It's one of the very last Belizean family owned and operated grocery stores in the city - where you can walk through the aisles right up to 9:00 pm at night.
Astar Hyde Supermarket is the last of a dying breed, alright, and last night dying is just what crossed the mind of the co-owner Angela Hyde as she was held up at gunpoint. She told us what happened at 7:30 when the same customer came in for the second time that evening:..
Angela Hyde, co-owner Hyde Supermarket
"when the young man walked in he stood right in front of me and I thought he was going to pull up his pants but to me it was not set right the way he moved, and from there when he came up to me he came with a gun. He slide something backwards and I could hear a clicking sound, so right away I said well, this is what is happening so then the guy said, give me the money and don't make any noise. I had a little exchange of word with him as I was handing him the money, he was telling me to hurry up. So I took out the money out from the drawer and handed the money to the young man, he grab it and when he grab the money he stretch over so I yelled at him again and asked him what he was doing, I said I am giving you the money. I yelled hard for my husband to hear, because he was at the back, he heard and when he came to the front as he was approaching the guy, I yelled at him and said he has a gun because I said to myself maybe he did not realized off hand that the young man was robbing us. I said to myself, I had a knife in my hand an as he bent over I
said to myself I can stab this young man with this knife, but then when Mr. Hyde yelled his attention turned to him and he pointed the gun towards him. Now I said if I stab him with the knife he will shot Mr. Hyde at this time the guy grab the phone and then he moved but then none of us were armed. We could not do anything to defend ourselves.
"What I am saying now, like I really want to appeal to the authorities because several occasions things get out of hand. We are trying to survive Jules, we are not making any kind of money to say well, we owe bills, so I don't know why people come and say well, pressuring you is the way to go. I am telling them I am not supporting robbing anybody, but I pride myself on saying that when Malics close down we are the only Belizean born that has supermarket that are trying something because we are not doing anything we are trying, and for them to try and kill us."
"I was tell the young men right now that I want them to understand that I am not scared of young men. To myself last night when this was happening all I could have pictured in my head was that my last baby would not even know me if I get shot. So I want them to understand this loud and clear, I don't have nowhere to go, and as long as the Belizean people continue to support us, we will stay in business and then if they come they will have to brace themselves, because once you see they make up their mind to come back they will have to make up their mind that either one of them will get pick up out here or one of us, because this will not go like this again, I am sorry."
Jules Vasquez
"So you will not change you hours, close the business at sun down or put up burglar bars?"
Angela Hyde, co-owner Hyde Supermarket
"Well we already have burglar bars, but I don't think I plan to change the hours and I don't think I plan to surrender to these young men because if I surrender I will have to die so, and if you know me Jules there is a lot of obstacles and a lot of hills that I have climbed in my life time so if you know me I am will not back down same way. I think it will take a lot for me to back down, because if I back down I will only be another Belizean that people will say oh they were doing something but, and you know what we will do we will become officially extinct, Belizean business owners will become officially be extinct."
As you might have guessed from her strong tone, the Hyde Supermarket will be opened as usual right up to 9:00 tonight. Police have not made any arrests.
