‘As pure as possible’ – NowKalamazoo

Your nose will tingle from the scent of charred wood, warm spices, and caramelized sweetness drifting from a grill filled with jerk chicken. And the distinct rhythm of dance or Jamaican music – a laid-back yet irresistible groove – will confirm you’ve found Season to the Bone.

Owner Nichael Todd said, as far as he knows, theirs is the only business offering authentic Jamaican food in the Kalamazoo area.

Spending the first 25 years of his life in Jamaica, food has always been a big part of life for the now-46-year-old Kalamazoo resident.

Back home, Todd cooked for fun, but he also worked in the kitchen of a hotel. He’d originally planned to return to Jamaica after completing a work program in the United States, but then he met someone and decided to stay.

Todd said he always wanted to own a business but it took a lot of convincing from the people he trusted most.

“A long time,” he said – in a thick Jamaican accent – when asked how long he had thought about starting a business. “A long, long time. But I didn’t (have) the guts. I was holdin’ back.”

He said, after the death of a friend who had a food booth at the Kalamazoo Island Festival (now the Kalamazoo Caribbean Fest), friends encouraged Todd to honor their lost friend and commit to his own dream.

“They say, ‘You can cook, so why you don’t do it? It’s simple,’” he said. “I say ‘alright.’ I get the courage, set up my zone, and start.”

The true test though, he said, was returning to Jamaica and getting approval from the locals there.

“(Jamaicans are) very hard to please,” he said. “And they like it (the food).”

“That’s everything Jamaica is about,” said his son and business partner, Nichael Todd Jr. “As pure as possible. If it’s not good, they’re going to tell you it’s not good. If it is good, they’re going to tell you it’s good. Food is so important to us.”

The father and son decided it was time to take Todd’s talents on the road – Gull Road, specifically. They obtained a permit from the city and set up a tent in front of Africana Store on Gull Rd. For the following two months in the summer of 2022, they sold authentic Jamaican food on the weekends.

Season to the Bone was born.

When asked if there were any difficulties during the first year of operating, Todd smiled and simply said, “Nah.”

His son quickly chimed in, visibly amused by his father’s distinctly Jamaican attitude: a relaxed confidence that refuses to let everyday troubles steal the day’s joy or intention.

“We broke, like, four tents the first year. That was inconvenient,” Todd Jr. said with a laugh. He said unexpectedly windy days and the cumbersome process of acquiring licenses tested their determination but never deterred them. “That’s part of the process … you learn as you go, but those are like slight inconveniences that might disrupt.”

After the success of managing the food tent in two different locations, they decided it was time to upgrade. After nearly half a year of research, back-and-forth communication, and plenty of paperwork, they found a company in Texas to build a brand-new custom food truck and ship it to Chicago.

The truck had to be customized because authentic Jamaican food – and an authentic Jamaican cook – needs certain accommodations.

“Most food trucks come with flat tops … but we don’t need those, so some stuff we had to take out, some stuff we had to (add),’” Todd Jr. said. “And we needed more space because in the wintertime here in Michigan, you can’t cook outside. So we needed a spot for the grill to be set up inside of the truck.”

Once the fire suppression system is added and the truck is wrapped with the business name and branding, the pair would like to join the other food trucks that serve the Bronson Park area in the summer. 

26-year-old Todd Jr. serves as his father’s marketing manager, so his biggest worry has been whether they’d attract enough customers. He worries less about that as time goes on and their support grows.

“… One person tried (the food) and then it was like word of mouth,” he said. “It just became a chain effect that snowballed and that’s how more people got to know about it.”

He believes returning customers appreciate that the meals are being prepared with patience and care, and they understand that his father is cooking mostly by himself. Todd said if they can find the right person to help him cook, they would potentially open a second food truck.

Their dream is to someday give their business a permanent brick-and-mortar home, but until then, Todd Jr. seems quite content with taking small steps toward growth and working alongside his father.

“Kalamazoo as a city I feel like is very diverse as far as personalities,” said Todd Jr. “For example, the Vine neighborhood – you’ve got a lot of artistic people that live in the Vine neighborhood, and then you’ve got a lot of factories like Stryker, like Graphic Packaging, stuff like that. I feel like bringing our culture is also adding to that pool of diversity.”

Season to the Bone is located at 1930 Gull Rd., and is open Fridays and Saturdays from 12:30 to 6:30 p.m. … or until the food sells out.