– small businesses given space to ‘show off’
By Vishani Ragobeer
THOUGH physical shopping might be constrained by the COVID-19 pandemic, the spacious Parc Rayne event centre, located at Rahaman’s Park, Georgetown, afforded small businesses the opportunity to network and showcase their products, while patrons benefitted from the centre’s weekly brunch activity.
Owner of Parc Rayne, Angela Rahaman, told the Guyana Chronicle that the brunches are usually held at the venue on Sundays, and these have found favour with a number of patrons since the spacious venue allows adequate social distancing.
But, that wasn’t enough. Rahaman and her husband had an epiphany: they could also provide small businesses with an opportunity to market their products and network with each other. That led to the creation of their “Brunch with a twist” that was held on Sunday.
“During COVID, last year, we realised that a lot of businesses were not getting to showcase what they are doing and we found that a lot of young people were actually coming up with unique ideas for businesses today, so we decided to join pop-up shops with the brunch,” Rahaman said.
She related that the small businesses were not charged to ‘set up shop’ at the venue and going forward, even more small businesses would be invited to market their products on the last Sunday of every month.
Candacee Ali, of the Preview clothing store, highlighted that she was grateful for the exposure that the business got on Sunday. While there, she displayed some of the dresses the store stocks.
“Being here at the first ‘Brunch with a twist’ is actually beneficial to us, because we’re having a little bit more exposure, people are becoming au fait with what Preview is about,” she said.
According to Ali, this small business offers dresses, casual dresses in particular, to cater for those persons who want to look “fashionable and cute,” even though there aren’t many events to attend because of COVID and all.
Meanwhile, owner of Le Chef cater, Dustin Dalgetty, offered sushi to patrons coming to Parc Rayne’s brunch on Sunday. Dalgetty noted that the event allowed him to showcase his business, particularly his sushi-making skills, while encouraging people to eat more sushi — anyday, anytime.
This business is located on Aubrey Baker Road and caters for birthday parties, weddings or any special occasion. Importantly, Le Chef’s catering was selected to cater for the State House visit by Former Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo.
