The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

RISHAUN Bowe was laid off from her server job due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the job loss turned out to be a silver lining when it pushed her to start her own frozen drink business called “Litables”.

The 23-year-old said she gained a passion for hospitality and customer service while working at Hooters as a server in downtown Nassau. But just after she was hired in January 2020, she got laid off two months later because of the pandemic.

“I would spend a lot of time at the bar rather than in the kitchen picking up orders,” she recalled in a recent interview. “We had a lot of frozen drinks on the menu at the time, so I just grew this passion for frozen drinks.”

Ms Bowe said growing up, her family always sold frozen drink cups in her neighbourhood, but it wasn’t their main source of income. However, after losing her job, she began researching how she could start her own drink business with a unique twist.

The young entrepreneur, who was featured during the Office of the Prime Minister’s press briefing last Thursday, said she drew inspiration from restaurants such as Senor Frog’s and Fat Tuesday and also looked on Instagram for drink design ideas and creative flavours.

In May 2020, Litables officially launched. Ms Bowe said the first day was the “worst day ever” because her efforts to offer delivery services collapsed.

“We took all these orders to make deliveries, and every single drink melted before it got where it needed to,” she said. “Nonetheless, after that day, I decided that only pickup would be possible considering that the beverages are frozen.”

Mr Bowe said many people started home-based businesses during the pandemic to make ends meet –– many of which are no longer operating.

She said consistency in price, good customer service, and quality products has helped her business continue.

“People know that every single weekend, they can come to my location Thursday through Sunday, and they can get a quality beverage at $10. Also, too, the $10 adds to the consistency because once someone has a set price in their head and they always expect to pay, that is a booster in itself,” she said.

Ms Bowe said that after a period of stagnation, she boosted her business last year by adding homemade candied fruit treats to her menu.

“I just want to work on delivery because I realised that people love convenience,” she said about the future. “They love to be able to order something in the comfort of their home.”