Patrick Montouch - musician: `On the whole, business is rotten in Guyana. I don’t see us going anywhere. We haven’t had a major investment in God knows how long, no matter what the Government says. If Jad says he has to close because business is bad, he has to know. But we need a place like this, we need vast recreational facilities. Palm Court has a very comfortable environment and the patrons will miss it because we don’t have too many places with the same kind of live entertainment, and the standards are different. The tourism sector will also suffer because aside from maybe the Pegasus or the Hotel Tower there may not be a lot of places that can sustain the industry.’

Sabita Liddell - student: `I think it’s nonsense. It’s just an excuse. People are buying food everyday. Look at KFC, they are opening branches everyday. Pizza Hut too has franchises and now we have Popeyes. All the people want is quality. What is Jerries doing that is holding a crowd every night. If you want to remain in the race you have to be competitive and that means giving the people what they want.

When I, as an individual, want something it doesn’t necessarily mean that the public wants it too. If America had taken the position of Palm Court they would have no competition and no development. So he can go to Trinidad. He’s not going to find anything different.’

Sasenarine Persaud - chauffeur: `I think it’s showing the failure of the business sector and it’s a bad sign for the country as a whole. If he is migrating from Guyana to go to Trinidad and Tobago to open a business it does not really show that business is strong in the country. And especially if you are trying to bring foreign investment into the country, it is not a good sign. Even for tourism. I will miss it. It was pleasant and it had high standards.’

Tomica Adams - self-employed: `I sell right in front of there and I feel bad because I’m losing my customers. The street will be dead when they close down. But business there is not like it was at first. More people would come. But because business has slowed down not a lot of people go there anymore. It will hurt my business too.’

Victor Singh - porter: `I thought it was a dangerous place, especially during the crime spree. The type of people who hang out there are some of the people who carry guns. I went there two times during the crime wave and I had to come out of there. I did not like it. I felt afraid.’

Comele Benn - student: `I think it is a good nightspot. At least when I go there I usually enjoy myself. They have a wide variety of music, the waiters are courteous, Mr Rahaman has a good thing going. I think closing it down will be a loss to the general public and the country as a whole. It’s one of those places where you normally go and you could see a lot of overseas visitors, at least from my observations. There might be a lot of other nightspots in Georgetown but at the Palm Court the standards are better, and I don’t know why, but people kind of feel more comfortable going there.’

Roy Garraway - artist: `When my overseas relatives come into the country that’s the first place they want to go. We used to enjoy ourselves and to hear that it is closing down it’s sad and I’ll miss it. The facilities and the location and the environment made us feel relaxed there, instead of at places on Sheriff Street, like Tennessee.

But of course business in general is deteriorating, especially after the period of crime, and a lot of people may not be going there like before. So I can understand why they are closing.’

Devika Singh - computer technician: `It’s a nice place where people can go out and relax and enjoy themselves.

When they close down people will go to other places but the atmosphere will not be the same. Palm Court is quiet and relaxing, at least for people who are stressed out, it makes you feel at ease. Whereas at some other places you are more likely to find drunk men behaving badly. I will miss it.’

Kelley Da Silva - rigger: `I found the atmosphere to be alright. But it’s up to him, it’s his business and if he wants to move you can’t stop him. Guyana needs a place like that; a place with a nice atmosphere where you can go with your girl, you can have a drink, there’s soft music sometimes and you can just chill. There’s no violence. There are a couple of places well where you would find a violent atmosphere but not Palm Court.’

Eula Carter - housewife: `I don’t think that it’s right for him to just close down. Instead of going to a next country to open a new business he should stay because Guyana needs a place like Palm Court.

It’s such a very nice place with a business-like atmosphere where people can just go sit and chat. There are problems all over the world. When you try to run from them you’ll find them somewhere else.’