– aims to provide healthier food options

‘FRESH’ restaurant, owned by Michelle Howard, Keon Howard, and Jeffrey Walcott, has officially opened on Carmichael Street near Scotia Bank. Their aim is to provide healthier food alternatives for the population of Guyana.

Michelle Howard, speaking at the simple launch ceremony on Friday, said that for some time her friends would have been pushing her to open her own restaurant since they loved her cooking. However, she was afraid to do so.

Michelle, who was born in Guyana, left the country as a child and came back five years ago. During her time in the country, she became a member of the Rotary Club.

“So the whole idea came, we have this area where we live called the dam and we oftentimes cook on the dam and our friends when we came to Guyana, we became Rotarians and our friends would come and eat. And our friends would say Michelle you should have a restaurant and I’m always complaining I’m scared,” she explained.

The trio’s main goal, since they are passionate about food and health, is to provide the healthiest of options, using local produce for Guyanese.

Noting that they do not intend to only have one restaurant, she said that they do plan to expand in the future to have multiple locations in the country, and even further into the Caribbean.

Their menu comprises items such as sandwiches, salads, green bowl, wraps, daily lunches and more.

President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Kester Hudson, addressing the crowd at the launch ceremony, commended the trio’s partnership and reiterated his position and by extension, the chamber’s position about the importance of collaboration both locally and internationally.

He noted that Fresh restaurant, is a prime example of exactly what he would like to see more in the country.

“…three entrepreneurs that thought it best to share the resources by bringing about this venture, which is certainly welcoming in Guyana, it is creative, it is innovative and it is timely,” he related.

Hudson noted that Guyana is growing and said that more collaboration is something that is needed and the GCCI will support this.

“The chamber continues to encourage and promote business collaborations. We want to definitely create an incubator for incentives for members to access resources, such as information sharing…” he said.

Vice President of the GCCI, Richard Rambarran, said that Fresh restaurant is a fantastic addition to the array of cafes already in Guyana.

“It certainly brings a different flavour, a different vibe and we look forward as a Chamber of Commerce to supporting you, not just in your endeavours, entrepreneurially and being able to connect you in the right way, but also giving you patronage and giving you our continued support,” he related.

Noting that the sky is the limit in Guyana, he added: “Just about any venture that you enter into at this juncture, will be one that is progressive and successful and it will certainly put you in a position that you are able to create a brand that you can expand upon.”

Rambarran expressed his optimism about seeing more branches being opened, so that Fresh Restaurant can become a household name, not just in Guyana, but even in the wider Caribbean to be sold as a tourism product.