Popular bar, eatery convert to mini-marts

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“Allyuh don’t have burger bread?” a disappointed shirtless gentleman yesterday asked the shopkeeper. It’s not the kind of question you’d associate at an establishment like Spanish Harlem in San Juan, but now it’s part of the everyday fabric of the business.

The well-known bar is now a neighbourhood mini-mart.

From cooking oil to split peas, herb grinders to milk, they are well stocked.

And while it may raise some eyebrows to see their turnaround, it is at the same time not surprising.

Like El Pecos and Kam Wah before them, the thinking seems to be if groceries are allowed to operate, then why not become one.

Five kilometres eastwards, the owner of Bite Me Bistro, Arvand Maharaj, said the changeover to a mini-mart or what he’s calling a ‘Bodega’, was a no brainer.

“We were facing pending doom, we all have mortgages and staff and taking patterns from the supermarket chains, we saw they were getting away with selling packaged food and the Prime Minister said you could sell food from the supermarket if you had an in-house kitchen so we did it.”

The restaurant’s dining area has now been replaced by tables selling vegetables and condiments.

On the inside, there are new shelves with items such as flour, snacks and milk. Maharaj explained to Guardian Media that the re-registering of the business to include ‘Bodega’ was not a difficult process.

“The legal part of it took about two to three weeks, we needed to do a name change and wait for approval, which involved changing the nature of the business to include gourmet grocery as well as restaurant,” he explained.

Maharaj said he was informed by senior police officers that a license to operate a grocery was not necessary.

“They told me you don’t have to have a license to operate a parlour or mini-mart, a grocer’s license is to sell alcohol.”

Maharaj explained that all meals are pre-packaged and available on a shelf.

“You can’t place an order by the counter anymore, you just come in and take what’s available.”

But that requires additional equipment such as warmers and storage facilities. And while the legal process was the easy part, the monetary investment was quite the opposite.

“I put in about 50 thousand dollars to start, that went into the cashing software, we had to run electrical for all the new equipment and buy stock.”

The interview with Maharaj was interrupted a few times by customers and couriers from the food delivery apps. With a wry smile, Maharaj said, “I wish I did this months ago.”

But even with business picking up and the return of his regular customers, Maharaj still has a lot on his mind.

“Well I’m just worried about roller coaster Saturdays, you know that feeling when the Prime Minister has his news conference, I’m just waiting to hear what’s happening to know if I also have to bring out a washer and dryer and say I’m a laundromat.”

With a fully vaccinated staff, Maharaj said even when the restrictions on restaurants are lifted, he may consider a hybrid of this new business model with the old.

But right now, he, like many others, is pleading for the resumption of food services, saying lives and livelihoods can be preserved.

Guardian Media attempted to contact the Registrar General’s office to find out just how many businesses have re-registered like Bite Me Bodega did but we were unable to reach anyone from that department.