Venezuelan migrant’s determination leads to flourishing catering business
Gacarma Catering has over the last year secured many clients and though it is a success story in the making, it took much perseverance and hard work by the owner Grabiela Rodriguez, a Venezuelan migrant.
Rodriguez, 29, who is also a recording artiste, was born in Venezuela to Guyanese parents. The eldest of four girls, she said her parents separated when she was five. Her mother, she said, struggled to give them the best and to keep them in the Venezuelan private schools they had been enrolled in. When she was 11, gunmen held them hostage in their home for three hours, during which time, they robbed them. Subsequently, she and her younger sisters were enrolled in public schools. That environment, recalled Rodriguez, was harsh and on some days, unbearable.
To help her family make ends meet, she joined her mother in selling popsicles, confectionery and snacks at her school and began learning the ins and the outs of business. Rodriguez also bought transparent phone cases, which were quickly becoming a trend at the time, and added designs before reselling them at an increased price, also at school. Because of her Guyanese parentage, Rodriguez is bilingual, so she also gave English lessons for a fee.
When she was 18, she visited her grandmother at Charity, Essequibo Coast, where she stayed for a short while before returning to her home country. She later returned to Guyana then left for Trinidad where she worked as a janitor at a hotel. When the hotel administration picked up that Rodriguez was fluent in both Spanish and English she was promoted to receptionist. She went on to work at a spa in that country where the owner was verbally abusive, but said she maintained her job because the pay was good and she was trying really hard to save.
Rodriguez subsequently moved back to Venezuela
where she settled with her then significant other and invested her savings in an internet café, which she regrettably set up in the man’s name. By this time the value of the Venezuelan bolivar had dropped significantly, so much so that it was not being used for trading. The woman explained that only gold and the US dollar were considered valuable for trade. The internet café was forced to close its doors. She was dealt a harder blow when she and her then partner separated.
In December 2018, she returned to Guyana where she stayed with her grandmother again for a short while before travelling to the city. After almost a month of sleeping on someone’s couch, Rodriguez said, she told herself that she needed to try harder. She was able to find a place to stay at Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara and a singing gig with the Majestics Band at the Pegasus Hotel. Her stay there was a short one as she moved on to sing at Kosmos at Movietowne. Her sister, who had settled in Guyana with the rest of their immediate family some years prior to Rodriguez doing so, had also secured a job at Kosmos but worked as a chef in the kitchen. The entrepreneur shared that she sang both English and Spanish songs which raked in tips, especially from foreigners.
She began to realize that some people who dined out would have much preferred to stay at home and have their meals catered and delivered to them. Since she was required to sing for Kosmos at night, she spent her day preparing meals with the help of her sister. Her day began at two or three in the morning when she headed to Bourda Market to buy the ingredients at wholesale prices.
Rodrigues shared that while she conceived the idea of opening Gacarma in August 2019, it was not opened until November 13,
2019. A month later, she was involved in an accident. The caterer was on her way to deliver meals when she was knocked down by a motorcycle, injuring her leg. For several months after that she did no catering, but instead sang with the Shakti Strings Band following an invitation. Once she was well enough to take on the kitchen again, Gacarma reopened.
However, not very long after, the pandemic hit and she was forced to close again. Sales, she said, plummeted. Once COVID-19 measures began to allow for pickup and delivery services, her business was back in operation. Asked how she marketed her business, Rodriguez said that aside from social media, she initially gave out samples of her menu to prospective customers. The Creamy Alfredo – Gacarma style — was a hit. Other favourites from her menu are Pizza Rolls, Cachapas (a dish made from corn, flour and white cheese), Split-Peas and Blackeye Cookup, Chicken Milanese with Gacarma Rice, Green Salad and Mashed Potatoes.
Rodriguez has also begun making and decorating cakes. Almost every month she receives orders from customers in Suriname. Once a month she sends a batch of cakes to the Dutch country via Ogle International Airport.
The entrepreneur also shared that she has sweeter plans for her doughnuts and is currently working on 23 flavoured fillings for them.
The businesswoman acknowledged that she is grateful to be able to follow her two passions – food and music. She hopes that in the coming years Gacarma can be internationally recognized, as well as her music. She is also a songwriter and recently released a single called “Mamacita”. The song is the fourth of her singles. She is currently working on remixing her three previous songs.
Besides food and music, Rodriguez’s life also surrounds her current partner and their one-year-old daughter, Alaia.
Rodriguez admonishes aspiring entrepreneurs who feel they have been dealt numerous hardships in life to not give up but to pursue their passion. She noted that there is no greater loss than not trying and added that one can only reap the rewards if one tries.
Gacarma Catering can be followed on Facebook and Instagram. To place orders call or WhatsApp 683-2814.