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Scaling Champs Fleurs: From manufacturing to retail hub

Champs Fleurs, once a dedicated manufacturing zone, has sprung a shining new plaza promising a boom of activity in the area. While only partially opened and still under renovation, The Shops at Champs Fleurs houses restaurants like Wendy’s, Royal Castle and a brick and mortar branch of the popular, The Cutting Block, a food truck from the Eddie Hart Savannah. The plaza is an injection of business activity that cannot go unnoticed. The building, a former Unilever factory sold to an unknown buyer in 2022, stands among manufacturers like Carib Brewery, West Indian Tobacco Company and Caribbean Packaging Industries Ltd, bringing culinary retail to an area with few options previously. Factory workers, employees and visitors of the nearby Mt Hope Hospital, as well as students at the nearby School of Practical Accounting and SBCS Global Learning Institute, also stand to benefit from increased access to convenience. ​A promising market The plaza is already attracting visitors. Friends Jennie Carmino and Nicole Edwards took a trip on August 26 just to see the plaza for themselves. "We’re excited to know that they have places opening, especially on a weekend when you want something nice to eat, so we’re getting a whole area full of foodstuff," Carmino told Business Day. The two visited The Cutting Block, known for its barbecue. The restaurant is managed by husband and wife team Nicole and Manniram Boodram. [caption id="attachment_1174764" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The Cutting Block owners Nicole and Manniram Boodram. - Photo by Mya Quamie[/caption] "I’m excited. We are down in the end, and none of the other places are open so we feel a little lonely, but I’m sure that when everybody opens up it will be a lot better. And we’re existing already, we already have another location but that one opens at nighttime, so I’m seeing my customers now during the day," Nicole said. Having only opened a few days before Business Day visited, she said the pace is still picking up, but there has been a steady flow of customers from the surrounding companies. "Some people from the brewery and the hospital have come in and I know that’s such a big, wide selection of different departments and I really want to get into there, that’s my main goal for lunch and maybe delivery later on." Opening on August 25, Royal Castle said it also hopes to tap into the market the location presents. With the added convenience of a drive-thru, Royal Castle aims to capitalise on the shops’ access to the Eastern Main road and Priority Bus Route, targeting customers who are looking for ease and convenience. Wendy’s also celebrated the opening of its sixth location in TT. In a media release, Wendy’s said the new branch is not just about variety but also value for customers. "With indoor seating and a quick, convenient drive-thru, this location is ready to fuel the high traffic of commuters, employees and residents nearby," the release said. Despite operating a small business just across the road, Adrian Franco, owner of Franco and Sons Bakery, said he wasn’t bothered by the potential competition the bigger business would bring. Having operated his tent since 2012, Franco is confident that his brand as a quick, affordable breakfast stop serving fresh pastries to workers will still be able to profit. ​ Scaling St Joseph In an interview with Business Day on August 27, Member of Parliament for Aranguez/St Joseph and Minister of Justice and Minister in the Office of the Attorney General, Devesh Maharaj, said the commercial development of the area fits into the government’s vision of making St Joseph a hub. [caption id="attachment_1174768" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Jennie Carmino visiting The Cutting Block on August 26. - Photo by Mya Quamie[/caption] Capitalising on the strong presence of tertiary education institutions, Maharaj said the inclusion of the retail sector would go towards boosting the area. "What we are hoping to develop there is a kind of knowledge-based hub. Because of its proximity to the hospital, UWI and the School of Accounting and Management up the road, there’s a lot of intellectual capital that we want to tap into." He said the government has provided constituents in the area with free technical classes, including robotics, targeted at the youth. "We want to test-run that free programme to encourage a wider section of our youth to get more involved in artificial intelligence and we have big plans in the area to align the robotics and tech area. "And what we are trying to do is encourage businesses in the area to come forward and partner with this initiative to make St Joseph a hub…so if we can somehow get all of that feeding into the vision that we have for the area, I think the residents and especially the youth will benefit." President of The Greater Tunapuna Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Ramon Gregorio, said the chamber also welcomes the development and its potential benefits, like job creation for the community. "We have a strong industrial presence in that area and there are a lot of benefits with that spin-off for the immediate future. "Before, the only option you had was south of Mt Hope at the Grand Bazaar, so now it presents other options and increases the competition in the area which is always very healthy…and importantly gives the consumer the opportunity of choice in a free market economy." He said the early establishment of restaurants in the shops is a clear indication of modern trends. "Times have changed, people no longer slave over a pot on a Sunday to cook for the rest of the week. "The pace of life has gotten busier, so people are looking for a more convenient option and I think that has more or less spurred the food industry in TT. "Every corner, every junction, there's a food area where they seem to be doing thriving business. People have to eat, and with the influx of migrants, we have even more variety of food on offer." Gregorio said the establishment of the shops has been long in the making and he suspects it will do very well. ​High growth, high traffic Despite the buzz, the CEO of the nearby UWI Arthur Lok Jack Global School of Business, Mariano Browne, expressed concerns about the increase in traffic on the main road as a result of the shops opening. [caption id="attachment_1174767" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Under renovation, an unoccupied space in The Shops at Champs Fleurs. - Photo by Mya Quamie[/caption] His concerns were echoed by residents who spoke to Business Day, including 66-year-old John Harris. Harris said, although he isn’t concerned about the shops negatively impacting his belt sales business, he is worried about the traffic and the potential hazard present in the area, with a lack of a traffic light or highly visible crosswalk by the plaza’s entrance. Browne said the development of housing complexes in the area drove the demand for growth, and as that demand is filled, so will the roads. "People who live in high-density apartments don’t always cook, but they do shop and they look for convenient food…that’s how development takes place. "One thing comes and other things follow, because demand happens." He said traffic considerations based on development needs to be looked at more closely by local planning organisations. [caption id="attachment_1174769" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The recently opened Royal Castle at The Shops of Champs Fleurs on August 25. - Photo by Ayanna Kinsale[/caption] "... normally, when these things are done and you build roadways, you reserve spaces for future developments. "In other words, the planning can’t simply be the immediate requirements; it has to take into consideration the other things. "The development of things is sequential; one thing happens, and something happens to go with it, but how do we handle the traffic?" Browne pointed to Trincity as a prime example of traffic planning that considers both residential and commercial use. "The idea was they were going to build houses but they also knew that they had to build retail to go along with it. "The houses came first and the retail development came second but they had made provisions for it. "So if you look at Trincity, as you’re driving into the entrance all the malls are on your right-hand side and the houses are afterwards, so there is some sort of traffic plan." He said the east-west corridor was planned to be a residential corridor but the developments place pressure on the road in accommodating vehicles. "Those are issues that we have to find inventive solutions to. We don’t have them yet because it hasn’t become overbearing as yet but it's getting there." Addressing the concerns, Maharaj said the government is looking at ways of dealing with the traffic that will accumulate as the area grows.   The post Scaling Champs Fleurs: From manufacturing to retail hub appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.