By: Chey Khan
STREET food stands have been in existence for as long as we can remember and are known as a ‘spot’ or place we can go to get a quick snack, from traditional local creole foods and treats with a cold glass of mauby or sugar cane juice to wash it down. These little stands have been a “life-saver” to us many times when we do not know what to make at home or carry to school or work.
In comparison to street food vending from ten to twenty years ago, street food vendors have elevated and made their food options and surroundings into a welcoming place for everyone. The Pepperpot Magazine roamed the streets of Georgetown to observe the operations of well-known street food vendors and their delicious variety of offerings.
The multicultural experience
Lucia is originally from Guyana but moved many years ago to Venezuela. Over a year ago, she returned to her homeland and has her little stall, ‘Elena’s Special’, where she sells along the roadside opposite the Mon Repos market from Mondays to Saturdays.
With her makeshift stove, you can get your pholourie, chicken-ball, fish-cake, egg-ball, and bake with chicken right off of the fire. Due to the situation she was faced with in Venezuela, Shanti sought it better to return to her birth county along with her family to live and open her little street food stand.
Carolina and her family also lived in Venezuela for most of their lives, and for most of her living, she sold street food, selling Venezuelan dishes. When they moved back to Guyana about four years ago, she opened a street food stand selling what she knows best — Venezuelan dishes. Carolina has been selling at the sea-wall for three years at a location named ‘Meeno- Original Latino Fast Food’.
She shared that her business offers a different taste and experience to Guyanese. Carolina hopes to expand her street food business to other locations with some help from the Government. She also hopes to pass the business on to her children so they can carry on the tradition of sharing both their Venezuelan and Guyanese dishes.
Franyelys, along with her uncle and aunt are born Venezuelans and migrated to Guyana two years ago. Their street food stand is located on Sheriff Street, oblique to Amor’s Pizza.
Her uncle and aunt have their own stand where they would sell Venezuelan-style hot dogs and burgers, and not only do they do the regular size, they also do twelve-inches hot-dog which are loaded with chicken, salami, beef, hot dog sausages, eggs, calabrese sausages, and many condiments, apart from the hot-dog; they also do a massive burger which comprises the same.
Franyelys and her husband on the other hand do bar-b-q grilling, where you can get grilled pork, chicken, beef, and calabrese sausages with fries and that mouth-watering garlic sauce.
Even though Franyelys and her family are out late, she shared that whenever there is a homeless person walking by or asking them for money, she would give them food that she has to sell or money from her sales made previously. She noted that her heart goes out especially to the elderly so once she can help them she will.
She hopes that she and her family can open other locations so Guyanese can experience not only the Venezuelan hot-dogs and burgers, but also their grilled meats which are grilled to perfection.
On the ‘line top’
At Plaisance ‘line-top’, on the East Coast Demerara railway embankment, another vendor, Oneka, shared that she never saw herself selling street food or being a street food vendor since her previous job was selling clothes.
Oneka occupies one of the stalls, ‘Triple J Creole Spot’, along the roadway in front of Plaisance market. Her venture started out in 2019. She was asked by the original stall owner to ‘hold-on’ and just occupy the stall, which eventually became hers.
She stated that it is not so easy selling her street food since she does all her preparations and cooking on her own. “Being a mother and having a family is not easy,” she explained. “Most people would work an eight to five job, but with cooking it is a non-stop twenty-four-hour job. Sometimes I work over 18 to 20 hours a day. I would start at five in the morning to prepare and cook, then to come out and sell.”
Apart from the other street food vendors, Oneka does not want to expand or keep the street food business. Even though she came from a family who cooks and caters food, she wants to get back into selling clothes and making custom-made clothes for her customers.
Marcia and her business partner and stall owner Michelle of ‘Touch of Taste Delight’ have been business partners and selling street food for over ten years at that spot. Marcia shared that, “Street food has been a family business for a long time, her mom did street food vending and then eventually everyone else got involved and did their own thing.”
She also shared that, in time, they hope to expand and change their street food business into a restaurant and have different locations, but as for now, they have the street food stand and a food truck which goes to different locations selling the different street foods.
“We would start from the night before to prepare, and work the next day also to prep and cook,” Marcia explained. With the wide variety of foods to choose from, no wonder they have staff to be on the clock preparing.
In other parts of Georgetown, there is also a variety of foods you can sample, including dishes from Guyana’s neighbouring Trinidad. Gavin who is the owner for ‘Aliya’s Hot and Tasty Doubles’ has had their doubles stand for about two years in front of Euphoria Kitchen, selling not only the traditional doubles but also chicken or beef doubles. “The mouth-watering taste makes you want more and more” the owner said and he is not wrong. With the different sauces, channa and bara, all the flavors are complemented well to make you crave for more, one doubles just is not good enough.
