Beauty queen Olive Gopaul and her fiancé Ron Morrison, managing director of Hanes Guyana will, from mid-next month, bring a taste of New York trendiness to Georgetown. To be precise, they are seeking to import the famous eclectic, artsy flavour of SoHo to the Courtyard on Robb Street – at least in terms of the cuisine.
Together the two, both of whom have experience in the business arena, have meshed their skills to bring something different to these shores when it comes to food. The idea is to provide international cuisine with a few local dishes as well as an international salad bar, ensuring that not only the locals can get to taste something different but that overseas-based Guyanese coming home, tourists, the diplomatic community and expatriates can get the dishes they like or are accustomed to eating. The restaurant will be managed under the careful eyes of Gopaul.
The Scene was recently given an exclusive tour of the proposed site and while it is a bit small Morrison said the restaurant’s seating would be extended to the outside giving an outdoor feeling to the entire set up.
The construction work is about 80% complete and pretty soon the chairs and cooking equipment purchased in the US would be here to provide the finishing touches. The interior will be fully air-conditioned, insuring the comfort of the customers.
Local companies have also been drawn into the $6 million project. F&T Designs will be handling the marble work for the counter tops and tables while Precision Woodworking has been tasked with building some breathtaking outdoor furniture.
According to Morrison, construction started about one month ago after some intense planning.
He said the restaurant will be run by a chef and assistant chef who have experience working at Le Meridien Pegasus. He said locals can expect a taste of American, Italian, Mexican and other international dishes all at an affordable price.
Asked about local dishes, Morrison noted that most of the eateries in Guyana already cater for this, so it was something that they wanted to avoid. However, he said, a few local dishes would be on the restaurant’s daily menu.
The businessman assured The Scene, that though the food would be different, it would be affordable so as to ensure that the ordinary man was not left out.
He said the SoHo would offer breakfast early in the mornings and take away lunches, on a daily basis.
“We just want to be different and we want to make it affordable. We are even going to delivering our food in microwavable boxes which are much safer that the Styrofoam ones. They are eco-friendly and attractive. This is how different we want to be,” he said.
He added that customers could count on getting quality for their money and a good service.
“We want is class, quality and international and that is what we are going to brink”, he added.
Responding to questions about the chosen name of the restaurant, Morrison told The Scene that in keeping with the name, there would be entertainment activities at the weekends.
According to Morrison, he and his fiancé, after travelling abroad and being exposed to different things, have concluded that “we at home struggle to find a good quality restaurant especially for people who have lived abroad return home and one that is affordable”.
He said an international salad bar is another struggle Guyanese face and he plans to end that trouble with the opening of SoHo. He said that persons will be able to choose from a wide range of salads.
Over the last few years, the Courtyard has developed vastly, beginning with the opening of the Hanes Store there. The Courtyard now had a hair salon, barber shop, boutique, children’s store, a Digicel outlet, jewellery store, electronic store and a beauty and gift shop. Very soon, the headquarters of the Mark Benschop Foundation will be in the Courtyard.
Meanwhile, Morrison revealed during the interview, that Hanes was planning to invest some money in extending its brand here.
He said that in time for Carifesta, plus-size wear, children’s wear and athletic wear would be added to the store’s collection, which currently focuses on underwear and tops for men, women and children.
(zoisa_f@yahoo.com)
