Young on ‘supermarket’ restaurants: Obey the law

Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young is warning businesses about trying to circumvent the public health regulations.

He was responding to the reopening of El Pecos Grill on Ariapita Avenue in Port of Spain. The owners of the restaurant have registered the business as a supermarket and have a shelf with grocery items such as rice, flour, sauces, bread and cookies. They are also selling their traditional meals but in a pre-packaged grab-and-go format.

Under the current public health regulations, drugstores and supermarkets are among the few businesses allowed to open. Restaurants are not.

At Thursday’s post-Cabinet news conference at the Diplomatic Centre in Port of Spain, Young said while he did not have all the facts, people should respect the law.

“A spade is a spade, a duck is a duck, a rabbit is a rabbit. If you’re a rabbit and you feel that by putting a duck feather on your back you become a duck, you’re going to get yourself in trouble.

“If you know you’re a restaurant and selling food as a restaurant for all this time, and in particular a take-out restaurant, don’t just go put some ­– I couldn’t make out what it is – and call yourself a market.”

Young said the covid19 public health regulations were established to protect people.

“The government doesn’t want to stop people from doing things. We’re doing this because we got advice from the public health experts who have given us good advice for the past year-plus and looking at the science and doing our own reading, etc.

“If you’re a restaurant that sells food on the Avenue or anywhere else, don’t just put some bread an call yourself a bakery. The police will have a good case against you. You’re breaking the law.“

He said such actions would result in a situation where “Peter will pay for Paul.”

Customers were surprised on Thursday morning when they saw a post on El Pecos' Facebook page inviting people to shop there.

It read: "What’s this ???? Avenue only! Open until 4pm today! If you can’t make it today we will be OPEN 9 am-5pm tomorrow (and perhaps daily after that). It's all coming together! #elpecos #elpecosmarketplace."

Suzanne and Richard Camacho, owners of El Pecos, told Newsday they have the certificate from the Registrar General that accredits the business as a supermarket, stamped, signed and dated June 24, 2021.

Richard Camacho said: “It has been a simple process. We did the legal procedures and we can now open our doors. We just try to sell take-out food just like supermarkets and gas stations."

El Pecos has taken sanitary measures against covid19.

"We are complying with the measures of the authorities. It is not an offence, it is an opportunity to work with other alternatives and continue producing," said Camacho.

He said the business had been waiting to see if the government would reopen restaurants, but as the restrictions continued, they decided to reopen as a supermarket.

El Pecos opened Thursday with nine workers out of the 15 it had before the pandemic restrictions.

“It is an opportunity for our workers to be able to return to their jobs, because they have been seriously affected by the lockdown,” Camacho said.