The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

Potter’s Cay vendors are aiming to raise up to $20,000 from a holiday weekend cook-out to help finance the rebuilding of stalls destroyed by last month’s fire.

Wendi Constantine, president of the Bahamas Dock and Allied Venues Vendors Association (BDAVVA), told Tribune Business the upcoming Saturday steak-out is seeking to raise “$15,000 to $20,000 to help the six vendors” that were affected by the fire.

“We sold a few tickets already, and we are expecting some people to drive up and partake,” she added. The event will be aided by the government’s relaxation of COVID-19 rules relating to cook-outs, which allow them to be held using a drive-through or take-away model on the condition that no alcohol sales take place.

The government has yet to provide details on what it intends to contribute to financing reconstruction of the destroyed Potter’s Cay stalls, but Ms Constantine said it intends to donate construction materials at the very least.

Reconstruction has to be arranged by the individual stall owners and will not be a collective effort. “We have to build our own stalls,” said Ms Constantine. It is understood that none of the vendors impacted had insurance because wooden structures are never covered, so raising money and government assistance is all the vendors have to rely on.

Ms Constantine said: “We don’t have anything at this time. The government is saying that they are going to contribute some building materials, but we haven’t gotten the OK as yet.”

Potter’s Cay Dock, because of its tightly-packed vendor stalls, found it difficult to operate amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Vendors were shut down for a longer period than most other established, indoor dining venues.

In addition, they are now dealing with the threat of a raw-conch poisoning outbreak, which has further put a damper on business as health authorities have advised Bahamians to not eat raw and uncooked conch.