Jamaica, Mr Waite began bringing in products unfamiliar to many Bermudians, from callaloo to salted pig tail, canned salted mackerel and ceresse tea.

The market became a place for working-class patrons to get a cheap meal. It also provided the flavours and whole foods for Jamaican curries and Caribbean dishes at establishments all over the island.

Mrs Waite attributed part of Bermudians’ defrosting towards Jamaica and the Caribbean to the Bermuda Regiment.

“What changed everything was the regiment being trained in Jamaica,” she said.

Foot traffic was “slow at first”, the family said, but early customers included senior Bermudians.

Mrs Waite said: “I believe that, after a while, they realised their ancestors were cooking with this stuff.”

In the tight-knit Court Street neighbourhood, the market became something of a community hub.

In recent years, as Mr Waite fell ill, the future of the business was in doubt.

His wife said: “He was the driving force; it was his baby. I actually used to tell him the shop was his first wife. He would come here on Sundays, when it was closed.”

Mr Waite died in February, leaving his wife in shock but also in a dire financial situation. Mrs Waite said only being permitted to live off one of their two pensions was a good part of what forced the family’s hand into packing up the business for now.

She added: “At least subsidise the widow for a year. Something. Government needs to do better.”

A final sale at the market “did well”, she said, and in getting rid of their last stock, the Waites provided care packages of Jamaican products to a few newly arrived immigrants.

As they prepared to pull down the shutters, Mrs Waite said: “Anyone starting up a business, looking for a few fixtures, they can come by. Everybody needs a hand up in life.”

The premises are rented and have to be vacated, but the family are resolved to carry on.

Mrs Waite said: “We need to give it up while we take our time to recover from his passing, and make a decision to continue his legacy.”