Guyana will on Friday see the introduction of three new fast food franchises compliments of businessman Alfro Alphonso’s expansion of business to Georgetown with a US$3 million investment creating more than 80 jobs.
“What we are trying to do here is a combination of different fast food franchises. But if you see the selection we have I don’t think you could necessarily call it fast food. The bottom line is that this is not the run of the mill fast food restaurant that you would see around Georgetown. We have something with the difference. We have the best selection under one roof, a wide variety of products,” said one of the managers.
“The franchises are Canadian and American. We offer something for the vegetarians, we offer something for the meat lovers, we offer something for the workout addicts because they will want something healthy,” the man said. “That’s what we are really trying to accomplish here and offer the Guyanese public a franchise service with a difference. It is our format… It is not just one fast food but different franchises that you would see in other places all over the world. We are going to pride ourselves in offering service with a difference,” said the manager.
The three franchises – Papa Pete’s Pizzeria, Dixie Lee Fried Chicken and Miami Subs Grill – are located on the first floor of the multi-storeyed building at Lamaha and Albert streets, the other levels are still to be completed. Stabroek News was told that by the time the entire building is in operation there will be a few hundred employees working there. However there will be about 90 persons employed on the ground floor.
There is supposed to be a sports bar, which has been described as state-of-the-art and catering to the tastes of any sports enthusiast, and a nightclub/lounge.
With regard to standards, the management said they will be impeccable. “We want when you leave here you must feel special,” said a member of the management team.
A representative for Dixie Lee Food Systems said that two years ago the chain opened a location in Charity and since then it has opened in Dubai, Ukraine and Jamaica.
“I would also like to thank the Guyanese people. All over I have been the people are so welcoming. We are happy to be teamed up with the Alphonsos to bring more jobs in here because they are many more outlets to open,” the representative said. He said that the chain will be using a secret sauce brought in from Canada for its friend chicken and will be serving a spectacular rotisserie.
Chief Operations Officer of the establishment Curt Taylor said the Alphonso Group has been in existence for a very long time and it is because of the confidence in the economy and in the policies of the government. “It is because of the development that they see going on that they decided to make this move into Georgetown. This is the first one of its kind in Guyana. This concept has three franchises here under the same roof,” said Taylor. “Each one of these franchises by
themselves can operate independently, but we have decided to put them under the same roof so as to offer customers the best of all three worlds,” he said. “We have had trainers here for the last three weeks and they have been spending a lot of time in [training employees] in customer service. Once we open the doors to the public that customer service training is going to [be experienced by the customers],” he said. He added that the customer service and food quality will keep people coming back. He said that it is hoped that the sports bar is opened before Christmas and the rest of the building in a few months after that. “By the end of next year there is probably going to be quite a few of these outlets throughout Georgetown,” he said.
