A world of cuisines at Sunrise center

Sunrise shopping center houses Indian, Pakistani, Haitian, Jamaican, Guyanese, Trinidadian and German restaurants

Foods fromaround theworld can be found in one unassuming Sunrise shopping center where ethnically diverse cuisine is being served for dinner. And lunch. And in some cases, breakfast.

At OaklandVillage Square you can order food frommuchof the Caribbean’s diaspora: Griot and black rice fromHaiti, roti fromIndia, biryani fromPakistan, vegan Jamaican dishes, chicken and rice fromTrinidad/Tobago andGuyana, and, in a bit of a foodie left turn, schnitzel from Germany.

This ethnic stew is cooking at the busy intersection ofWest Oakland Park Boulevard andUniversity Drive, where the Square is outshined by the bigger and brassierWalmart Supercenter, Lowe’sHomeImprovement and SunriseTownCenter.

But thenewowners, Plaza Sunrise Management, maintain that it is the international mix of cuisines from momand pop operations that will keep them in the game against such corporate goliaths.

“This is a plaza that can fill a void,” insistsKevinBaqai, who, along with his commercial realtor wifeZainab Jafri, leads a group of private investors whotook over the strip mall inAugust

2018. “No plaza has marketed itself as multicultural. Here [in South Florida] you got your Latin flavor andmaybe some Caribbean flavor. That’s pretty muchit.”

In two years the strip mallwent

from52% occupancy to 82%. While the coronavirus pandemic dealt a blow, none of the restaurantswent out business, partially because they all have well-established take-out service.

“That’s one of the reasons that a lot of [restaurants] in major shopping plazaswent out of business, because their overheadswere so high,” Baqai says. “You’re not going to find the unique eateries or establishments [like this], the cost of business is somuch they can’t afford these prices. I mean you’re talking about an averagemeal of $12 to $15 here where you have enough to eat and take [home] to go for one more person in that $15. Because their rents and the cost of business is reasonable, they can establish themselves.”

COVID-19 did scuttle plans for

CurryFest954, a festival that has been tentatively postponed untilOctober

2021, with the restaurants setting up pop-ups outside and arts, culture and entertainment. In a grassy lot on the south end of the plaza they hope to stage cricket tournaments or demon

strations.

There’s also talk of changing the name, but until then Oakland Village Square is being billed as a one-stop-shopping-center for a variety of ethnic flavors.

The address is 8250-8354W. Oakland Park Blvd. in Sunrise. For more information, go to PlazaSunrise. com.

Here’s a breakdownof theworld of food available.

The Hibiscus Restaurant Sports Bar

Flavors: Guyana, Trinidad/Tobago, West Indian, Chinese and Caribbean

Onweekends Hibiscus is busy with a steady stream of loyal customerswho

MICHAELLAUGHLIN/SUNSENTINELPHOTOS Amixed seafood boil is prepared at Suzie’sCuisine and Seafood, which is one among a variety of ethnically diverse restaurants in theOakland Village Square shopping center in Sunrise.

Jasmine Punsamy, the ownerofThe HibiscusRestaurant, says hermost popular dish is Chicken in de Ruff.

Aschnitzel is displayed atRene’s Schnitzelhaus.

ChefRoseJamaican Cuisine features ackee and jerk salmon.

Chicken in de Ruffis sauced atThe HibiscusRestaurant.