A New Department Store on Coney Drive
The north side of Belize City, particularly Coney Drive and surrounding areas, has become another commercial hub in the Old Capital. There are banks, a call centre, a fitness gym even grocery shops. Not far away are private medical labs, and an ever- expanding residential community. So the idea of having a safe, convenient department store that offers you everything from a small snack to a bottle of choice wine, offers a one-stop shopping experience for people who work or reside on this side of town. On Monday, The V Department Store will officially open its doors to anyone who lives, works, or passes through, but today we got a peek at what you can expect to find there. News Five’s Marion Ali reports.
Marion Ali, Reporting
Anyone who lives or works near the Coney Drive area in Belize City will be pleased to learn of the opening of a department store. Starting Monday, The V will provide the convenience you want at prices you can afford in a wide range of consumer goods. Its owner, Jai Chawla, says this kind of convenience will fill a need that was there before.
Jai Chawla
Jai Chawla, Owner, The V Department Store
“When we were starting off this department store, we were looking at our location in Coney drive where we saw that it’s becoming increasingly more populated. So we saw that there’s a lot more people who are shifting here, a lot more businesses that are opening up around us. And we saw that the need of products would be very diverse. So we decided to see that let’s try to cater to everybody’s needs.”
So what exactly can you find at The V Department Store? Well, anything from new fridges, to liquor, grocery, and even pots and pans and plate sets, according to Chawla.
Jai Chawla
“We are dealing with a lot of packaged food items when it comes to that. We don’t really deal in loose food items. We, alongside that, we deal in a lot of non-foods, like our cookware, our dinner sets, our fridges, TVs, perfumes, pens. Even to curtains, we offer a wide variety of curtains as well. We have from our home goods, to our liquors, to our perfumes, to electronics, to even our fridges and washing machines. We’re sure that you can find anything that you’re looking for here at the V Department Store.”
But aside from the convenience of a one-stop shopping location, there’s also the benefit of affordable prices.
Jai Chawla
“That’s something we do believe in, we try to get the best deals ourselves and bring the best deals to the people of Belize. And some such examples would be like our fridges and washing machines. We have fridges for $495, and I’m pretty sure you won’t find these prices anywhere in the market.”
Marion Ali
“And the grocery items?
Jai Chawla
“And yeah, our grocery items as well. We try to keep those to the best prices as possible, where we don’t end up overcharging any of our customers.”
Even before an official opening, the store is offering specials on Christmas decorations.
Jai Chawla
“We have our wall of Christmas decorations over here, which have some of our best prices when it comes to Christmas decorations because we do want to share the spirit of Christmas. We want everybody to have at least a tree, a fully decorated tree at home where they can celebrate and they can enjoy.”
Marion Ali
“And they can get the gifts here as well.
Jai Chawla
“Obviously, of course.”
And just in case you were wondering where you’re going to park, Chawla has even that sorted out.
Jai Chawla
“I can say with confidence right now, we have a parking lot that’s going to be upcoming in the next few weeks for sure. That we’re going to have our parking situation sorted out. So, whenever you come here to the V department store, there’s no worry about parking.”
Marion Ali for News Five.
