– teen opens restaurant to take “Guyanese flavour” to NY City
Influenced by the love for his Guyanese mother’s cooking, 17-year-old Ryan Kundan has opened his very own restaurant – ‘Everything Nice with Spice’ –in New Jersey, USA, serving various Guyanese dishes.
“Me and my mom have been trying to open a restaurant for a very long time to make Caribbean food because there are not many restaurants out here that represent the Guyanese culture and the flavour of Guyana,” Ryan told Guyana Times.
Recently, the teen was granted an opportunity to participate in a programme called ‘Boss Up’ offered at the Essex County Community College. The programme teaches teens the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and provides students with a $500 stipend at the end to develop and launch their own businesses.
“…they taught me how to manage a business, how to advertise for a business, and how to network myself with other people and get out there in the public,” he said as he thanked Jamila Davis, the program’s director for the opportunity.
The skills garnered from the course led to the restaurant’s opening on June 15, 2024. The teen asked how he felt about this achievement, saying, “It’s just amazing. I feel great, I feel amazing, I feel stressed at the same time but it’s all worth it honestly.”
He recalled the last time visiting Guyana was in 2021 emphasising his love for the country’s pristine rainforest and the availability of fresh vegetables, spices, and other food products that makes the dishes tastier.
“The food is just amazing because you get all your ingredients fresh and it tastes so different from how it comes here in the [United] States,” he said.
Ryan said his love for Guyanese food is a result of his mother’s cooking. He said she is also his greatest inspiration in his entrepreneurship journey.
Ryan’s mother, Shavana Kundan originally hails from Skeldon, East Berbice Corentyne. She migrated to the USA in 2001 and food has been her way of feeling connected with her homeland.
She said, “It really does mean a lot” that her son can own his business at such a tender age.
Shavana is the lead Chef at ‘Everything Nice with Spice’. The mother of three said she loves cooking. She said cooking in bulk reminds her of big functions at home where several persons would lend a helping hand to prepare for large number of guests.
“One of the experiences I am having out of it is that it makes me feel like when we have a function back home and we’re doing all this big cooking and even when we have customers that are total strangers to us, they feel like family when they come in and you’re serving your own hand-cooked dish for them to try,” she explained.
The 46-year-old woman added that the restaurant attracts many Guyanese but also other Caribbean people. “It is bringing in our kind of people and more of the Caribbean, everyone else who want to try the food. It makes me feel a part of being back home,” she told Guyana Times.
The restaurant purchases spices from Guyanese, who ship products from major manufacturers in Guyana.
Some of the specialties in the restaurant include Jerk chicken, chicken curry, roti, dhal, fried rice, chowmein, pumpkin, calalu, and pastries such as Pine tart, cheese rolls, and buns among others.
They have seen many customers return as a testament to the deliciousness of the cuisine.
While his mother heads the kitchen, Ryan’s role at the new restaurant has mainly entailed managing the front of the store, running the juice bar, and leading advertising efforts.
Ryan encourages other entrepreneurs, young and old alike, to pursue their dreams of owning a business. The teen advised to “don’t give up. Know what you want and continue to put your head on and go for it because if you don’t, then you’re sitting there wondering what it would have been like to own that business. Why think about it when you can do it and accomplish what you’re dreaming?”
