PAN CHICKEN MAN KETCH DEM FRAID

Pan chicken sales dip as fear grips Red Hills Road

Red Hills Road in St Andrew is known for offering some of the best pan chicken in the country.

Scores of persons visit the area on weekdays and multiples more on weekends for a taste of good Jamaican jerk.

But the flow of customers has basically dried up as people avoid stopping by the roadside jerk spots because of the ongoing war between the Park Lane and 100 Lane sections.

This is despite strong police/military presence along a section of the strip where the pan chicken vendors operate.

“The crime and violence have a negative impact on my business,” Shaggy, a popular vendor on Red Hills Road, said.

“Anytime crime start, the chicken thing cut right down. Nobody nah come buy nuh chicken, everybody a keep far from Red Hills Road,” he added.

The war between Park Lane and 100 Lane has claimed two lives and left several others injured.

In light of the flare-up, the police have imposed curfews in the area and have increased patrols.

Things, however, remain tense, and Shaggy said that many of his customers have stayed away because of concerns about their safety.

“You see the other vendors, fi dem thing cut right down too. On Friday, everybody get a likkle sale because everybody have dem customers, but me have majority. When we look into wah gwaan now, police want us to leave the road by 7 or 8 o’clock during the week, and 2 o’clock pon Saturday. We just want the war fi just done and we have peace right through the area,” he said.

Shaggy told THE WEEKEND STAR that not only are chicken vendors affected by the violence, but so too are the operators of bars and shops in the area.

“The shops dem sell everything for the chicken man dem. When we run out, dem supply us, but tru the violence, dem affi lock up. When we run out, we nuh have nobody fi supply we. The crime fi just stop and the man dem come together and stop fight against each other,” he said.