Basseterre, St. Kitts, February 6, 2018 (DBSKN) — Ms Arlene Fyfield loves her country because it offers equal social and economic opportunities to all development conscious persons. The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis has the perfect enabling environment.
But above all, the Old Road-based entrepreneur and owner of the now much talked about Railway Bar and Grill cherishes the support she has gotten and continues to get from persons around her including family, her beloved royal clients, and her bank – the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis (DBSKN).
She is a firm believer that for one to be helped, one has to make effort to prove that they are capable of accomplishing the task ahead of them. Ms Fyfield had the confidence that the future was bright when in 2008 she started selling chicken and chips, water, sodas and other snacks from a small wooden structure at Wingfield Estate.
“I started the business with my daughter Ms Arnisha Agard,” recalls Ms Fyfield. “We said we were going to do something small, right here in Wingfield Estate. We were catering for our locals at the time, and when the tourists pass by they would stop even though it was small. They loved local chicken.”
What started as a small wooden structure next to the railway line that was operated by the former St. Kitts Sugar Manufacturing Company is now an edifice that has caught the eye of the Area Parliamentary Representative and Federal Minister of Tourism, International Trade, Industry, and Commerce, the Hon Lindsay Grant.
“It is a magnificent edifice where persons from within the community – we have Old Road, Half Way Tree, Challengers etc. – could host functions in a building, and in an area that can match anywhere in Basseterre,” said the Hon Grant in a recent interview. He was referring to the Railway Bar and Grill on Wingfield Road in Wingfield Estate, Old Road.
The Railway Bar and Grill, which was completed in November and opened to the public on December 3 last year, is owned and operated by Ms Arlene Fyfield. She started small with a wooden structure, but now she is open to serve the world in one of the best buildings that hosts a restaurant in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis.
“My boyfriend and I sat down and he told me ‘this is a dream land’,” recalls Ms Fyfield of the days when she was operating from the wooden structure. “I said to him ‘what do you mean this is a dream land?’ Then he said, ‘let us put our head together and we do something’.”
Her boyfriend, Mr Keithroy Dyer, is a contractor. He advised her that the best way forward was to build a larger structure that would properly serve the interests of locals, and tourists alike. She made arrangements to acquire the land including seeking assistance from the Hon Lindsay Grant, who is her area parliamentary representative.
“I like to help myself first before I could ask others to help me,” states Ms Fyfield. “After I would have started the purchase process of the land and started building on it, I went to the Development Bank to get a loan to buy off the land and to finish my structure.”
The Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis (DBSKN), on seeing the efforts put in by the young entrepreneur, and the prospects of the area in general, went ahead and not only advanced her a business loan, but also enlisted itself as a client of the Railway Bar Grill.
“Since the Railway Bar and Grill opened, I have had four big events,” observes Ms Fyfield. “The first one was the Verchilds High School’s 25th Anniversary Dinner, then the Development Bank’s staff Christmas party, then I had a real great wedding party with over 150 persons, and the fourth was when the St. Christopher and Nevis Social Security Board hosted an event for their scholarship holders from the different schools.”
As Ms Fyfield has noted, the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis supports its clients to advance in their chosen businesses. It was therefore no surprise when they contacted her and informed her that they were going to hold a staff Christmas party at the new facility.
“This was a new business,” recalls Ms Danienne Brin, Development Bank’s Human Resources Manager. “When we first talked to them about hosting our event they had just opened and at that time had not hosted a corporate client. However being a client of the Development Bank we had no hesitation booking there as the bank supports sound developmental projects.”
Mrs Kimmoy O’Loughlin-Burroughs, Assistant Manager, Business Support Unit, Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis (DBSKN), would have spent quite some time assisting Ms Fyfield during the loan application process, and she too was at home with the idea of hosting the staff Christmas party at the Railway Bar and Grill.
“We support businesses that we believe have a great chance to succeed,” comments Mrs O’Loughlin-Burroughs. “We provide both financial and technical support to our entire business portfolio. We saw great potential in this venture and have extended assistance to Ms Fyfield to propel the business. Our support to the business is continuous and we wish her the very best.”
ENDS