El Pecos Grill reopened its doors on Thursday on Ariapita Avenue, Woodbrook, but this time as a legally registered supermarket.

Under the current public health regulations, drugstores and supermarkets are among the few businesses allowed to open. Restaurants are not.

Customers were surprised on Thursday morning when they saw a post on El Pecos' Facebook page inviting people to shop there.

It read: "What’s this ???? Avenue only! Open until 4pm today! If you can’t make it today we will be OPEN 9 am-5pm tomorrow (and perhaps daily after that). It's all coming together! #elpecos #elpecosmarketplace."

Suzanne and Richard Camacho, owners of El Pecos, told Newsday they have the certificate from the Registrar General that accredits the business as a supermarket, stamped, signed and dated June 24, 2021.

Richard Camacho said: “It has been a simple process. We did the legal procedures and we can now open our doors. We just try to sell take-out food just like supermarkets and gas stations."

El Pecos has taken sanitary measures against covid19.

"We are complying with the measures of the authorities. It is not an offence, it is an opportunity to work with other alternatives and continue producing," said Camacho.

He said the business had been waiting to see if the government would reopen restaurants, but as the restrictions continued, they decided to reopen as a supermarket.

El Pecos opened Thursday with nine workers out of the 15 it had before the pandemic restrictions.

“It is an opportunity for our workers to be able to return to their jobs, because they have been seriously affected by the lockdown,” Camacho said.

El Pecos, in addition to offering its traditional food, no longer under "help yourself" arrangements but in takeaway packages, is now also selling other items such as rice, flour, sauces, bread and cookies, among other typical supermarket products.

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