Dying rum shops

By Barry Alleyne | Sun, July 08, 2012 - 12:11 AM

The Rum Shop, an institution of culture and communities in Barbados, is under threat, with scores of them having closed their doors in the last year.

Enter BARS, the Bajan Association of Rum Shops, to keep the local tradition alive and kicking.

The newly founded entity has so far had 349 rum shops join up in its effort to not only save the tradition, but also place the shops in a position to start making money again.

Founder Franklyn Parris told the SUNDAY SUN the association would be lobbying Government through the Ministry of Culture and the National Cultural Foundation.

Please read the full story in today’s SUNDAY SUN, or in the eNATION edition.

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Posted by Tony Waterman 10 months, 2 weeks ago: Here we go again, heading to the TROUGH . why not get those 349 Rum Shops that are already signed to put together some fundraisers to aid your cause,this would make you all Masters of your own Fate, AKA your own BOSS . Register a separate Entity to aid your Cause, ""Rum Shops Entertainment Inc." would be a good name for your new entity. if everyone keeps going to the trough TAXES will have to rise to support them. so be Entrepreneurial.

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Posted by Jennifer West 10 months, 1 week ago: As a regular visitor to barbados, I enjoy visiting rum shops. Growing up in Barbados, a female visiting a rum shop was frowned upon. Now I'm an adult living in England, it's one of the few places where you can meet the locals and always feel welcome. They are not as pretentious as wine bars and are cheaper too!They each have their own character and I have many pictures of rum shops-I love the way they are decorated- so bright and colourful!To enter a rum bar and buy a bottle of rum for the patrons to enjoy is the best way forward. You can then relax, enjoy the jokes and stories, hear the local gossip, try your hand at karaoke and taste the local cuisuine. If you are lucky, you can even learn ballroom and line-dancing. Some of my best snacks have been in rum shops. Again, each shop has their speciality. On my lastest venture to a rum shop I tried calamari, pickled and fried!The only problem is the upkeep of these shops. Too many times I revisit a rum shop only to find that the building is in disrepair. It's great that they now have an association to keep them going! LONG LIVE THE RUM SHOPS!

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Posted by David Depeiza 10 months, 1 week ago: Dying rum shops? good Riddance do you know how many lives Rum shops wreck?.

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Posted by nick sti 10 months, 1 week ago: This article makes a rum shop sound like it should be part of the national heritage. The rum shop is being replaced by the block. Both have moral issues.