The popular Palm Court Restaurant and Bar on Main Street will shut down on October 15 and a new Palm Court Club is to open in Chaguanas, Trinidad.

Palm Court Managing Director, Jad Rahaman told Stabroek News yesterday from Chaguanas in the south of Trinidad, where he is currently setting up the Palm Court Private Members’ Club, that the business climate in Guyana over the past two years had not been good. His overhead expenses were now more than his earnings.

“It’s not making any sense, when the electricity bill alone is more than the rent,” he said. “I don’t run a business not to make money”, he told Stabroek News. He is being assisted by his business partner and son, Ryan.

Asked what he thought was responsible for the loss in business, Rahaman said many of the patrons had either migrated or shifted to other venues with the escalation in crime. He was himself the victim of a shooting incident last year when he went to placate a rowdy patron. He added that the spending power was no longer there. Persons preferred to buy a drink from a roadside bar than paying for services provided by a waiter.

The club in Trinidad will feature 24 slot machines for which he has been granted a licence to operate. While Rahaman would not say what his investment would cost, he said that he had had to pay TT$2,000 (US$1 = approx. TT6) for a licence for each slot machine.

The slot machines are the same ones seized by the local police at the Main Street Palm Court exactly one year ago after they had been in operation for three weeks. They were subsequently released following a court order. At the time Rahaman had said that he had done all within his power to ensure that the machines were operated within the law.

He had said then that he had bought the machines because business had been on the decline and he saw the need for entertainment for local and overseas visitors. During the three weeks that he had operated the machines, he said that he had begun to see a way of meeting his overhead expenses. During that period he had employed a staff of seventy. He subsequently laid off some workers.

On Saturday night, Rahaman held a `lime’ for workers, colleagues and friends who helped in setting up the new “investment” in Chaguanas.

He said Saturday night’s “dry-run” was a success. The club is in essence a casino. It is very different to the Main Street Palm Court. It is dark as opposed to airy and food and `liming’ are not the central purpose. Gambling is.

Rahaman, who had leased the building on Main Street and had operated it for the past 14 years said that he had given the proprietor a month’s notice and was due to vacate the building on October 15. He has already given the staff notice of his pending departure.

When Stabroek News visited the bar yesterday, patrons were unaware of the impending closure but workers were worried about finding jobs elsewhere. Forty-six employees will be affected.

Rahaman said that he still had investments in Guyana including the Baracara Resort in the Mazaruni River which he hoped to promote from Trinidad and Tobago.

Nevertheless, he said that he was not complaining because he had had some very good days at Palm Court. He recalled that Friday used to be the biggest night for business.

Rahaman described the current investment climate in Guyana as fragile and a real challenge.

He insisted that he was not leaving Guyana but that the new Palm Court Club was an investment meant also to benefit Guyana. He said that the new Palm Court Club had paintings, pictures and promotional material all showcasing the country.

He said that when things improved he might reopen another branch of Palm Court in Guyana.