Faith's Pen is a roadside food stop on the old A1 road in St. Ann, between Moneague and the Mount Rosser area in St. Catherine. It was set up as a vending arcade rather than a single restaurant, a row of small shops selling jerk chicken, jerk pork, other cooked food, fruit and drinks to travellers crossing between the two parishes. Only a few stalls were still trading in August 2022, so it is now a detour that may not pay off. If you do turn off, confirm before you go that a stall is serving, and keep the Unity Valley rest area in mind as your fallback.
Getting there from the highway
Jamaica's North-South Highway runs past Faith's Pen without stopping at it. To reach the stop, take the Unity Valley exit near Moneague. The highway operator lists Unity Valley with access to both Moneague and Walkerswood, so that exit serves the town as well as the old road. Once you are off the highway, continue on the old A1 toward Faith's Pen and Mount Rosser. For the whole Kingston to Ocho Rios trip, see Kingston to Ocho Rios by coach, JUTC or car. If you are driving, see driving in Jamaica as a visitor.
The Unity Valley exit is the way off the highway toward Moneague and the old road.
The 2022 Road Traffic Regulations, published by the Jamaica Information Service, name this road the Faiths Pen Main Road, running between Moneague and Mount Diablo.
The old road before the highway
Before the highway, Faith's Pen served travellers on the old route between Kingston and Ocho Rios, running over Mount Diablo on the old A1. The government broke ground on the Mount Rosser bypass in July 2007, as the Gleaner reported. It was part of the North-South Highway project and was meant to speed up travel between Spanish Town and Ocho Rios. The plan also aimed to give the vendors a planned location and continued economic opportunity.
The hills around it have a bauxite-mining past as well. The Jamaica Observer reported in 2009 that the Schwallenburgh Mines sent bauxite ore to the Ewarton Works refinery.
Faith's Pen is also a residential community. In August 2024, the Jamaica Information Service reported that Village Primary and Infant School there had won a tuck-shop competition.
What is sold at the stalls
Jerk chicken and jerk pork are the best-known items at Faith's Pen. The Jamaica Observer reported in 2019 that the rest stop sold jerk chicken, jerk pork, roast corn, curried goat, roast yam and saltfish. Earlier, in 2009, the roadside menu also included fried fish, bammy, tripe and beans, and corn soup. What you find on a given day depends on which stalls are trading.
Jerk chicken and jerk pork are the foods most often named at Faith's Pen.
Fruit was part of the roadside scene as well. In 2014, the Gleaner described fruit vendors near Faith's Pen selling pineapple, mango, soursop and melon. If you are weighing the two jerk options before you stop, read Jerk Pork vs Jerk Chicken in Jamaica: What to Order and Where.
What changed when the highway opened
The North-South Highway diverted much of the through traffic away from the old road. In 2014, after the Linstead to Moneague leg opened, the Gleaner described Faith's Pen as unusually quiet and its vendors as losing business. By 2019, the rest stop had declined sharply.
What the vendors say
Vendor Denton Gordon, quoted by the Jamaica Star in August 2022, said only a few stalls remained active while most of the site was inactive. He blamed reduced traffic, competition and a stalled succession of stall operators, which makes the highway only part of the story.
How many stalls are still trading
In 2019, the Observer found only a handful of vendors operating regularly, and a July 2019 Jamaica Star visit found six stalls still open. By 2021, 80 percent of vendors had locked their shops after the highway diverted traffic. In January 2026, the Gleaner reported that Sean Paul lamented the closure of Faith's Pen as a popular roadside food spot.
Which stalls are trading varies, and the only sure way to know is to ask a stall owner whether they are open before you turn off the highway. A detour to a closed arcade costs time you may not have on the road. If you are driving to a schedule, the choice comes down to a traditional roadside stop with uncertain vendor availability or a predictable stop at the highway facility or in town. Faith's Pen is the more distinctive choice, but Unity Valley is the one you can plan around.
Unity Valley, the highway rest stop
The North-South Highway runs from Caymanas through Linstead and Moneague to Mammee Bay, near Ocho Rios. The operator divides it into three sections: Caymanas to Linstead, Linstead to Moneague, and Moneague to Mammee Bay. The operator's website describes a concessionaire and rest-stop area at Unity Valley with food stations and restrooms, and drivers can enter and exit at the Unity Valley Toll Plaza without paying a toll to reach it.
Unity Valley is the planned stop on the highway for food and a bathroom break.
In 2016, the Jamaica Observer described Unity Valley as the only rest stop on the 66-kilometre Caymanas to Mammee Bay section at that time. It was planned to accommodate some vendors displaced from Faith's Pen. The operator lists six toll plazas on the route: Caymanas, Angels, Linstead, Unity Valley, Lydford and Mammee Bay. For a driver who needs food and a bathroom break on the way, this is the stop to plan around.
Other places to stop on the old route
Moneague and Linstead are the towns to look at for food, produce and roadside purchases on the old route. In 2025, the Jamaica Star reported that Linstead Market was still open daily, with vendors inside the market and along the roadside, though the headline over that report described the market as crumbling.
Fruit and produce are the usual roadside buys on this stretch.
In Moneague, Sizzlers Restaurant is a Jamaican restaurant open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, and it is closed at weekends. Pitzza Hitzza Restaurant is a family restaurant open from 10 a.m. to 7:50 p.m. Monday to Friday and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, and it is closed on Sunday.
For something lighter, Pizzahouse and Ice Cream Cafe serves ice cream, desserts and juice. It is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. most days, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, and from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday. 3di hard way is a bar and grill with Sunday hours from noon to midnight. In Phoenix Park, also in St. Ann, Ms. Charmaine Cook Shop is a Jamaican restaurant open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday, and it is closed on Sunday.
If you are not sure whether a roadside place is a cookshop or a restaurant, read Cookshop or Restaurant? Eating Out in Jamaica, Explained. To find places to eat by parish, browse the Weh Fi Nyam restaurant directory. For planned stops on the other main routes, see Jamaica road trip food stops on the main routes.
Common questions
Where is Faith's Pen?
It sits on the old A1 over Mount Diablo in St. Ann, away from the main highway alignment. The Mount Rosser area beside it lies in St. Catherine. Leave the North-South Highway at the Unity Valley exit near Moneague to reach it.
What food is sold at Faith's Pen?
Jerk chicken and jerk pork are the best-known items. Reports from 2019 also name roast corn, curried goat, roast yam and saltfish, and older accounts add fried fish, bammy and corn soup. Fruit sellers nearby offered pineapple, mango, soursop and melon in 2014.
Is Faith's Pen still open since the highway?
Some vendors were still trading in August 2022, but most of the arcade was inactive. Unless you have heard that a stall is serving, plan on the Unity Valley rest area instead.
Where should I stop for food between Kingston and Ocho Rios?
The Unity Valley rest area on the North-South Highway has food stations and restrooms near the Moneague exit. If you prefer a town stop, Moneague has a Jamaican restaurant, a family restaurant and an ice cream cafe, and Linstead Market has vendors inside and along the roadside.
How much does food cost at Faith's Pen?
Ask the vendor for the total in Jamaican dollars before you order, since prices change with the stall, the portion and any sides. Bring Jamaican cash, because card payment at a roadside stall is not something to count on.