By Michel Outridge

WHEN on the “West Side,” you have a variety of options when it comes to shopping and reasonable prices.

When residents want a delicious serving of pepperpot that tantalises the tastebuds, they can get that at the West Side Pepperpot Shop, located at the Old Bulla Road, the street just behind the Meten-Meer-Zorg West Masjid.

This 24-year-old small business is a family business operated by a husband and wife, who also have a small grocery shop at their premises.

Sandra Sewperasad, called ‘Priya,’ is the lady behind the delicious pepperpot which is made up of beef and it is a dish she has perfected over the years and it is available only on weekends.

The mother of two related that on Fridays, she would prepare beef pepperpot and on Saturdays they have white beef and mutton pudding, black pudding, chicken foot and cow face souse.

“We started off small with a roadside stand and we were asked to relocate when the road was being upgraded; so we erected a small stall at our fence and opened the Pepperpot Shop here,” she said.

She stated that the spot is well-known and people from far and wide would visit on weekends to purchase these Guyanese delicacies.

The 43-year-old reported that she is a stay-at-home mother, whose children have grown and left home to pursue their separate lives and she decided to open a grocery to occupy her time.

Sewperasad told the Pepperpot Magazine that collectively she and her husband would tend to the shop and on weekends, he would assist her in prepararing the pepperpot, puddings and souse.

Sewperasad added that her small business is alive because of the taste and quality and she keeps up the standard so people come for the deliciousness.

“From this small business I manage to educate my two sons, throughout schools and today they are doing well and for that I am very pleased,” she said.

The Beauty Shop
Meanwhile, right at Meten-Meer-Zorg Public Road, there is a beauty shop operated by Sherry Hassan and her employees, who provide a professional service doing hair, nails, waxing, eyebrow arching, manicures and pedicures.

This business has a barbershop/grocery store which adjoins the beauty salon and that section is operated by her husband and son.

The small business started 16 years ago and today Hassan has seven employees and a lot of clients, who are from the village as well as far as Berbice, Essequibo, the East Coast of Demerara, Parika, Timehri and other parts of the country.

“I started this business with one wooden table and two plastic chairs, and this business has grown over the years because I worked hard to make it happen with the support of my family,” she said.

Hassan related that her husband alone was working and trying with his barbershop and she decided to assist him because they were struggling and that motivated her to open her own small business.

The mother of one said she is originally from Suriname and when she got married to her Guyanese husband, she relocated to this country which is her home.

The 42-year-old stated that she has been here for the past 26 years and it feels good to have her own business and to provide a reliable service to clients.

People don’t just come for the service but also because of the ‘homey’ feel to the place; the salon is well organised and it has a living-room setting which is very comfortable with a nice sofa and other décor which promotes the beauty of the place.

Hassan is a very friendly, mannerly person, whose charm is welcoming and she is easy to talk to and she is a professional beautician, who can multi-task, a skill her clients love and which keeps them coming back.

The beauty shop is secure and they practise all protocols for COVID-19; hand-washing is necessary as well as face masks, and before and after every client the place is sanitised and different sterilised tools are used.

Upon entry, the clients’ temperatures are tested and good hygiene is also practised.