New York City’s famous Caribbean Day Parade down Eastern Parkway on Labor Day saw something completely new this year.
A local business, which was born in Brooklyn’s Haitian community in 2007 and is frequented by hundreds of Haitians daily, sponsored a float.
That hefty float investment is usually made by a rich multinational corporation like the Ireland-based cell phone giant Digicel International, which provides most of Haiti’s cellular service, as it does to other Caribbean islands.
But this year, Haiti’s most popular float was sponsored by Kreyol Flavor, a family-founded and family-run restaurant chain with three locations on Flatbush Avenue, Church Avenue, and Flatlands Avenue, in collaboration with Gran Pan-Pan, a Haitian family-owned rice distribution company.
And it wasn’t just any group that the two local businesses put on the float. It was T-Vice, one of Haiti’s most famous konpa bands. It drew a sea of Haitians revelers around the float, despite it going second from the last down the Parkway, far from the best position.
But Kreyol Flavor didn’t stop with making the investment to represent Haiti in the parade. On Sep. 13, it expanded its location at 8221 Flatlands Avenue to include an ice-cream shop next door. It also offers cakes and coffee. This expansion complements the roll-out of Kreyol Flavor’s KF Seafood at 3310 Church Avenue last October.
Kreyol Flavor is in the process of establishing a brand, a name and logo that Haitians will recognize, knowing that it offers consistent quality, choice, service, and cleanliness.
“Chapo ba” (hats off) to Cursy Saint-Surin, Kreyol Flavor’s CEO, and his hard-working family and staff, who are making the community proud with their continuing successes. In these difficult and turbulent times, it is hugely encouraging to have the bright ray of hope that Kreyol Flavor represents.
