‘Little Guyana’ serving the Guyanese diaspora in NY for over 30 years

– Corentyne baker reflects on his amazing journey

“Seeing the satisfaction of the thousands of customers when they can get anything they were accustomed to in Guyana is one of my greatest accomplishments as a businessman.”
These are the words of 63-year-old Rajendra Mahase popularly known as “Boyee” who is the owner of the ‘Little Guyana’ franchise in New York.
Presently, there are three locations – 116th Street, Liberty Avenue; 124th Street, Liberty Avenue and Hollis Jamaica, New York, which is the flagship store. These stores offer everything Guyanese, including a wide variety of fish, seasoning, ground provision, bottled products, noodles, chips, brown sugar and many more.
Obviously, one can get their plait and pan bread, along with a variety of pastries from the bakery, which opens seven days a week expect, Thanksgiving and Christmas Days.
But how did it all start? The ‘Little Guyana’ franchise started some 30 years ago – a few years after Mahase, originally from Port Mourant, Corentyne Berbice migrated to the United States (US).
He migrated to the US in 1989, opened his first bakery in 1995, followed by the second in 1999, and the third in 2011.
Speaking with the Guyana Times from his spacious Hollis, Jamaica location, the father of two explained that as a young man, he started his own bakery business in Port Mourant in 1972 even before Spready’s came into existence.
That very talent along with the recipe, he used to his advantage when he migrated to New York.
“The ‘Little Guyana’ franchise is owned by me and a friend… we married two sisters… when we first came to the US, there was an Italian bakery close to us but after the Guyanese diaspora continued to grow, sales at the bakery started to decline because most people preferred to travel to Sybil’s at Richmond Hill to get their bread, roti and so…”

Beginnings
The Italian bakery eventually closed its doors and it was at that moment, Mahase and his friend purchased the business and named it ‘Little Guyana’.
“My friend was still in school, and I was new in the country and was working… after the opportunity presents itself, we pool our money that we had, as well as we borrowed from family, friends… used our credit cards and eventually bought the place,” he recalled.

With a smile on his face, Mahase related that opening the Little Guyana Bakery was the best decision they could have made. After sometime, the demand by the Guyanese diaspora became enormous, and the other locations were opened.
“It was not only because of the demand that we opened another two locations but because of parking… people then stopped, run in and buy bread, and by the time they went back out, they were greeted with a parking ticket for US$150… so imagine, you buying a bread for US$1 and have to pay US$150 fine…so we had to do something or else we would have lost customers,” he revealed.
“Back then also, I was also popular among the Guyanese diaspora, so everyone supported me… most of them were from Berbice where they first know me… the support was overwhelming…,” he reminisced.
Presently, the three locations have a staff complement of about 30 altogether – Guyanese and non-Guyanese. Some have been with him from the inception.

Diversifying
Mahase explained how the bakery quickly turned into a convenient store. “Turning into a convenient store started when a good friend of mine, Dave Narine, an importer, brought a few bottles of pepper sauce and left them for us to sell, and by the time he returned they were all gone…then he started to drop off achar and other Guyanese products…after seeing the response, it pushed me to expand the business into a convenient store to accommodate the growing Guyanese population.”
However, after witnessing his success, Mahase explained that other Guyanese started to open small bakeries. “I can safely say that one of the biggest challenges for me was to deal with Guyanese mentality… they see you open a business and it is striving and they want to do the same… I can count, within a 30-block span, there are about 30 other bakeries owned by Guyanese that are now operating along Liberty Avenue/Richmond Hill.”
This however, did not deter him from expanding his services, not only for Guyanese but the general public.
“Over the years, while our ardent customers are Guyanese, we still cater to everyone… our products include those that people would need from day to day… American products and others… and that has more or less diversified our operations… at any time, anyone can run in the stores and grab an everyday necessity…”

Retirement
Now 63, the Guyanese businessman hopes to return to his home country and settle down by the time he is 70 years old, but this would leave him no alternative but to sell his businesses.
“My two children have no interest in business, so this would mean that I have to sell… I know I have started from scratch and I know it will hurt but, after 30-35 years of serving the Guyanese diaspora, I think it will be best to sell… the new buyer, I hope will maintain the name because after all, it is the franchise, they are buying… I want to go back home and enjoy my retirement,” he stressed.
In fact, he told the Guyana Times that construction has already started on his property at Port Mourant and he is elated to return. “I miss the peace and tranquillity in the country side… here is hectic, especially running a business… I want to relax, enjoy some nicely cooked Guyanese foods and do things that I once loved to do…”
At the end of it all, he emphasised that he has served the Guyanese diaspora with pride and dignity, and will take with him the smiles he often sees on his customers’ faces when they get genuine and quality Guyanese products.
“It has been a great run, and my greatest accomplishment was to see the satisfaction of my customers over the years. Come to ‘Little Guyana’ for anything Guyanese… I want to thank them for their continued support, and even when I move back to my homeland, I am sure they will support the franchise,” Mahase posited.
Meanwhile, after years of baking, he is now allergic to flour. He explained that due to the ingredients in the flour, he suffers from an allergic reaction and as such, he stays out of the bakery until after baking in done.
This however, doesn’t stop him from enjoying a piece of quality bread baked by the excellent bakers at ‘Little Guyana’.