Before the COVID-19 pandemic, La Cantina Pizzeria was a booming business located in the historic Siegert House at 12 Victoria Avenue in Port-of-Spain.
However, the effects of the pandemic forced the owners of the business to close their doors in 2020 and sell the property.
A director of the restaurant, which still has a branch in Tobago, said the building was sold via the Jamaica Money Market Brokers Bank (JMMB).
On Saturday, many were taken by surprise when a demolition crew began tearing down the building, which is one of the few historic sites remaining in the capital city.
When Guardian Media visited yesterday, a significant part of the building was already knocked down and an excavator was parked on the compound but there was no work going on at the site.
The La Cantina director, who asked not to be named, said when the building was sold, they were not aware of the new owner’s plans.
“Of course, it’s sad for us to see this happen but the pandemic forced us to close the restaurant in Trinidad and solely continue operations in Tobago,” the director said.
The deed for the Victoria Avenue structure was registered in 1899 by Carlos, Alfredo, and Luis Siegert, who were the sons of the founder of Angostura aromatic bitters Dr Johann Siegert.
To honour and also preserve the history of the place, in 2014 when La Cantina opened its doors, it dedicated a room to the original owners.
“When La Cantina opened, Angostura dedicated the private room and provided all of the Siegert Family history, family tree, and photos for the space,” the director shared.
She said they were hoping Angostura would have been interested in the building, especially since they were celebrating 200 years of bitters and 100 years of rum this year.
“It’s unfortunate that Angostura didn’t jump at the opportunity,” she said.
Raymond & Pierre Ltd managing director and former Joint Consultative Council head, Afra Raymond, posted info of the demolition on Saturday on his Facebook page, noting he was unaware of the plan.
“I took this photo on Saturday morning at about 10 am, so I was pretty surprised to see on Sunday evening that the demolition seems to have stopped, for whatever reason,” he said.
He added, “The appalling state of our cemeteries tells a sobering story of how little we collectively care for our ancestors.
“In other countries, the cemeteries are carefully tended at public expense to display the ongoing respect for their ancestors. “People who are unable or unwilling to organise themselves to tend to the grave sites of their ancestors are unlikely to have any genuine longing to preserve any old building.”
He said in 2010 he called for proper measures to preserve historic buildings to be included in T&T’s new Town & Country Planning law. Fourteen years later, the legislation has not been included.