A pleasing afternoon in the company of one of the current key players in what is almost certainly the most enduring eating house in contemporary Guyana, Clinton Urling, was sufficient to send a message that the onset of COVID-19 has done little to dampen the entrepreneurial spirit of the second-generation owners of German’s Restaurant.
Just over an hour of conversation with Clinton served to persuade me that the lean days which the restaurant, known for its soups and stews wherever Guyanese reside, have, like other enterprises, had to endure over the past year or so, have done nothing either to staunch the determination of the proprietors nor to dampen the enthusiasm of its patrons.
More than remaining rock solid at its ‘Tiger Bay’ location, German’s has moved on. Over the course of our discourse Clinton disclosed the strides which the enterprise has made. German’s today, is one of the few indigenous enterprises, which has spread its proverbial wings overseas, navigating, over the past three years or so, the intricacies of establishing its first restaurant in Brooklyn, New York.
It started, Clinton said, “in a leased space” and has now “moved to its own purchased permanent home.
The Brooklyn ‘branch’, Clinton says, is located in an area that is heavily populated by New York-based Guyanese and Caribbean nationals.
Relocating from rented space to premises of its own, during the peak of the pandemic, Clinton says, was far from a walk in the proverbial park. That, however, is now behind German’s.
These days, Clinton asserts, the New York facility thrives in its new environment and has received attention from the mainstream and culinary New York media including, the New York Times, New York Magazine, ABC Television News, Eater, and Gotham magazines,” among others.
Soups, Clinton assures, remains Germans’ flagship offering, although he assures that the New York branch has been able to ‘brand’ other Guyanese favorites including egg ball, pepperpot, and cook-up rice. He disclosed that an influential Wall Street publication, “Plate”, has picked the egg ball as its favorite winter snack.
The company has done a lot to raise the profile of Guyanese cuisine, which is often overlooked overseas in favour of Jamaican and Trinidadian dishes. “German’s has the history and unique products which has caught the attention of people of non-Guyanese background and persuasion living in New York to notice and patronise the establishment and by extension expose the culinary traditions of Guyana to a wider demographic in New York,” says Clinton.
Partnering with his brother, Clinton has led the second generation family business for the past 21 years, since the passing of their father and company founder Hubert ‘German’ Urling.
He assures that with the Georgetown premises, completely transformed more than a decade ago and German’s having retained the high standard which the current proprietors have set, both the reputation and the service have grown. Surely, it is more than worth applauding the sustainability of an enterprise that has survived and grown significantly over more than half a century and of which the Urling siblings remain understandably proud.
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