For the vast majority of the past two years, the closest experience many had to a dinner date would be heading to a grocery with their partner and picking up a ready-made meal.
However, this Friday, a serious variation of that concept is coming as the Food Hall grocerant is set to open its doors officially to the public.
The new enterprise is exactly what it sounds like, a grocery and a restaurant combined into one.
The idea of groceries being a spot to grab prepared meals isn’t new and that concept flourished during the pandemic, the idea for the grocerant came long before COVID-19 lockdown restrictions explained Omar Hadeed, one of the founders of the Food Hall.
“So first of all, the idea was actually formulated three years ago in 2019 by myself, Jonas Zakour and Daniel Fakoory,” said Hadeed, “We are the three shareholders of this particular project, of which it’s called a grocerant, which is a hybrid between a grocery and a restaurant. So in 2019, I would say mid-2019, we started to formulate an idea. “
The three friends were speaking about their experiences at local supermarkets and as they compared notes, began to create the idea for the Food Hall.
“So we all complained about the experiences that we had at local supermarkets, and we wanted to create this space, whereby it would be a lot more comfortable, have a lot more of an aesthetic, be a lot more pleasing, and incorporates all of the aspects that most customers would complain about at our local supermarkets,” said Hadeed.
“So we set out in 2019 to build a store that offered all of the improvements so to speak, in terms of customer service, great products, and displays. We built in a full restaurant and bakery to which everything all of our meals, grab and go meals are produced freshly every morning,” he said.
The entrance of Food Hall at Piarco Plaza
Photos courtesy Kieran Andrew Khan
The Grocerant stands apart from other supermarket chains that offer meals as customers can order specific meals which will be prepared on-site as opposed to the typically prepackaged meals sold at other groceries.
“We have a chef demo station where our on-site chefs, we have restaurant quality chefs and bakers and butchers. They will be producing their meals as I said, for the grab and go portions every single day. You can also dine inside the store and outside on our patio area. We have a full complement of wine and spirits to pair with our meals. So really and truly the intention is for the customer to come and pick up their next meal with a side of groceries and everything about the store,” said Hadeed.
“It’s about time that this new concept was developed. It’s about time in terms of customers getting exactly what they want. It’s about time that customers could get in and out of the store as quickly as possible. You know, in Trinidad, and in most parts of the world, most customers complain about the supermarket and grocery shopping and it’s become monotonous. It’s become a chore and we want it to become an experience. We want people to actually look forward to it. And we actually believe that this is a destination shop where people from all over the country will want to visit it at some point in time.”
The idea however was put on hold when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, putting their plans on delay for over three years.
“It made us change our concept somewhat. And when the economy really did open back in 2020, we had a different vision, and then obviously had post-COVID whereby things some things went back to normal and some things that obviously changed,” he said.
But the break proved beneficial to an extent as Hadeed, Fakoory and Zakour had time to refine their model, find a location, and properly recruit staff to execute their vision.
The grocerant’s location at Piarco Plaza had been previously offered to two supermarket chains. The trio’s experience conducting business in the area also proved a plus as they felt the area would be a good spot.
“We understand and we know the potential in this market. We also have other businesses within this area, which are very successful in comparison to other areas in Trinidad. We know that it’s a growing area with a huge demographic. A lot of young people are within that areas. I think there are a lot of families, a lot of new home developments. So we thought that the location fit perfectly in terms of the concept and the type of customer that we’re trying to attract,” said Hadeed.
The grocerant will occupy 36,000 square feet, 19,000 sq ft of which will host the grocery or retail arm of the business while the remaining will house the necessities of the restaurant inclusive of a bakery, cold storage rooms, and dining area.
Inside Food Hall located at Piarco Plaza
Kieran Andrew Khan.
The COVID interruption also helped the group scout for the ideal staff to pull off their vision, as many within the food and beverage sector found themselves without jobs as a result of extended closures. Hadeed explained the grocerant served as an opportunity to find more stable employment in what is still a volatile period for the industry.
“A lot of them from the restaurant industry were very uncertain about their employment at that time because of the closures and so forth. So they wanted something a little more secure knowing that the supermarket industry throughout COVID was open. So I think we were very fortunate to attract some of the best chefs and so forth,” said Hadeed.
He told the Business Guardian that 130 professionals were hired to work at the Food Hall.
The grocerant, he said, is geared towards being a game changer in the industry. Apart from its novel concept, customer convenience is also a top priority as online ordering is also to be provided at the location.
“We want to make it as flexible as possible. And again, while we intend for this to be a destination shop for people all over the country to visit you know very frequently we still want to cater to our customers within the area and that community and we want to have a great relationship with them. So we want to know that they can come into the store and they can say hey, what’s on the menu today? Can you make something special for me?” he said.
The new business was been teased on social media and quickly became the talk of several social media timelines. Hadeed said the initial response online as well as from guests who had a sneak peek of the service was heartening.
“Customers have been extremely excited, they don’t want to leave. And again, you know, it brings joy to us because we’ve invested heavily into this. We took a lot of risks. It was through a very difficult time we had to start and stop and start again during COVID So you know, it’s very rewarding to see the response from both customers and suppliers,” he said.
The interior was conceptualised and designed by architect Gary Farmer of Gary Farmer and Associates.
