Promising to offer a “second to none” experience and with plans to extend its operation throughout the country in the coming months, the Heliconia Restaurant and Lounge yesterday officially opened its doors to the public.
The estimated investment for the newest addition to the food service industry here amounts to somewhere between $45 and $50 million.
The restaurant and lounge is owned and operated by Guyanese-American Winnick Paton and his wife, Amanda. They have two business partners, Delvon McEwan and Andrew (only name given).
It is located on the ground floor of the Emerge Building at Camp and Robb streets, Georgetown.
Speaking at a soft opening ceremony yesterday, Winnick said while the restaurant and lounge is the first of a kind in Guyana, it won’t be the last.
He hinted at plans to open at other locations in the country and even beyond within the next six to ten months.
“It’s the first of the time. This might be the very first but it won’t be the last. There is going to be a franchise branch off in Guyana, the US, Jamaica and the world. So this is the first,” Winnick declared.
The restaurant has a seating capacity for 60 persons, taking into account current COVID-19 guidelines. It also has a private business boardroom with seating capacity of 30.
Patrons can choose from a wide variety of meals offered on the menu which includes burgers, seafood, pasta, salad, and appetizers. There is also a wide selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
For the first two weeks at least, Winnick said, every item on the menu would not be available.
He explained that presently, there are still some works ongoing at the facility before it is finally completed. “…technically we not finish spending as yet. We still have a lot more work to be done,” he explained.
However, once completed, he noted, customers can expect to experience a memorable experience.
Meanwhile, McEwan remarked that the restaurant is hoping to be “big on brunch” mostly on Sunday, but also during the week days. Further, they have their eye on introducing the “liquid lunch” experience.
“Where people might be having a type of day and they might want to just come and take a drink during the mid-day break, we are going to bring that whole… into becoming a reality,” McEwan related.
And according to the business partner, the menu consists of meals to fit everyone’s pockets. “We also cater for everybody. We are not going to be considered a high-end restaurant,” he noted.
Customer service
A total of 16 persons are currently employed at the restaurant and lounge. More persons are expected to be hired soon.
Winnick told Sunday Stabroek that the main focus of the business is customer service.
“We want our customer service to be second-to-none in Guyana. Second-to-none in the world…The experience you are going to have here is going to be like nowhere else,” he assured.
“So if you have a bad experience, talk about it. Tell someone and also… if you had a good experience talk about it too,” he added.
Prior to the opening, Winnick explained that the staff have been trained in this concept and it continues on a daily basis. “What we do with our staff before every work day, we go through various training, basically just a top-up of what they already know. Elaborate some more of what you already know.”
Management also meets with the staff after each work day to discuss challenges faced and how they can be dealt with moving forward.
“We also meet again and discuss the challenges we had and how to make it better for the next day,” Winnick explained.
In a previous interview with this newspaper, Winnick had said that the restaurant and lounge was named after his departed mother’s favourite flower.
