The Tribune

By ANNELIA NIXON

TRIBUNE Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

THE DOWNTOWN Nassau Straw Market closed yesterday for a 48-hour deep cleaning and maintenance exercise, with vendors welcoming the temporary disruption as the facility prepares for the installation of long-awaited cooling blowers.

The Market is scheduled to remain closed through Friday and reopen at 7am on Saturday, September 26, according to the Straw Market Authority. Celestine Eneas, president of the Straw Vendors Advancement Association, said the installation of the blowers is expected to be a key part of the exercise.

“They set up the blowers,” Ms Eneas said. “So the excitement will come when they switch them on.” The temporary closure comes after months of complaints from vendors that excessive heat inside the market has caused tourists to leave before making purchases, limiting the time they spend browsing stalls and potentially reducing sales.

The Straw Market Authority said the closure is necessary to allow crews to carry out annual deep cleaning, repairs and maintenance that cannot be completed while the market is operating. Joseph Johnson, its executive chairman, said the 48-hour closure will provide teams with access needed to complete essential work and help maintain a “safe, clean and welcoming market” for vendors, staff and visitors.

For some vendors, the closure is a welcome opportunity to address long-tanding concerns about the condition of the market. Terez Eneas, a straw vendor, said vendors support the decision to temporarily close the facility. “We welcome it,” Ms Eneas said when asked about the cleaning, maintenance and upkeep exercise.

Asked about the impact of losing two days of trading, she added: “There’s nothing we can do about it.” Deidre Palacious, another straw vendor, said she had no objection to the closure and viewed the maintenance work as necessary.

“I have no objection to it,” she said. “It needs to be done. I think it’s a good thing.” She recalled previous concerns about insects at the market, saying those problems had been raised by vendors in the past.

Ms Palacious also credited the new minister of culture, arts and heritage, Leslia Miller-Brice, with attempting to address issues that previous administrations had not resolved. “Now we have a new minister,” she said. “She is trying her best to do what the others didn’t do. So that’s a good thing.” 

The decision to close the market comes during September, which vendors have previously identified as one of the slower periods for business given the lull in tourism and visitor activity. Ms Palacious said the timing made the two-day interruption easier to accept.

“When they wanted to shut down the market, the people were complaining,” she said. “It was this and that. And so the other persons just kept it open. But September slow, so it is what it is, and it’s only two days.”

Ms Palacious said she did not expect the closure to have a significant impact on her earnings. “Some days you be there all day and don’t make nothing,” she said. “So it don’t make a difference. I mean, for some probably they will grumble whether the market closed or open, and that’s just some people. But I don’t have no negative comments.”

Beyond the cleaning and maintenance work, vendors are looking to the cooling improvements to address one of the market’s most persistent complaints: Excessive heat.

Ms Palacious said she does not necessarily expect the new blowers to directly attract more tourists, but believes they could encourage visitors to remain inside the market for longer.

“I wouldn’t say it would attract more,” she said. “It probably would keep more of them in there a little longer to shop because they always complain about it being hot, and some people getting fatigued and feel like they’re going to fall out, and they need to just get out the market.”

Vendors have previously told Tribune Business that tourists frequently enter the market but leave quickly because of the heat, with some visitors gathering around fans simply to cool down rather than shop. Ms Palacious said improving the temperature could therefore give vendors more time to engage with potential customers.

“I would hope this would be a better change, and at least it’ll keep the market cool for the tourists to probably stay in,” she said. However, Ms Palacious said cooling was only one part of the broader changes needed to improve the market’s visitor experience.

Tourists have also complained about vendors aggressively pressuring them to make purchases, she said, suggesting that better customer service could complement the physical improvements being made to the facility.

“And then they complain about some people just pressuring them and bullying them to buy, and it is just irritating to some of the tourists,” Ms Palacious said.

The Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage is seeking to address those issues through its inaugural Straw Market Vendor Empowerment Experience, scheduled for today at the Performing Arts Centre at the University of The Bahamas (UB).

The event will give vendors an opportunity to raise concerns, discuss their experiences and make recommendations about the future of the market. Ms Palacious said she expected the session to provide an opportunity for vendors to help shape the changes they want to see.

“So we having a seminar on the 25th at UB, I guess so we can voice our opinions, or she [Ms Miller-Brice] could hear what we have to say, and also what vendors feel will change that will enhance the market and make it more attractive,” she said.

Ms Palacious suggested that vendor training should form part of the discussions, including guidance on presentation, communication and customer service.

“That’s what it’s basically all about, and training to tell you how to dress, how to speak, customer service,” Ms Palacious said. “I don’t know yet. We don’t know what the whole topic is going to be, but I basically think it should be more on that scale.”

The Ministry has described the session as a listening series aimed at placing vendors at the centre of discussions about the market’s future.