By Vanessa Braithwaite

LINDEN’S first coffee house, Freddy’s Café, had its grand launching on Saturday with Attorney-at-Law and Alliance For Change Chairman Nigel Hughes helping in cutting the ceremonial ribbon.
The café that is owned by popular businessman, AFC affiliate and community activist Norvell Fredco, is said to be the first of its nature to grace the town of Linden and Region 10. The café offers elegant pastries and beverages prepared to international standards. The foods offered include grilled cheese croissants, a variety of flavoured muffins, grilled cheese sandwiches, ice coffees, mocha latte, frappe, expresso, cappuccino, frozen yogurts, smoothies, exotic teas and iced teas.
This venture has received positive responses from the residents of Linden who flock the café every day to experience the range of delicacies. Fredco told the audience at the launch that he got the idea to open a café after having a taste of frozen yogurt in St Lucia and decided to bring the product to his home town.
He described the enterprise as a risk-taking one as he had to source the equipment from China and make an advance payment without guarantee that he would have been in receipt of them.
Fredco, who was prominent in the photography business, said he started to diversify his business three years ago with the establishment of Freddy’s Wings and Wedges.
“Photography was my childhood dream but then what happened, everybody got a smartphone and then came the selfie stick so I had to diversify,” he said.
He boasted that the café did not require any loan from the bank for investment as he turned over his savings and would encourage others to do the same.

SPIRIT OF ENTERPRISE
Hughes described the venture as “the spirit of enterprise and risk taking. He challenged Fredco to have a franchise throughout Guyana within the next three years.
“We should have Fredco’s Café not only in Linden, but in Georgetown and Lethem and we must brand that name so that it should become like Starbucks Coffee.”
One young employee of Fredco’s Café thanked him for creating an avenue of employment for the youths in Linden who are desperate to be employed.
Fredco is the deputy leader of the APNU-AFC group contesting the March 18 Local Government Elections and he is also the founder of Linden Town Week.