The idea had been marinating for half a decade. When Chris Morgan and Gerald Addison, the former co-executive chefs of Maydan, first chatted over too much bourbon, it didn’t take long before they realized they both had an affinity for Caribbean food. Over the years, they floated business plans and funding.

This spring, the timing for their first independent venture finally seemed right—they planned to open up in the space formerly occupied by Whaley’s in Navy Yard. Their  restaurant would seat 70 guests with a satellite patio 35 yards from the front door, all overlooking the Anacostia River. Then the pandemic derailed their plans to open the same week the mayor’s stay-at-home order took effect.

After pumping the brakes in March, Bammy’s opens for carryout at 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon on the first day the city lifts stay-at-home restrictions. The offerings, available through the Toast app, are a condensed version of the chefs’ planned sit-down menu: jerk chicken, coconut bread, rum-based cocktails for two, and creamy curries, served with condiments like jerk sauce, pepper jelly, and allspice mayo. The restaurant is named after a Jamaican cassava root flatbread, doused in coconut milk and fried crispy, that often accompanies meals.

“Restaurants in general provide a lot of curveballs,” Morgan says. “We’re used to having to act on our toes. There’s still a lot of uncertainty, but we are in a fortunate situation where we are able to provide people with fun and exciting food.”

The number of stars necessary to align for a new restaurant—the funding, the space, the culinary talent—are so numerous that a successful opening is tricky even in a more stable climate. For chefs poised to open this spring, it’s been a waiting game with no clear answers. Some opened anyway, like Call Your Mother’s owners who spread their bagels to a new Capitol Hill location in April. Others, like chef Michael Rafidi, opened up a shawarma lunch pop-up inside his restaurant Albi, and adds a new cafe,  Yellow, this week.

Morgan and Addison, who decided to play it safe and delay their debut altogether, had to furlough most of their staff and hope this slow opening will allow them to hire back more people. For now, they’re working with a team of four and trying to find ways to support their colleagues. Morgan was part of the team behind Save DC Eats, an online marketplace to raise funds for local restaurants and employees.

Bammy’s focus on cuisine from Jamaica, Trinidad, and Barbados may seem like a complete departure for two people who made headlines creating Maydan’s Middle Eastern menu. Since the restaurant’s opening in 2016, their vibrant dips and fire-scorched flatbreads earned local and national praise, including a RAMMY Award for Rising Star Chef for Morgan and Addison in 2018, a No. 2 spot on Bon Appetit’s best new restaurant list the same year, and a Michelin star last year. Marcelle Afram took over as executive chef of Maydan last fall.

Morgan and Addison, both from the D.C. metro area, say Bammy’s roots are in a cuisine they’ve long sought out and wanted to bring to life in a spot of their own. Morgan, a Virginia native, started learning the ingredients and techniques of Caribbean food at a young age from his aunt, who is from the Clarendon parish in Jamaica. As one of Morgan’s biggest influencers in the kitchen, she “schooled” him on how to cook, he says.

Morgan and Addison left Maydan in November after friends at Whaley’s offered their waterfront property. The chefs spent a winter research trip in Jamaica studying jerk chicken flavors in less-traveled coastal towns, where they ate platters “20 times in five days,” says Addison. “There’s no standard recipe at all—from what we saw and tasted, it changes pretty dramatically. We’ve been trying to dial in to the best of our abilities to pay respect to what jerk chicken is all about.”

Back home, Nico Leslie, a former Neighborhood Restaurant Group colleague of Morgan’s who is from Montego Bay, came on board as chef de cuisine after floating recipe ideas with Morgan for several years. He describes his cooking style as simple, marinating meat in vinegar and lime juice, then black pepper, onion, and garlic before using techniques for smoking and seasoning signature to his area of Jamaica. When the economy is running smoothly again, the team plans to ship the pimento wood from Montego Bay that Leslie says give the meat its unique flavor.

Bammy’s menu, ready for hot pickup or packaged cold with reheating instructions, will showcase a shareable jerk chicken ($20), curried goat or veggies over rice, and sides like collard greens cooked in coconut milk and cornmeal fry bread. A spicy cheese dip with house rolls is based on a Trinidadian cheese paste comparable to pimento cheese, but made with a Caribbean pepper sauce. Those who know the chefs’ meals will notice a few familiar elements, including dishes for family-style sharing and an emphasis on condiments ($1 each). Pickled sweet and hot peppers in shallots, all-spice, and garlic is one popular dipping addition that often goes into a Jamaican recipe for whole, fried fish. The chefs plan to offer a future fish entrée drenched in the pickling liquid and will branch out into specials like jerk pork.

The second phase of Bammy’s opening—at a to-be-determined date—will allow a small number of diners on the front patio to try food specials washed down with beer buckets and frozen piña coladas. In the meantime, drinks to go include Jamaican beer, six-packs from Atlas Brew Works, and two cocktails with a double serving size ($16). Bar manager Chad Henry created a piña colada with orange juice and a Jamaican cocktail of Campari, rum, and sparkling grapefruit cordial.

Addison, who started his D.C. culinary career with Restaurant Nora at age 15, says taking the next step from chef to restauranteur has been an exciting move, even if colored by current circumstances. He and Morgan plan to “take on a little bit of everything,” but won’t be able to step away from the kitchen entirely.

“It’s been a few months since we could cook for the public,” says Addison. “With the amount of foot traffic in Navy Yard, we are excited to … introduce people to dishes we both love.”

Bammy’s is located at 301 Water Street SE. Hours are 12 p.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Closed Monday and Tuesday.