‘Elite Wine & Grill Bar Member’s Club’ for an unforgettable experience

Jul 30, 2023 Features / Columnists, News

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Young Entrepreneur

By Allyiah Allicock

“Us young entrepreneurs create the stage for others to see the talent and drive young people have. We have the ability to work with our current environment to create something that can become big co-operations as years go by.”

The Waterfalls Magazine – Looking for a place to enjoy some scrumptious meals and drinks, either for breakfast, lunch or dinner then ‘Elite Wine & Grill Bar Member’s Club’ has got just what you are looking for.

Some of you may have heard about ‘Elite Wine & Grill Bar Member’s Club’ or seen it advertised, but do you know how it all started, or who are the pioneers behind such an establishment? Well, if you are wondering, this popular restaurant and bar is owned by 20-year-old Robin Mckenzie and her brother, 27-year-old Carlos Mckenzie.

Robin, is the manager who is in charge of the social media platforms, customer interaction, food purchasing, cooking of food, serving meals, menu editing, pricing, food additions, in relation to the restaurant, while her brother is in charge of customer interaction, event pricing, scheduling events and booking customers in relation to the event space.

During her exclusive interview with this magazine, Robin shared that the inspiration for starting this restaurant sparked many years ago, having been exposed to the business world through her mother and brother who had decided to open an event space some time ago.

Robin who recently completed her Associate Degree in Biology and is a science girl at heart, said for a while, she started to developed a passion for exploring business, hence why she decided to also be a part of this arena.

What led to having a business in the restaurant industry, Robin related that the idea prompted from her experience in buying fast food during the Covid-19 pandemic period.

“Over the recent years, while we were in Covid-19, food delivery was an up and coming business, which I had many issues with as a customer buying from different fast food restaurants, whether it was poor customer service, low quality meals or lack of variety in the menu,” she explained. Having gone through this, she said this year, she decided to take on the challenge of opening her own summer restaurant, where persons would not have to face the same experiences she dealt with.

Elite Wine & Grill Bar Member’s Club was first opened on the morning of July 7, 2023 so as to service its breakfast menu. The business now operates from Friday to Monday at 08:30hrs to 19:00hrs with delivery and reservations available.

All new to the business world, Robin shared that since her launch, the support and feedback has been tremendous and motivating. Surrounded by great people such as her family and friends, Robin said their support has helped to “build my drive and determination to create something new and fantastic for Guyanese to enjoy.” She added her friends, Shontel Prescott, Aliann Cameron, Mennasseh Ferreira and Tania Todd have been a tremendous help in the launching of the restaurant and creating meals. For this, she is grateful.

Just like any other thriving young entrepreneur, when asked about some of the challenges she encountered thus far, Robin disclosed that being new to the business world and the food market, she had to learn many important things a bit later than she would have preferred to. This, she said has caused some drawbacks, with a main issue being not being able to reach the right target customers on a large scale. “I have also been working on being efficient in the kitchen to not only adjust my meals to please the customer’s preferences, but also doing so in an efficient time. I have worked hard to ensure we have fresh delicious meals available that consider vegetarians, lactose intolerant individuals or those fed up with the usual Guyanese fast food menus,” she explained.

Overcoming these challenges, the young woman shared that through thorough research and suggestions from her peers and family, she has been working to create a diverse menu and to also seek customer feedback. “I am a very open-minded person and would love it if customers could tell me what I can do to better serve them. I take their advice and I work with it and so far, I have received great feedback from the adjustments I’ve made,” she revealed.

In relation to reaching the right customers, Robin related that she has invested time and money to consistently encourage the people of Guyana to give their business a try, because it would mean a lot to her to see people enjoying her food.

Taking it one step at a time, the cuisine talented entrepreneur said that in terms of taking her business to higher heights, the long-term goal really is to build a name for her restaurant so that she can create many locations for those all over Guyana to enjoy and maybe even internationally if possible. “I have many big ideas and I pray that with patience and careful thinking, they can all come to fruition.”

This week’s Young Entrepreneur is of the belief that persons such as her play a very important role in the country, especially with the many recent developments they have been contributing to society.

“Us young entrepreneurs create the stage for others to see the talent and drive young people have. We have the ability to work with our current environment to create something that can become big co-operations as years go by,” she said.

She added that they also inspire others and show them not to be afraid to create a name for themselves. “My mother started off as a young entrepreneur in her 20s with her own business and it has grown to create its own name today. Seeing that as her only daughter has made me less afraid to try new things and even if I may fail once or twice, I know to continue trying until I succeed because my mother raised no quitter,” Robin expressed.

When asked what more she thinks can be done to boost small businesses, she suggested for there to be more platforms/events within Guyana, which would help owners seek the opportunity to interact with the general public and potential customers. “I am certain there are many Guyanese searching for things that are available locally but lack the means to source it, especially those who lack the understanding of social media,” thus she calls for more platforms that provide exposure to be established.

For persons interested in the services of Elite Wine & Grill Bar Member’s Club, you can check them out on Facebook or contact Robin and her brother on telephone numbers (592) 617-4170 or 618-7304.

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• Carlos Mckenzie, cooking, Elite Wine & Grill Bar Member’s Club, Robin Mckenzie, years, Young entrepreneur

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