Why Wendy’s is as Bahamian as the Bamboo Shack
Let us extend the above argument into the realm traditional Bahamian cuisine for a moment. Think of “peas and rice”, “macaroni and cheese” and “salty sausage”, and ask yourself how many of the dishes we consider to be Bahamian actually use native ingredients. Neither the rice nor the macaroni got its start here. The only thing we can really say about these dishes is that we prepare it in a way that is distinctly Bahamian and that appeals to our palate. And due to their respective successes, it appears that the fast food restaurants have been doing just that.
However, some may argue that Bahamians penchant for Wendy’s is just a symptom of becoming overly Americanized, not that we should consider these establishments as “Bahamian”. While holding some merit, a casual glance at the fast food chains that have attempted to operate in this country counteracts this claim. Do you remember ‘Taco Bell’, the American franchise that specializes in Mexican food? Although this franchise is popular in America, it never really caught on with Bahamians. Even a prime location such as that opposite the College of the Bahamas, (where a Wendy’s restaurant now thrives) did not prove fruitful for the operation. This fact suggests, that Bahamians will not just eat anything that Americans do, but rather that there is something about Wendy’s and McDonald’s that appeals to the Bahamian taste. For example, before KFC became popular in the Bahamas, we were quite familiar with “chicken in the bag”; it was therefore not a big thing to get familiar with their “chicken in a box”. I invite you to consider for yourself if there any real difference between the menu of the average Take-Out and the fast food restaurants other than the aforementioned conch?
Can the modem Bahamian lifestyle even exist without the fast food restaurant? I think not. Therefore, I find Wendy’s and McDonald’s surpass the Bamboo Shack and others by a long shot in terms of their overall impact on Bahamian living, and have become as inescapable as the automobile in present day Bahamian culture. Acknowledging this fact helps you to appreciate how Bahamian lifestyles have changed and how we have sped up to match the global pace. So the next time you sit down to savor a Big Bacon Classic, Big Mac or three piece chicken meal, perhaps you can ponder the question of whether or not this is a good thing.