The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

Grand Bahamian restaurants yesterday hailed the island's one-hour curfew extension to 11pm as a major boost that will “help out very much" with their patrons and operations.

Greg LaRoda, the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce's president, told Tribune Business: “I think this extra hour on the curfew will help more of the stores that open late, like the restaurants, as they can keep people in a little later for dinner. The gas stations, too, normally close kind of late.

“There are a number of businesses that can benefit from the extra hour. I think it is a big deal in terms of the businesses that can now open a little later and still have people be home in time for the start of the curfew.”

Speaking out after the Prime Minister's Office, also known as the Competent Authority, pushed Grand Bahama's curfew start back from 10pm to 11pm, Vesna Laing, general manager of Zorba’s Greek Restaurant, said: “This additional hour will help us out very much. We still have dining in the evening despite the curfew so it helps a whole lot.

“People normally start coming in to dine at about 7pm in the evenings; we have both indoor and outdoor dining available.”

Jose Garcia, owner/operator of Caribbean Barrel Restaurant and Bar, added: “The problem was never to have one hour more or one hour less. It’s about when you finish and you close your business. It will actually give an extra hour for clean-up and preparation for the next day, speaking strictly for the restaurant and bar experience.

"For the customer this is very good, because now the only thing is that some of these people are working. So they have to work on a schedule like 9am to 5pm, and from there giving them an extra hour will actually help them also to go home, take a shower and then get ready and come outside and relax, maybe for an hour or two before they have to go hom,e so they don’t have to be about rushing.”

Mr Garcia continued: “My crowd normally comes in after 6pm; that’s when the crowd starts to pick up. Our normal closing time is 9pm because we still have to clean up and sanitise, and then be ready for the next day. We open from 7am to 9pm.

“This extra hour gives me, as a business owner, a little more time for production since the curfew is now 11pm. Our production time at the restaurant is from 7am to 9pm. As we were forced to close at 10pm, that means the kitchen has to be closed at 8:30pm and then we had to clean up and have everything sanitised and ready by 10pm, but now that we have until 11pm I think that is a good note and it is well received.”

Another restaurant owner, speaking under condition of anonymity, said the extra hour does not affect them in any way as they operate from 8am to 4pm so “it really doesn’t matter.”