The development of the phenomenon that is occurring on Ariapita Avenue is a great model for economic growth and development in T&T. This was another perspective regarding the economics of Ariapita Avenue, Woodbrook, articulated by financial consultant Garth Thomas, an agent with the Unit Trust Corporation and chief executive officer of Tomco Financial Services. What about the development of Ariapita Avenue that makes it a model worth keeping or emulating elsewhere? The mile-long stretch has seen a proliferation of restaurants, membership clubs and casinos, bars, among the popular ones being Angelo's, Frankie's, El Pecos, Sportsman's Members Club, Shakers, Levels and The Coco Lounge. Development of new businesses on the Avenue has attracted greater traffic, indiscriminate parking, higher noise levels and more crime. Affected residents have gone to court seeking to have some businesses change their opening and closing hours. Thomas explained that T&T operates under a capitalist system, therefore, economic growth and development are predicated on citizens' willingness to spend more every year, bearing in mind this is the measurement used by economists to track growth.
He stated that the Avenue is encouraging such consumption.
Traditionally, Thomas said big businesses were the drivers of the economy and the typical provider of goods and services, "but what is happening on the Avenue has nothing to do with big businesses."
Thomas said the development is mainly encouraged by small to medium entrepreneurs (SME), which the Government should encourage, as they stimulate the economy by creating jobs and opportunity for people to spend. He said the model is not unique as other countries have similar set ups, such as Barbados' St Lawrence Gap, and Nevada's Las Vegas strip. The bulk of these activities, he said, is coming from the SME sector, which is creating a stimulus for other people, known as the multiplier effect. The multiplier effect means that the same dollar is spent several times, creating a profit, which starts with the consumer. The same dollar buys goods and service and pays salaries. This activity, Thomas explained, brings a lot of spin-offs to the economy as a whole, for example, increase in tourism.
Entertainment is a basic need, he said, even though there's also the negativity of crime. "But because we do not live in a perfect world, we should not let crime invalidate this new phenomenon; it's a good economic recovery model. When there is a large population of people supporting and participating in activities like this, the SME sector should be encouraged. "The name of the game is not making money, but making money work for you and this is what the SME sector is doing, so when people are taking risk, it should be encouraged."
A lucrative business
The Avenue, with its open-air restaurants and liming spots, such as The Coco Lounge, Crobar, Shaker's and Levels, attracts about 7,000 patrons on the weekend alone. It directly employs about 2,000 people-mainly employed by the restaurants, bars, casinos, gyro and doubles vendors-but not from other establishments on the Avenue, said Port-of-Spain Mayor Louis Lee Sing. Lee Sing describes social activity on the avenue as very lucrative. The Business Guardian interviewed several business owners, managers and distribution companies to determine the economic value they contribute. David Stone, co-owner of More Vino, a wine and bar restaurant, said his establishment employs about 35 workers and 90 per cent of his suppliers are local. The ambitious 29-year-old Stone and his brother, Christopher, have been managing More Vino for the last six years. Business has been growing from a decline experienced in 2010 as a result of the economic slowdown, Stone said. More Vino, he said, caters for a demographic between 18 years and 65 years. The popular liming spot was initially a retail wine store and has now evolved into a restaurant and bar where lunch and dinner are served. Sushi is one of its signature servings.
Stone said he spends about 30 per cent of his revenue on wines and spirits, with the majority being spent on food. Stone, who is set on opening another branch in San Fernando, said More Vino attracts many tourists, who make up about ten per cent of his customers. For Stone, competition is welcomed.
"The evolution of business is constantly changing and adapting is the key to success." Clayton Archer, the owner of Shakers, at the corner of Ariapita Avenue and Luis Street, shares Stone's sentiments about change and competition. Archer, who had his business previously at Movietowne, Audrey Jeffers Highway, said it was time for him to upgrade. Three years ago, he set up shop on Ariapita Avenue.
Shakers, which employs ten employees, was initially designed to serve premium cocktail at reasonable prices, Archer said. Business evolved beyond its cocktail bar. Today, Shakers serves lunch, such as gourmet burgers, bake and shark, grilled chicken, salads and night cutters, like chicken wings.
With business growing, Archer is on a drive to hire more people.
Archer said business took a 40 per cent nosedive in 2010, but has started slowly picking up since Carnival. Archer said businesses on the Avenue are always re-inventing themselves, while sticking to their formula. He said he welcomes competition because Shakers is a recognised brand, with hotels recommend its spot to guests, hence the reason for Shakers, whose niche market is a rock 'n' roll crowd, attracting a fair number of tourists. Levels, the latest liming spot on the Avenue, has been attracting a hip and hot crowd on weekends. Don Ross, manager of Levels, which is a bar and lounge, said it serves about 400 people weekly, and that there's been an increase in customers in the six months since it opened its doors. Levels employs 26 people. Its clientele is the middle- and upper-classes. Ross said Levels does not try to compete, but rather improve its customer service by observing foreign trends. "I think the people in T&T want something different. It's good to have a nice mix. Not every restaurant will have something local. The Avenue has become the premiere area for socialising.
Indirect employment
There are a number of distribution companies and other establishments that services the strip. Among them are Carib Brewery Ltd, Altons Marketing Company Ltd (Amco), Hand Arnold Trinidad Ltd, Hadco Ltd, Arawak and Company, Vemco Ltd, Malabar Farms, AS Bryden and Sons Ltd, Angostura Ltd, Vintage Imports, Banfield Enterprises, Coca-Cola, Balzerts and Blue Waters. Some businesses, like Shakers, which have late night closing times, even hire taxi services to drop their employees home. Andre Attel, divisional director of Amco, said the company supplies the majority of the businesses on the Ariapita strip. He explained because Amco has a very large national distribution network, the volume on the Avenue may account for a small percentage of its sales, but it's a significant contribution in terms of branding.
Attel said over the last year, Amco's business to the Avenue has "plateaued off," but that overall business transaction has gone up. Amco supplies such products as Grey Goose vodka, Patron tequila, Dewar's scotch whisky and Courvoisier about three times weekly. Miguel Marquez, commercial manager of Carib Brewery Ltd, said Carib services about 22 outlets on the Avenue. About four per cent of Carib's national distribution, Marquez said, goes towards their, which translates to about 100 cases of beers a week.