The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Arawak Cay vendors had only recovered 25 percent of their pre-COVID business volumes prior to yesterday's decision by the prime minister to shut the popular Fish Fry destination a second time.

Rodney Russell, the Arawak Cay Association's president, told Tribune Business that restaurants and stall holders now need "a bigger bounce back" following Dr Hubert Minnis' move to order another lock down until better social distancing measures and other COVID-19 protocols can be enforced.

"Some members were trying to keep staff working so they could keep food on their tables, but the government is bigger than us and they have the arbitrary power," Mr Russell said. "We have to comply otherwise we will be fined and arrested, and people will say the business people at Arawak Cay are greedy.

"We have to leave it up to the wisdom of the Prime Minister and his health team to ensure this pandemic does not spread in The Bahamas. I guess he may have information that I'm not aware of. It's like a war and we all have to play our part."

Mr Russell lamented the fact that neither himself nor any vendor or member of the Association had been consulted, or asked to provide feedback and input, before the Government took its decision to close Fish Fry again just weeks after permitting it to re-open - albeit with no indoor dining.

He added that the key to determining how restaurants, vendors and their staff will be impacted by the latest shutdown lies in how long it lasts, with the effects felt far beyond their businesses.

"How long we are shut down will determine how many of us bounce back," Mr Russell told this newspaper. "Some have not bounced back yet from the previous shutdown. This is a bigger bounce back now.

"The foreign fast food entities are rolling, no problem with them. The problem is with the local entities that take care of the fishermen and farmers. They sell fruits and fish to Fish Fry. All their businesses will stop as well.

"All those persons will be affected as well, including the liquor merchant, the ice supplier and the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) guy. When you close Fish Fry you only see Fish Fry, but what you don't see and understand are all those other people who will be affected."

Mr Russell said he had already been warning, and preparing, Association members to brace for hard months ahead as unemployment and reduced incomes stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic were slashing consumer spending at the Fish Fry.

"I think it's going to be extremely hard come October. Some of us may not survive," he said. "We're expecting tough times to come based on what we're seeing now. We only have Friday, Saturday and Sunday when there's a little activity. Monday to Thursday, this place is quiet. Business is almost nil.

"We are only running at 25 percent. We have got to about 25 percent, and that's only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday provided there is no rain. We've lost 75 percent of our business. I am now at Arawak Cay, and as I look around I don't see any business at all. I can seem some vehicles parked in a few places, but there are a lot of empty spaces. Nothing is happening today."