The Tribune

By ANNELIA NIXON

TRIBUNE Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

THE CLOSURE of Agave Lucaya is temporary and stems from ongoing business transactions its owners hope to resolve within the next 30 days, the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce president said yesterday.

Ralph Hepburn told Tribune Business he has spoken with one of Agave’s owners, who indicated that the Port Lucaya Marketplace restaurant was not permanently shutting its doors.

“As to the closures of these businesses, one of the things I want to say very cautiously is these businesses are temporarily closed,” Mr Hepburn said. “Speaking with one of the owners of Agave yesterday, he conveyed to me that they are temporarily closed because they are conducting some business transactions, and that is why. They hope to have it all completed and resolved within the next 30 days.”

Mr Hepburn’s comments come after Tribune Business was unable to obtain comment from Agave’s partners or owners on the restaurant’s closure, its reported termination of about 40 employees, or speculation that the business could be put on the market.

Tribune Business previously reported that the restaurant’s closure had affected about 40 workers, with the Department of Labour confirming that its Freeport office had been informally notified that the former employees were seeking new jobs.

Nick Vikatos, president of the Port Lucaya Marketplace Association and a minority partner in Agave, did not deny the restaurant’s closure when contacted by Tribune Business on Monday but referred questions about its status to majority shareholder, Noel Clarke, who did not respond to Tribune Business calls, messages or e-mails.

Mr Hepburn said Agave’s temporary closure comes at a difficult time for the wider Port Lucaya Marketplace, which is experiencing reduced visitor traffic during Grand Bahama’s broader economic downturn.

“With the downturn in traffic to Port Lucaya, it would have been kind of a good time for them to do it at this point,” he said. “What’s going to happen in 30 days, we don’t know. But we’re hoping that they will re-open and be available to cater, especially to the local market.”

The Chamber chief said Agave’s situation was symptomatic of wider pressures facing Grand Bahama, where both the tourism and industrial sectors have experienced setbacks.

“We all know Grand Bahama’s economy has been… for the past couple of years, between tourism and industry,” Mr Hepburn said. “Right now we seem to have a downturn in both areas, which of course speaks to the need for diversification of Grand Bahama’s economy and for us as persons in Grand Bahama and entrepreneurs to look into other areas that can support economic growth in Grand Bahama.”

Mr Hepburn also pointed to uncertainty surrounding Bahama Rock, where workers are awaiting word on whether the company will re-open or permanently close its facilities.

“Bahama Rock, within 60 days, they expect to have some word whether they’re going to re-open their facilities to utilise whatever materials they have, or whether they’re going to shut it down permanently,” he said.

Mr Hepburn said some displaced workers could potentially find employment with Freeport Aggregates, which has approached the Department of Labour about recruiting skilled workers and increasing production to meet market demand.

“They have sent a letter to the Department of Labour, advertising for positions so they can increase their production and meet the local and national market demand,” Mr Hepburn said. “There are avenues for some of those persons to move over.”

Mr Hepburn said the labour situation remains particularly challenging for people seeking work in Grand Bahama’s hotel sector, given the lack of clarity surrounding the industry’s future.

“It isn’t easy to find jobs in the hotel sector because there seems to be no direction as to where the hotel sector is going in Grand Bahama,” he said. “It means you have to come out of your comfort zone, basically, in terms of what you’re used to doing to work in another sector.”

Mr Hepburn said Port Lucaya also needs increased development and visitor traffic to support its businesses.

“We need the hotel development, we need the port development, and we need the entire area that surrounds Port Lucaya,” Mr Hepburn said. “At least two of the majors, either the marina and the hotel, to come on stream, so we can feed that area. Port Lucaya works when there’s foot traffic in and out of it.”

Mr Hepburn said the Government’s efforts to expand vocational training could help address Grand Bahama’s longer-term labour needs, although he acknowledged that such measures would not provide an immediate solution.

“Whereas that’s not something that will fix the short-term needs, in the long term it will bode well for Grand Bahama in terms of skilled labourers coming on stream,” he said.

He added that workers already in the labour force also need opportunities to retrain and “retool” their skills to meet current demand. Mr Hepburn said the reopening of Agave would be important to Port Lucaya’s recovery. “Yes, Agave is a big part of the Marketplace,” he said. “But like I said, it’s a temporary closure. It’s not a permanent closure.”