New Elburn restaurant offers authentic Caribbean cuisine

Island Express has only opened a few weeks, but already has sold out of its authentic Caribbean food at least twice.

Folks seem to be loving the new Elburn restaurant, which specializes in Jamaican dishes with some American soul food mixed in to complement the delicious offerings.

“Everybody has been great,” said Kimberly Collins, who owns Island Express with her husband, Shane Collins. “We’ve heard great things. They love the food and they love the service. They’re so happy we opened in the area. And we’ve had people come from Glendale Heights and Des Plaines. Our landlord posted us on all these Facebook groups, so word has been spreading like wildfire. Everybody who loved it tells a friend and then they have to try it.”

“Jerked the way you like it” is the motto in the restaurant’s logo and guests are really digging the Jamaican jerk spice on chicken, shrimp, rib tips, salmon, catfish and oxtails.

“So the most popular item is really anything jerk,” Kimberly Collins said. “We make the jerk sauce ourselves with fresh ingredients that we source. Anything jerk is really super popular. Whenever someone comes in that hasn’t tried this before, I tell them jerk chicken is a good place to start. Our method for preparation is to not overspice it. The jerk sauce on the side lets them control the spice.”

The menu includes patties, pasta, entrees such as jerk chicken, jerk rib rips, small and large shrimp and a variety of jerk salads. Platters, available in medium and large, include jerk chicken, wings, rib tips, oxtails, curry goat, brown stew chicken and more. Seafood platters with shrimp, salmon, catfish and curry shrimp also find a slot on the menu, along with seven combination platters to choose from that come with your choice of three sides such as rice and beans, cabbage, mashed potatoes, plantains, green beans, candied yams and mac and cheese.

Born and raised in Jamaica, the Collinses came to the United States when they were in their 20s. They had dated while in high school in Jamaica, broke up and then reconnected in the U.S.

“Once we started living together, I used to cook all the time,” Kimberly Collins said. “He’d invite friends over and say Kim’s cooking, and Sundays are huge for Jamaican households. We don’t eat out on Sundays. We make food at home. So everybody kept saying you have to open a restaurant, but we were apprehensive to do so. We didn’t know how the audience would receive us.”

Now they know.

A partnership with Shane Collins’ brother at a restaurant in Maywood proved invaluable for the couple while inspiring them to go out on their own after talking about it for about six years. The Aurora residents found a good location in Elburn to bring Caribbean cuisine to the area.

“When Shane went into the partnership with his brother, he’d already been selling meals out of his apartment,” Kimberly Collins said. “So he had the background in it. We were able to learn more and with it working smoothly, we figured we could branch out and could do this on our own.”

Island Express has limited seating, making it more suited for carryout and delivery. It also has a catering menu, offering folks an opportunity to serve something different than the standards of pizza, fried chicken, beef and sub sandwiches that are so common at parties and similar functions.

“We have two tables and a few stools, so there’s not much of a sitting area,” Kimberly Collins said. “We have received interest in our catering menu and already have something lined up for March, another in April and one for May. People are really interested.”

Elburn Chamber of Commerce President Penny Bergstrom said she is “super excited” to have the restaurant in town.

“We’ve been looking to expand our offerings to the community as well as people in the area and it’s nice to have another restaurant with a different flair to it,” she said.

Island Express is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and noon to 8 p.m. Sundays. It is closed on Mondays.