Belizeans now have another hotel and restaurant to experience in Belize City thanks to the Golden Bay Family. The Vino Tinto restaurant and Golden Bay Hotel will both be open to the public on Thursday, February 6, 2020. On Saturday, February 1, 2020. The Golden Bay and He families held a pre-opening event where Senator Reverend Ashley Rocke blessed the opening.
To deliver the main address for the night, the He family asked the presence of the Hon. Tracy Taegar-Panton, Minister in State with responsibility for Investment, Trade and Commerce in the Ministry of Economic Development, Petroleum, Investment, Trade, and Commerce. She, however, was unable to be there, so to deputize on her behalf was Dr. Leroy Almendarez, Executive Director of BELTRAIDE which falls under the ministry. Dr. Almendarez expressed both his and Minister Taegar-Panton’s privilege of having been invited to the “new beginning” of the hotel and restaurant endeavor being carried out by the Golden Bay and He families. Mr. and Mrs. He have both been a part of Belize’s community for well-over twenty-years, choosing Belize as their second home and somewhere to invest their hard-earned money. They both have had the trust, willingness, and vision to be a part of the Belizean community, and have provided a great number of employment opportunities to our Belizean people. “Employment creation is one of those big things that the Government of Belize focuses on quite a lot.” Dr. Almendarez, on behalf of Minister Taegar-Panton, conveyed the optimism that the hotel and restaurant venture “will contribute immensely to our (Belize’s) tourism product and, by extension, our macroeconomic development.” In the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Commerce, there is the belief of creating opportunities for everyone to invest by making Belize and conducting business in Belize more attractive through the improvements of their regulatory environments. In this sense, the National Investment Policy and Strategy was recently launched which aligns Belize with the global Growth and Sustainable Development Strategies (GSDS) and other policies toward the goal of making Belize an attractive investment location.
Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry, the Environment and Sustainable Development and Immigration Services & Refugees, the Hon. Beverly Williams, was also present at the preopening event. She shared short remarks where she thanked Mr. and Mrs. He for allowing those present to join in the “Golden opportunity”. The Minister recalled passing the location quite a number of times and seeing the vast expanse of the building being constructed and always wondered what would have been the final outcome. She expressed her gratitude of seeing and being a part of the He family’s investment and reinvestment in our country which will lead to better employment opportunities, economic growth, and other opportunities for persons in Belize.
The Hon. Senator Darrell Bradley spoke of our country’s story which has seen struggles against advancement, hope, and vision. When we tell that story, it becomes a story of us and our “collective efforts, vision, and energies to make a change in what we want to call our home.” Often times, people tend to focus only on the negatives and we neglect to look on who we are as a diverse people. That diversity is what has allowed the He and other families to choose Belize as their second home which has in turn brought many blessings to our development as a people and a country. While the building represents physical development and beautification in our city, it also epitomizes the efforts and labor which went into making it a reality. It develops the hundreds of workers who work in and around it and, by extension, the families which benefit from those employment opportunities as well as customers. The hotel and restaurant endeavor also represents transformation and change in our community and shifts the paradigm from a story of crime and violence to opportunities, investment, and advancement. These facets of social transformation depend on the private sector which makes these types of development in the country like the Golden Bay Hotel and Vinto Tinto Restaurant and bar. Senator Bradley says, then, that it is the responsibility of the Government of Belize to continue the facilitation and support of these efforts. “As a member of the political side to a member of the business side, it is for me to say “thank you” for all that you do and all that you mean to our community.” He went on the say that the “greatest strength in the history of our nation has been that in all the world, Belize is one of the most diverse countries.” Despite our many factions based on ethnicities, religion, and political beliefs, we manage to coexist among those differences.
After all the formalities, Mrs. Molly He was joined by Mr. He to welcome those in attendance inside the restaurant. There, waiters served a variety of meal courses which we can assume are what can be expected, among other things, at the official opening on Thursday, February 6, 2020. The Golden Bay Hotel, which also officially opens on Thursday, features twenty-five rooms, both single and double occupancies, as well as three suites. For the time being, the hotel has no other extra commodities but Mrs. He says that those are in the works. But for now, the Golden Bay and He families are both thrilled to see their five-year brainchild come to fruition. It is also a great development for Belizean customers and well as the twenty-something Belizean workers who have been employed through this venture. This twenty-something is beside the already eighty employed Belizeans who work in the Golden Bay stores throughout Belize City.