“People stop me on the street to tell me about how much they love my sauces,” says Sam Murray, founder and owner of Murray’s Caribbean Foods, which produces specialty Jamaican jerk sauces. “But to meet demand in stores and through an ecommerce site that we’re about to launch meant that we needed financing to grow.”
Here’s how Pursuit helped Sam secure two loans – an SBA Microloan and a Pursuit SmartLoan – to plan and implement growth strategies that will increase production and distribution.
A Vietnam veteran with a knack for great flavors and business success
Sam ran a popular restaurant for two decades, with a focus on traditional Jamaican foods, including jerk-sauced meats. While his service as a U.S. Marine Sergeant during the Vietnam War helped him hone many skills that are essential to small business success, it was his charisma, his dedication to quality, and his genuine care for every customer that cemented his place in the history of Jamaican restaurateurs – along with a knack for producing foods with an outstanding array of flavors.
Sam credits close friends Gil Noble, Ellis Hazlit, Rolanda Watts, and Randy Weston with helping him make key connections as he launched and grew the restaurant.
“We had an impressive clientele, including Miles Davis and James Baldwin,” he explains, but he says that it was also the customers who would stop by his restaurant several times a week that built his success. “We started in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and moved to Manhattan to serve our growing clientele.”
“Jamaica’s former Prime Ministers, Michael Manley and Edward Seaga, were also customers,” Sam says, “and that led to another remarkable opportunity.” He was commissioned to do the now-famous poster, “Come Hommmme,” by Air Jamaica and the Jamaican Tourist Board.
Sam had established Murray’s Caribbean Foods in 2001, but after two decades in the restaurant business, he was ready for a change. In 2023, he launched his bottled sauces under the Murray’s Caribbean Foods brand in partnership with his son, Clarence who, sadly, didn’t live long enough to see it coming into its full potential.
“When he passed away, I wasn’t certain that I’d continue with the business,” Sam admits. Over time, and with his family’s encouragement, he came to realize that one of the best ways to honor his son’s legacy was to grow the business they had launched together.
Today, with the help of his tremendously supportive and capable business assistant, Marsha, Murray’s Caribbean Foods is moving forward.
Diligence leads to placement in key stores
Sam knew that his jerk sauces were better than any he’d found on the market, so he brought his bottles to store after store in the New York City area asking for the opportunity to have them taste-tested.
“We put in countless days of legwork to get stores to give us a try,” Sam says, “and once they did, they and their customers were hooked.” Today, among the stores carrying the sauces is the legendary Zabar’s.
Sam enlisted the help of a co-packer to produce the sauces, but as they grew in popularity, it got harder to keep up with orders. That was due, in part, to financial constraints, as Sam explains, saying, “I learned a lot about the need to price for profitability, because although we were selling out, I didn’t have the funds I needed to increase orders and keep up with demand.”
That led Sam to seek financing.
Pursuit comes through with two loans
Sam says that he approached many different lenders but wasn’t having any luck securing a loan with terms that made it affordable for a small business – something that he hadn’t anticipated as a minority-owned and veteran-owned business with a history of business success.
Then, he met Pursuit VP and Business Development Officer Keri Pratico and everything changed for the better, he says.
“Meeting Keri and learning about Pursuit was the turning point,” he explains. “Keri gave us outstanding guidance and resources to help me strengthen my business plan and financial projections.” Among those resources was a recommendation to seek the services of the McNulty Veteran Business Center, which provides assistance to veterans at no cost to clients.
“They helped me understand pricing and inventory management, so that I can plan for growth,” Sam says. They also helped him become better prepared for the loan process with Pursuit.
Murray’s Caribbean Foods was approved first for an SBA Microloan, which provides loans of $10,000 to $50,000 and fund availability within five days of approval. “Getting that loan was wonderful,” Sam says, “and then, Keri told me that Murray’s qualified for additional funding, which was great.”
Sam’s business was also approved for a Pursuit SmartLoan, which provides affordable funding of $10,000 to $100,000, with a simplified application and a huge range of eligible uses.
“Pursuit and Keri were outstanding,” he says. “Keri guided me at every step and supported me and my business vision throughout the process. And as someone who also has veterans in her family, I felt like she really understood my background and experiences.”
The feeling was mutual. As Keri says, “Working with entrepreneurs like Sam is exactly why I love what I do. His story is one of resilience, determination, and an unwavering belief in the product he created. From building a successful restaurant business to growing Murray’s Caribbean Foods, Sam has demonstrated the kind of perseverance that defines great entrepreneurs.”
She continues, saying, “What makes Sam’s story especially meaningful is that this business represents more than growth – it’s a way of honoring his son’s legacy. As a parent myself, that part of his journey resonated deeply with me. Seeing him channel that loss into purpose, while continuing to build something they dreamed of together, is incredibly inspiring.”
Getting additional support for growth
Sam learned that he also qualifies for Pursuit’s Business Advisory Services – expert business consultations to help him with key growth areas, like inventory management, financial projections, marketing, and more. Among his goals are to launch an ecommerce site, which will benefit from the advisory team, and to expand availability through current and new stores.
“We get requests from potential customers all over the country,” Sam says, “and once we have the inventory available and the online store up, we expect a lot of sales.”
Keri adds, “And on a personal note, I can confidently say that his sauces live up to the hype – my 14-year-old son and I are huge fans. Seeing a product that we genuinely enjoy find its way onto more shelves and into more homes makes this success story even more rewarding. I’m proud that Pursuit could play a small role in helping Sam continue building a legacy that will impact his family, customers, and community for years to come.”
Pursuit helps businesses achieve their full potential
“As entrepreneurs, we have to realize that sometimes, hearing a ‘no’ just means ‘not right now.’ As soon as I connected with Keri and Pursuit, I knew that we’d found everything we’d hoped for in a lender,” Sam says. “Keri believed in me and my products. She guided me and stayed with me throughout the loan process and was always positive and encouraging. And as a business owner, it’s validating to have that kind of determination and support behind you.”
“And, at Pursuit,” Keri adds, “our mission is to help entrepreneurs access the capital, resources, and support they need to strengthen their businesses and create lasting economic impact in their communities. Helping Sam secure financing was about more than funding growth – it was about supporting a business with a powerful story, a loyal customer base, and a vision for the future. As someone who comes from a family of veterans, I also deeply appreciated the opportunity to work with a fellow veteran whose discipline, leadership, and commitment to excellence are evident in everything he does.”
Pursuit is a leading small business lender serving businesses across New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, and Illinois. We offer loans and a line of credit for working capital, commercial real estate, equipment, and much more.
We’ve helped thousands of small business owners get the funding they need to achieve their goals and dreams and we can help you, too.
