The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

VENDORS at Potter’s Cay are calling for the government to allow them to resume their operations, saying it’s “unfair” that other restaurant operators have been allowed to stay open amid the COVID-19 pandemic while their businesses remain closed.

Noting that vendors are just as “essential” as other restaurant workers, owner of Tall Boy’s Conch Stall Dwain Bastian said it’s not right that other businesses are given preferential treatment.

“All of Kentucky open, Burger King open, Wendy’s open, Bamboo Shack open but the small man can’t open,” he told The Tribune yesterday. “If those other restaurants could open and they have the same licence as we have, why can’t we open?”

He added: “They make it seem like we can’t do social distancing and we are stupid and illiterate people and that’s what you telling us…but a lot of us have good common sense and come from good old fashioned families so we needed to be treated equally.

“If it could work the same way Kentucky working and Burger King working, we could do the same thing.”

In March, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis ordered the closure of all non-essential businesses and public beaches, the Fish Fry at Arawak Cay and the stalls at Potter’s Cay in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19.

However, local restaurants and fast-food eateries were allowed to remain open for take-out and delivery. Dr Minnis has since relaxed restrictions for certain businesses, revealing several entities will be allowed to reopen, but only under certain guidelines.

Mr Bastian said while he and his family are “fortunate” to have some sort of income during these hard times, there are many vendors who are struggling to find a morsel to eat.

“We’re only making it now by the grace of God,” he said.

“I’m a little bit more fortunate than the other vendors because I’m not just a businessman in terms of a small entrepreneur in a stall, I also have my little fishing boat even though they stole both of my diving gears and equipment, I could still keep my head above water.

“But, a lot of those who depend on that day-to-day on Potter’s Cay, a lot of them hurting and some can’t even find food right now.”

What makes matters worse, Mr Bastian said, is the fact that many vendors still have not recovered financially from last year when police officers began enforcing a government policy, disallowing parking in front of stalls.

The move upset vendors, who complained of reduced business.

Due to that policy, manager of Archie’s Restaurant, Gregory Bowles said he and his wife have been struggling to keep up with their financial obligations for some time now.

Now, with no income due to the COVID-19 restrictions, he said the family faces eviction from their apartment as they are several months behind in payments.

“Right now, we ain’t managing because we’ve been out of work now,” he said. “We got an eviction notice from our apartment. We have to find a place to live now because ever since the parking policy came on, business has been almost like nothing.

“We fell behind a few months on our rent just before this pandemic came on and we’re trying to catch up with the rent but then the pandemic came on and we got shut down completely so now there’s no type of income coming for us.

“We were supposed to be out by today, but I’m asking the landlord if he could give us until Monday so we can take our things out. It’s really rough. We’re not working.”

Mr Bowles said he feels the government should allow dock vendors to re-open.

“I don’t see why they shut us down because just before they shut us down completely, we were following the social distancing protocols because how we set up, we can operate as a take-away.

“I see Wendy’s operating, I see Kentucky operating, the Chinese operating and we ride down Bain Town and East Street the other day and people selling clothes.”

Meanwhile, Mr Bastian said if the government were to further relax restrictions, vendors would ensure that customers adhere to the social distancing deadlines.

“We have a strategy put in place for that,” he said. “We don’t have to have a great amount of people piled up around the stalls so we could have that social distance, people could just take their orders. We don’t have to have no one come and sit down and dine in no restaurant, you understand. If it could work the same way Kentucky working and Burger King working, we could do the same thing.”