The news was not uncommon but still quite shocking. It was another vicious attack on an innocent victim, this time a 27 year old Chinese national some time last year, amidst an apparent crime wave. The young man was an employee of the Sunroof Chinese Restaurant, located at Marisule.
“The news came as quite a shock to us,” says Stephen Liu owner of Sunroof Restaurant. “We rushed him to Tapion hospital and he had lost quite a lot of blood from the knife wound which had pierced his abdomen. He was really
fighting for his life and we were told to expect the worst. My wife, who is the manager of the restaurant, was in Trinidad at the time and flew back immediately. We did all that we could for him and in the end he pulled through,” Liu recounted. “We were very relieved and happy. I’d rather lose everything than a life,” he stressed.
The restautant remained closed for a while as Liu and his wife contemplated their next move. My wife was really shaken up over what happened and so when we were approached with an offer from a buyer to take over the restaurant, we decided to sell,” Liu tells the STAR. However, the new owners who offered a Caribbean menu could not sustain the restaurant; neither could they fullfill their obligations to pay off Stephen Liu. And so, after careful review, he says he decided to reopen the Sunroof Restaurant.
“I know we had quite a lot of customers in the area, especially from the businesses around, as well as people from all over who liked what we offered and wanted us back. So here we are,” Liu says with a smile.
Sunroof Restaurant caters to lunch and dinner with take-away and fine dining available. The ambiance at the location is like no other, with a quaint outdoor garden where patrons can enjoy their meals, as well as the relaxing interior décor with its five star restaurant look but at affordable prices.
Liu says he has been involved in the restaurant business now for more than 10 years and always seeks to offer quality products at affordable prices and with great service. He first started in Guyana in 1999 where today one of his major restaurants employs a complement of 100. Here in Saint Lucia, along with some partners, he opened “Great Enterprise” on Mongiraud Street in 2003, but has since sold his shares.
Now along with eight staff, four of whom are Saint Lucian, he intends to focus on making the Sunroof Restaurant one of the best around. “We will be offering great lunch specials daily. For example we will offer things like shrimp and lobster at different times at very low prices during those specials,” he says. He adds that very soon he will also be bringing in two local chefs to offer local take-away lunches.
The Sunroof Restaurant is also available for catering and can also be used for small receptions. “We are just very happy to be back and thankful for the support we have received so far and we do look forward to serving our customers again and welcoming some new ones too,” Liu ends by saying.
