Phillip Ferguson, owner of Dragon Pet Store on Ross Corner lost several pets during the storm. (Photos: Torrell Glinton)
Some small and medium-sized businesses in New Providence have been hit hard by Hurricane Matthew, and the lack of power supply in the days since the storm.
"I have lost on my farm alone about $75,000 worth of animals," said Phillip Ferguson, owner of Dragon Pet Store on Ross Corner.
"Goats, birds, dogs, puppies; they died in the storm; that was my biggest loss."
Ferguson said the animals died on his farm on Cowpen Road due to the combination of strong wind and surge.
"They were trapped in the storm and they died in the cover, in the cage.
"The surge just came over and I met all of them dead in the cage that got blown down and fell in the water, so it was a lot of loss."
The business that has been opened for over 30 years also suffered losses due to a lack of power supply.
"For the fish, the [lack of electricity supply] has done me bad because I lost thousands of fish," Ferguson said.
"We carry almost 3,000 fish but the problem is that the fish died because they had no oxygen, because there is no electricity.
"From this I lost about $4,000 in fish alone, because fish is my big seller as a pet shop."
The store's power had been off since last week Wednesday and was still off two days ago when Ferguson spoke to The Nassau Guardian.
Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) CEO Pamela Hill said yesterday complete power restoration can be executed "within a few weeks" with the addition of resources from PowerSecure and the Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation (CARILEC).
As of yesterday, power had been restored to 76.5 percent of the island, according to BPL officials.
Despite BPL's efforts, some New Providence businesses throughout the island continue to lose money.
Chi'kara Armbrister, a hairstylist at Artisans hair salon on Bar 20 Corner, said on Wednesday, "We are closed only because of the electricity.
"We didn't get any structural damage or anything like that.
"We have water, but we just don't have any light.
"It's kind of difficult being in the store because we don't have so many windows, and it gets hot and it's hard to breathe without proper ventilation if the air conditioning isn't on.
"It's dark, you can't see, and a lot of persons need to go under the dryer."
The hair salon, which specializes in natural hairstyles, has been open for eight years.
Armbrister said although she has loyal customers who are willing to "rough it out" until the electricity is on to get their hair done, she is afraid that others may opt to go some place else.
"I just don't like to disappoint the clients," she said.
"I mean, I know it's a crisis and everyone has somewhere to go.
"Some of our clients are traveling, so we try to accommodate them because they are leaving the island for a while so we don't want to disappoint people.
"But that's my biggest fear, having to disappoint people and possibly losing clients because of my situation."
The store had been closed since last week Wednesday.
Armbrister was considering house calls when she spoke with The Nassau Guardian on Wednesday.
"It's out of my control," she said.
"It's nothing I can do. I just have to wait my turn.
"I enjoyed my time off, but now it's time to get back in the groove."
Brinique Rolle, a nail technician at Unique's Hair and Nail Salon in South Beach, said Wednesday was the first day she opened since the storm hit last week.
She said their business has suffered due to the lack of electricity.
"Our roofing was messed up and our light is still off," she said.
The salon is located in one of the major areas of the island hit by Hurricane Matthew.
Rolle said her biggest concern throughout the power outage is her loyal customers.
She said that although the power was still off, she had no choice but to begin offering some services.
Rolle asserted that despite the current situation, she knows her customers will continue to support her and the salon will continue to flourish.
Sloan Smith, Guardian Staff Reporter
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