Six different roads lead to this shopping hub with a vast variety of products and services.
Located in the eastern parish of St Philip, Six Roads has quickly turned into a bustling town where many conduct business and take part in recreational activities. And according to some operators, the town was on par with Bridgetown when it comes to trade.
Gone are the days when Six Roads was a little shopping village that was “too far” away for anyone to go there. Now, this sizeable town is home to a mixture of businesses, schools, restaurants and banks, and is considered to be the first choice for many Barbadians to go and do business.
The area also features a library, a polyclinic, doctors’ offices, and pharmacies.
“Many people use the opportunity to set up new businesses providing more services so that [people] won’t have to go to [Bridgetown]. In St Philip you can get almost anything now,” said Sherry-Ann Maynard, an operator at the Six Roads Meat Shop in the Cosmopolitan Place mall.
She told BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY there has been “a drastic increase” in vehicular traffic through Six Roads over the last three or so years due to the birth of new businesses. Maynard is also a resident in the parish.
“Business has improved a lot. You can basically get anything you want from Six Roads now. There are a variety of stores here,” she said.
She said while some weekdays would be slow for some businesses, on evenings things would always pick up when the flow of traffic increased.
“When it comes to business, especially on Thursdays and Fridays, there is a lot of traffic coming here and a lot of shopping. So it has improved a lot. It is a very good place to have a business.
“Once you scope it out and see what you can offer and it is not something that a lot of people already have, you can do well here,” she pointed out.
“People told us that they are glad that [Six Roads] has the things they want because that stops them from going to [Bridgetown]”.
She said, however, that “one or two stores, because they have a monopoly, the prices might be a bit higher than if you go to town but generally, if a person doesn’t want to go to town, they can still get what they want from up here”.
Leah Hippolyte is a sales rep at EA Wireless, also in the Cosmopolitan Place mall. She said some people would say they prefer to shop at that location rather than go to Bridgetown or the Sheraton Mall.
Emerson Browne, owner of Browne’s Bakery, said the completion of the Six Roads roundabout in 1995 had transformed the business community. He has been operating his business since 1989.
“I would say that business had picked up quite a lot. And we have had other businesses coming in the area since the roundabout. The roundabout has brought about a big change to commerce in the area,” he indicated.
“Business, I would think that it picked up a bit and I would say we have established a little town in Six Roads. It could be called the Six Roads Town now because it was not always like this.
“Things have really picked up since the building of the roundabout. The traffic flow is a lot better and we have a whole variety of other businesses now.
“So we get business – I would think even better than Bridgetown – because people are shying away from Bridgetown,” said Browne.
As we made our way over to the Emerald City Complex, home to a number of small businesses and the Emerald City Supermarket, a mixture of schoolchildren and adults made their way along the roadways.
Some of them stopped to purchase items from roadside vendors. A few were also seen going through the mall, while others made their way towards the library. Cars were constantly going in and out of parking lots.
But while there may be a lot of people visiting the area, some operators say spending was not forthcoming. Mary King is one of those experiencing low sales. She has been working almost a year as a sales representative at Thea’s Lady Fashion – a women’s clothing store. She said their prices were affordable but people were just not spending like before.
“Business is really slow compared to what I am accustomed to in Bridgetown,” she said.
However, she added, “Six Roads is a good business area. Based on what the other girl [who used to work here] said, sales used to be really good but the past year has been slow.
“Actually, we get more traffic from people who go to the supermarket and realize there is a clothing store, and some would come over to shop.”
