(Trinidad Express) The Woo Ling Grocery, one of the oldest businesses in St James, is closing down.
This was announced by Brent Woo Ling, one of the partners of the supermarket yesterday.
The supermarket, which is located along the Western Main Road, in the vicinity of Agra Street, has been in operation for over 60 years.
It was being run by Brent Woo Ling, his 83-year-old father and his 80-year-old uncle.
It was opened when the family came from China, and has been one of the staples of the St James community ever since.
Residents of the area could always depend on the Woo Ling Grocery to be open, and to interact with its pleasant owners, who always showed kindness and appreciation for their customers.
Speaking with the Express yesterday, Woo Ling explained that the decision was made to retire and sell the business after armed men invaded the home, assaulted the 80-year-old man, and robbed the supermarket on Thursday morning.
“That was the first time that anything like this has happened, after years of business, and what I can say is that it’s expedited our thoughts for retiring. We were all shaken up by this incident. My uncle wasn’t too badly hurt, thank God. So, we are going to try to sell the business. That’s our priority. To sell. So it’s not like we’re closing down with immediate effect. This is not something that will happen overnight. So, the business will still be in operation until this process is done,” Woo Ling said.
In a social media post, Woo Ling also called on individuals to exercise caution and to be safe, given the recent events.