For some it is a departure from the islands’ Christian tradition. Others view it as a necessary convenience in an increasingly busy world. But the signs of Sunday trading are everywhere in Cayman.
Local supermarkets Shopright and McRuss are among the first stores to open their doors on Sundays, though several other retailers, including gas station mini marts, have been doing so for some time.
The situation draws attention to a longstanding tradition and the modern nuances of the Sunday Trading Act (2023 Revision).
Under the act, the sale of goods on Sundays, Good Friday, and Christmas Day is generally prohibited. However, an exemption exists for certain retailers. Specifically, the act permits retail businesses primarily selling food and beverages, that are smaller than 4,000 square feet, to operate on those prohibited days.
Shopright has embraced this exemption, with its Walkers Road location signalling its Sunday operations with roadside banners. Similarly, McRuss Grocery advertises its seven-days-a-week service across its four locations.
This exemption gives smaller chains a competitive edge on Sundays, a day when larger supermarkets remain closed.
Woody Foster, owner of Foster’s Food Fair, shared his thoughts on the matter.
“We are not pushing to open on Sundays as we want to make sure that when we do it, the community is ready for the change.
“We feel it will happen eventually but do not want to be the catalyst that forces the conversation,” Foster said.
He also expressed concerns over the islands’ Christian heritage being a factor in Sunday closures. “Is Jesus really okay with size differentiation?” Foster asked.
‘Serving a need’
McRuss owner Charles Russell noted that their grocery stores “serve a need on a Sunday”.
He added, “Although we might look like we’re full or busy on Sunday, it’s because of our smaller footprint. The number of people in our stores isn’t anywhere near that of what you would get in the larger chains.”
New to the island, American teacher Sarah Kranbeer shared her initial reactions to the Sunday closures.
“I didn’t expect to like it, but I do. It was stressful at first, because I had to think ahead and plan since I prefer bigger grocery stores,” she said.
“Now I get to spend the day going to church or spending time with my friends. It’s surprisingly helpful to live at a slower pace”.
However, on her first visit to a smaller chain on a Sunday, her experience was less than stellar. “Honestly, it motivated me more to shop on a Saturday, when the big stores are open. I went looking for Twizzlers and they didn’t have them. The fruit also wasn’t as fresh.”
First Assembly of God pastor Torrance Bobb, who has served as the chairman of the Cayman Ministers’ Association, recognises that “there are certainly emergency needs” that have to be served on a Sunday.
He cautions, however, “we don’t want a proliferation of commercial activity on Sundays” and advocates that the availability of services through even small vendors continue to be “minimal”.
As the Cayman Islands grapple with the interplay between tradition and modern commerce, the decisions of local businesses like Shopright and McRuss underscore the evolving nature of the retail landscape.
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In this day and age closing on Sunday makes no sense. Lots of tourists come on Sat or Sun and need to shop for food. Anyone who is religious and does not want to does not have to. It will create more jobs
I personally have no problem with grocery stores opening on a Sunday. Holy day for Seven Day Adventist’s is Saturday, yet everything is open. If you don’t want to shop on a Sunday, then don’t. Just because a place is open should not deter you from going to Church or spending time with family. It will however, allow people who work Monday to Friday to have a more leisurely shopping experience as Saturday’s are usually quite busy.
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Another issue driving the size differentiation is the struggle that some people have of keeping more than a day’s worth of (fresh) food on-hand in their homes and who rely on the neighbourhood corner store almost daily. Thats a bigger challenge for Cayman to sort out (looking at you, minimum wage commission, for a start) but the small-Sunday-traders-exemption is a partial symptom of it. (And a loophole that some merchants are starting to exploit.)
Stop being so selfish people. The issue isn’t about who shops when – it’s more the fact that the store clerks who have to work when that store is open on Sunday now don’t have a say in whether they work or not. They may wish to have the day off to go to church and spend with their family.
Cayman was the peoples island first, before all of the outsiders came and decided the laws needed to change for their convenience. Try planning ahead a little, think about how things might affect others and quit being so darn selfish!!!