NYC Outside Lounge founder marks 10th anniversary by honoring key pioneers

Ten years ago, the Outside Lounge (OSL) was little more than a dream for entrepreneur Michael "Mike" Williams, who wanted to host a backyard 'lyme' at his home in Queens, New York. Last weekend, it was the site of a packed, joyful reunion of the Jamaican diaspora community that has spent a decade dancing, eating and celebrating together outdoors twice a month, all summer long.

At the center of it stands the founder, the Kingston-born, St. Andrew Technical High School graduate who built the Outside Lounge from scratch and, alongside his Natural Fountain Juices brand, turned it into what supporters now call a "diaspora phenomenon."

This year's July 4 celebration doubled as a milestone anniversary bash, complete with an emotional awards presentation honoring three men Williams says helped carry the event from those early backyard days to its global reach.

"It's like it never ends," he told the crowd before presenting the first plaque of the night.

That first award went to veteran Caribbean National Weekly journalist Anthony Turner, Williams' longtime friend and the father of this reporter, whose byline has appeared in numerous publications in Jamaica and throughout the diaspora. Williams and Turner's bond goes back 25 years, to a chance meeting in the Bronx. Turner used his moment on the mic to trace their friendship back to Williams' first venture: a clothing line called Eye Collection, whose debut fashion show was the very first event ever held on the property that would later become the Outside Lounge.

From there, Turner said, he gave exposure to Williams and his various business endeavors in newspapers and on radio, stretching from New York to Florida to Jamaica, eventually helping land him on mainstream television in the United States.

When Natural Fountain Juices launched, Turner was one of the individuals who pushed Williams to think bigger and think outside the box. He encouraged him to move the brand off the kitchen counter and onto shelves in retail outlets across the tri-state area. He also credited Williams with building more than a business: a family, one that came fully into view last year when the entire Outside Lounge crew reunited aboard the Love & Harmony Cruise in Nassau and Jamaica.

The second honor of the night went to Howard Smith, recognized as the first DJ to spin music at the Outside Lounge. Williams recalled meeting Smith years ago at the Penn Relays Carnival and finding in him an early believer, someone willing to support the Outside Lounge before it was anything more than a backyard dream.

Smith, now based in Florida, couldn't make the trip north for the celebration, so his close friend "Speedy" — described by Williams as one of his own closest friends — accepted the award on Smith's behalf.

The final plaque belonged to Garvin Gray, the man Williams credits with taking the Outside Lounge "from the backyard to worldwide." Calling him a humble but sharp strategist, Williams thanked Gray for years of quiet guidance and, specifically, for putting Outside Lounge events on YouTube, a move that has since carried the venue's energy and visibility to thousands of viewers online far beyond Queens.

Gray, addressing patrons at the event, called Williams "my brother for life," recalling that the two first connected through charity work at JAMPAC, the Jamaican American Public Affairs Committee, which aims to empower, connect and represent Jamaicans abroad.

"Every video from the venue lives on our YouTube channel, Bonita Jamaica," Gray reminded the crowd, urging everyone not to take the videos for granted. "Decades from now, you'll be able to look back and see yourselves captured here, young and free."

Gray praised Williams for building a space where Jamaicans, and friends of the culture, could come together around food, music and community.

As Williams told the crowd before the music resumed, the night was about pausing to thank the people who never left his side. And once it resumed, it didn't let up. Dancehall legend Papa Michigan — one half of the iconic duo Michigan & Smiley, who rose to global fame in the late 1970s, '80s and '90s — brought the house down with a set that had patrons singing along to classics like "Diseases," "Nice Up the Dance" and "One Love Jamdown," carrying the celebration into the wee hours of the morning.

The Outside Lounge, though, is only one piece of Williams' story. He is also the owner of Natural Fountain Juices, a line of Caribbean-inspired beverages — sorrel, ginger beer, pineapple ginger, fruit punch, lemonade and mango orange — already distributed across Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx and New Jersey. A new semi-automated facility under development in Glen Cove, Long Island, is expected to expand production.

"Natural Fountain is in its seventh year, and next year we're looking forward to bigger and better things," Williams said, adding that new flavors and distribution into Manhattan are already in the works. And fashion, where it all technically began, hasn't been forgotten either. Williams' original Eye Collection clothing line, the very brand whose debut show gave birth to the Outside Lounge, is slated for a relaunch soon.

Through it all, Williams points to family as the throughline.

"It takes a strong team to make me look this good," he said, crediting his wife, Jacqueline; his sisters, Lorna, Angella and Tracey "Rhonda" Chin; photographer Ajamu; and a wide circle of relatives and friends who run the bar and cook the food every other Friday from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

"When you come to the Outside Lounge, it's like meeting old friends. The vibe is just right," he said. "People come from across the tri-state area and even out of town. It's really a family affair."

That spirit has earned Williams recognition well beyond the Lounge itself. He was recently honored by the Lions Club in Queens for his contributions to the community and business.

"I'm humbled to be recognized by my peers," he said, reflecting on the values instilled by his late mother, affectionately known as Mother Jones. "She gave me the strength and the vision to keep moving forward."

Ten years in, with a new class of honorees recognized alongside posthumous tributes to the late DJ Bandit, Ricky Genius and DJ Trouble, Williams isn't slowing down.

"Next year," he promised, "will be bigger. You haven't seen anything yet."