Overseas investors open supermarket, restaurant at Diamond
A multi-million dollar investment on the East Bank of Demerara has provided employment for over 60 persons with the establishment of a supermarket and a Chinese and Indonesian fusion restaurant.
The new supermarket and restaurant, ‘Fresh Co’ located at Diamond, held a soft opening last week and says it aims to raise industry standards through friendly competition.
The over US$1m investment was brought to the country by Fu Lok Imports and Exports Inc which is owned by several investors from China, the United States and Suriname. Funding for the project was also facilitated through the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry.
Managing Director of the company, Rebecca Zheng, said the idea was birthed after she visited Guyana and had uncomfortable shopping experiences at two major supermarkets.
“It wasn’t a good shopping experience coming to Guyana for the first time. The aisle were small and the shelves were over packed…” Coincidentally, she said, at the same time she was looking for areas to invest in. It was after the shopping experience “my idea to make something spacious …and comfortable so people can have a great shopping experience and customer service came about.”
Zheng said three years ago she and a few others took a trip to Guyana after hearing of its potential. She said after the trip she went to China and sought investors for different projects in the tourism and hospitality sector. She said she proposed hotel ventures, shopping malls and restaurants but investors were hesitant to invest.
She went on to say that after remembering her shopping experience she spoke with several small entrepreneurs and a decision was made to invest in a stylish state-of-the-art supermarket.
Zheng said that after securing the investors the company found a vacant plot of land next to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre and bought it.
She also said after realising that the cuisines available in Guyana are limited they decided to introduce Indonesian dishes and currently they are exploring adding Thai cuisine. The building houses the supermarket on the first floor and the restaurant on the second floor.
The supermarket offers fresh vegetables, frozen meats and seafood. Zheng pointed out that they have been sourcing fresh vegetables from local distributors.
She added that they are trying to rely on distributors in the country as opposed to importing. The supermarket has wide aisles and also offers body care and household products.
The restaurant offers take out and dine-in services and according to the managing director they would soon be upgrading the dining area to provide exquisite service and catering for events.
She added that since opening, persons had the perception that because it is a Chinese-owned entity they would find knock off prices.
However, she said she is looking to change that by offering quality products at competitive and reasonable prices.
The supermarket and restaurant is the first venture of the company here and she said business has been slowly picking up. “This is our first supermarket and restaurant.
We have a lot more to learn from these businesses and we are looking to put the best products and service out there,” Zheng stated.
Zheng said opening hours will be from 9 am to 8 pm during the week and on weekends it would be based on the influx of customers.
Zheng was also pleased with the support gotten from local distributors such Top Brandz Distributors and Carib Superfoods.