Photo Courtesy: CARAH Gala
Bihari Lall, the Franchise owner of Denny’s Brooklyn and Jackson Heights, will receive the Outstanding Entrepreneurship Award at the prestigious 29th Annual Caribbean-American Heritage (CARAH) Awards Gala held on Friday, November 18, 2022, at the JW Marriott Hotel, Washington, DC.
Mr. Lall is also the owner of two businesses in the Brooklyn Terminal Market, the Blue Water Seafood Company, which is an importer and distributor of seafood from the Caribbean and the Americas. The second is Gitto Farmers Market, a retail and wholesale supermarket specializing in Caribbean and African Food products. Additionally, a Key Food Stores Cooperative member, he rounds out his food service holdings with Caribbean Depot, a Cash & Carry Wholesale distributor that sells to restaurants, wholesalers, distributors, grocery stores, and greengrocers. And Total Products Distributors, a USDA-approved meat packing facility. Lall’s other business interests include investments in the medical cannabis industry and real estate development.
Lall is an active member and volunteer of the Indo-Caribbean Alliance (ICA), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in Queens, New York, founded in 2008 to support the underserved Indo-Caribbean and South Asian enclaves of South Queens. The Richmond Hill Lions Club, an affiliate of Lions Clubs International, an organization committed to service worldwide, is stronger because of members like Bihari Lall. As a community outreach leader and a Lion Club member, Bihari has given back in many ways. A member of the Harmony Lodge No. 241, Lall has donated thousands of dollars of healthy groceries to community distribution sites and delivered free meals, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. He is the unsung hero of the challenging Covid-19 era.
Bihari Lall’s journey began as part of a father/son duo at Ramela International, a specialty food distribution company his father started. His success was built over the last two decades of hard work and a strong desire to help the less fortunate, to which his 280 employees can attest. He is a mentor to many young entrepreneurs. Bihari Lall was born in Manhattan to Guyanese parents, who he credits for the values that made him successful.
The other 2022 Honorees include Professor Carole Boyce Davies of Trinidadian heritage; Dr. Trisha Bailey, philanthropist and entrepreneur of Jamaican heritage; Ainsley Gill, Trinidadian business executive; Josanne Francis, Trinidadian steelpan performer, and arts educator; Eric Adolphe, AI expert of Haitian heritage; Stacey Mollison, Guyanese businesswoman; Dwight Thanos Smith, Jamaican tech wizard.