‘Strictly Business’ at village shops

The small retail establishments, commonly known as village shops, have long served as community meeting points for eating, drinking and other forms of recreation that have continued, even in the midst of a troubling outbreak of COVID-19.

However, the dawn of strict new lockdown measures appears to have reduced these establishments exclusively to places of business, providing much-needed items to thousands, particularly in rural parishes across the country.

Along with the country’s main supermarkets, Government’s COVID-19 Directive allows 33 of these establishments to operate across 10 of the country’s 11 parishes between the February 3 – 17 lockdown.

Some minimarts and village shops are already reporting steady sales, and unlike the days leading up to the new measures, patrons are heeding warnings against liming in the vicinity of these establishments.

Chester Brown, the owner of The Village Cash and Carry in Bridgefield, St. Thomas praised government’s attempt to gain control of the ongoing viral outbreak. In fact, the shopkeeper of 15 years’ would have been content to stay closed if it was deemed to be in the national interest.   

He admitted that the shop once attracted numerous ‘limers’ around the entrance as well as at a nearby gazebo he owned.

“You would see that the gate to that gazebo is locked off because no one is allowed to lime here. This morning we had two guys congregating on the outside and I had to say to them ‘you cannot congregate here’,” the shop owner told Barbados TODAY.

“As I speak, one of my workers is in the back working on a sign that will say ‘no congregating’. It’s a process that we are working with… but this area is a quiet area where people are adhering to the protocols.

“I have always had the protocols in place here in terms of wearing the masks and sanitizing, but I found that earlier [in the pandemic] we had a lot of issues with people because it’s a village and people take things for granted… but people get the drift now,” he added.

Miles away in St. Andrew, Manager of the Belleplaine ‘Supermarket’ Sylvia Moore underscored the minimart’s importance in the district and for those living in the eastern part of the island.

The long-time employee explained that while persons have been observing the protocols inside the business, numerous unemployed males from the community were gathering outside as recently as Tuesday. Employees were however elated to find that on Wednesday, the situation was different.

“Fellas are usually out there liming 24/7, but right now nobody is out there. They were still around yesterday, but I guess they are adhering to the lockdown,” she explained.

John Branch, the owner of Two Guys Minimart at Welchman Hall, St. Thomas explained the issue of gathering was one that affected his business prior to Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s lockdown announcement.

“Before the announcement, we would get a few fellows on the outside giving trouble and wanting to congregate, but once the Prime Minister came on, everybody stepped back a little bit,” he told Barbados TODAY.

Cleaver’s Supermarket at Bathsheba, St. Joseph traditionally has not been a popular socializing spot. However, Sales Associate Nakita Holder said some patrons have been careless with their observance of the protocols.

During last year’s lockdown in March, there was a misunderstanding about whether the small, decades-old supermarket would be allowed to operate. However, on this occasion, the establishment was listed as a supermarket.

“We are just very fortunate to be open because we are the only supermarket in the area, so it is very important that we stay open because persons living in the area would have to venture into St. George or St. Andrew, so to keep it open for persons in St. Andrew and Jose River was extremely important,” she explained.

Staples like rice, non-perishable canned items, vegetables and cold storage foods have been hot commodities in recent times. And, unlike the previous lockdown, there are no issues with distribution of goods, as numerous wholesale merchants continue to supply stock. (kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb)