$80,000 investment
Good time to hit the market
AFTER nearly two years in the dumps, riddled with curfews and restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Suva’s night life seems to be bouncing back.
Ask anyone who makes their living serving the needs of people who throng to Suva’s disco district on any given night of the week, they will tell you things are definitely picking up.
In addition to the existing institutions of the night, a number of new night spots have opened their doors since the restrictions were eased and people could live a life considerably more normal by pre-COVID standards.
New life was breathed into an old space, one of many legendary watering holes that have lined Victoria Pde, when Suva’s newest publican, Georgetta Oyagawa, officially opened Freak Out Bar on Thursday.
The 31-year-old entrepreneur said her new venture was the culmination of years spent catering to the needs of the many night owls that perched in and around the city by night.
For her the dream started with her working as a bartender at the spot that really developed Suva’s night life, and the careers of Fiji’s finest musicians of yesteryear.
“In 2010 I was working as a bartender at the Golden Dragon nightclub,” she said.
“I always wanted to open and own a nightclub.”
Eight years down the line she moved into the Suva City Library car park, among the many stall owners who serve burgers, hotdogs, and now the very popular submarine sandwiches or ‘subs’ as they are more commonly referred to the hungry night-time masses.
Seeing the multitude of people streaming out of the bars in the area, both pre and post-COVID, and after saving up from her street food business, Georgetta decided it was her time to turn her dream into an entity.
“I just thought it was a good time to hit the market.”
She said it cost about $80,000 all up to get Freak Out kicked off, and the whole venture was selffunded.
“No loan, just savings, so I’ve taken on that risk.”
While some say the amount of bars and nightclubs in Suva, and in quite close proximity to each other, have saturated the market, Georgetta noticed one particular segment that was not being so well served anymore since the closure of the Golden Dragon.
“The Dragon was the goto place for Pacific Islanders and university students.
“When it didn’t open back they were went to other places but they complained they didn’t have a place of their own like what they had at the Dragon.”
Georgetta said they would like to accommodate them but welcome everyone.
“Our focus is safety, most places have cheap drinks to attract the crowd but when you go out the first thing is safety.”
Looking to the future Georgetta said they would like to build and maintain their clientele, but just as she still has the subs stall in the car park across the road, she’s also looking at expanding into coffee eventually.