Monifa Freso refuses to be consumed by the quicksand of COVID-19. Every day she delivers her own pushback, rising early and taking to the streets to ‘wake up’ sections of the city with her pick-me-up beverages.‘ The 24-year-old ‘Energizer Bunny’ on a bicycle has carved out her own niche in a local fruit ‘shake’ market that has blossomed out of a stepped-up nutrition-consciousness coinciding with the advent of COVID-19.
Momo Moish, the name of Monifa’s registered business, has its origins in the enthusiastic response of her colleagues at the Ramada Hotel where, until recently, she worked as a waitress and slot attendant, until recently, to her father’s ‘milkshakes’ which they sampled and afforded ‘rave’ reviews.
As it happened the official registration of her ‘hustle’ as a business coincided with her COVID-19 ‘cut’ from the staff at Ramada.
Her father has stepped up production of his well-received milkshakes while Monifa has commenced production of her own ‘line’ of fruit juices.
These past four months Monifa has created her own production routine and service model. Sundays and Mondays are production days. The juices are blended from washed fruit in a carefully sanitized work space. She hits the road on her bike from Tuesday to Friday from 9:00 hrs. On Tuesdays and Thursdays she ends her working day at 15:30 hours, taking time off to ‘work out’ at the gym. On the remaining days, Wednesdays and Fridays, her working day extends to 17:00 hrs.
Monifa’s ‘sales pitch’ derives from her assertive personality. Passers-by have learnt to look out for the ‘big umbrella’ at the corners of Princes Street and Cemetery Road where Monifa’s juices are displayed. Randomly, she would, leave that vantage point, get on her bicycle with a fitted cooler and cover areas that include La Penitence, Stabroek, Bourda, Alberttown and Camp streets, dropping off free-delivery orders or simply selling on the streets as she goes.
The recent increased demand for fresh fruit has not caught Monifa by surprise. She continues to enjoy an arrangement with a regular vendor whom, she says, has also given her sound advice on the cleaning and preparation of fruit.
In a season of high demand Monifa is busy ‘making hay.’ That is not to say, however, that she is not thinking beyond tomorrow. Hers is one of those small businesses that appears to be richly deserving of a hand up at a time when employment in the formal sector has risen and when the victims of job loss are required to ‘step up’ for their survival.
She is very amenable to taking orders by telephone: 692-8018
