Author: sunflower078

Delicious but Illegal?

sunflower078

Let’s talk about ice-cream, one of my favourite desserts. Mousie’s Ice Cream Parlour launched on the 13th March 2019 at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine and attracted many ice cream lovers, like myself, however, there may be an issue concerning its legal status according to two students. I was shocked and also intrigued so I took it upon myself to interview two students, who wished to stay anonymous. They pointed out that during their free time, they innocently checked the Company’s Registry Online and to their surprise, Mousie’s Ice Cream Parlour was not on the list of registered businesses. I asked how they felt about their discovery , and the first student replied by expressing her concern and admitting that she does not feel comfortable supporting this business as “It is just not right in my opinion.” The second student agreed with her statement adding that she feels wrong buying their ice cream when they’re not a legitimate business. “Why not go through the proper, legal way of establishing a business?” the student questioned. The two students made it clear that if nothing was being done and the owner does not answer their questions, they would take the matter to the authorities.

The question is, is this ruining business for the Parlour? During our interview on Friday 22nd March 2019, the influx of students purchasing ice cream at the parlour was high. Students kept walking in and coming out with a cold cone, almost tempting me to go purchase a cone myself as my love for ice cream surpasses all understanding, however the allegations being made are real and serious.

The two students pointed out that they are trying their best to make other students aware of the issue and even said they went as far as questioning the workers, however the workers denied having any knowledge of whether or not the Parlour was registered. Taking this new spin on UWI’s hot spot into consideration, would you still support this business even though there are questions being raised about its legality? A cold cone on a hot day is definitely tempting, but is it tempting enough to surrender a clear conscience? While some see no problem with whether the business is registered or not, others like the two students that were interviewed beg to differ.

But, is the question of illegality enough to ruin business? Rumors may spread around campus of the business’ questionable legality, but would it be enough to slow down business? On Monday 25th March 2019, three days after the two students set out to raise awareness of the business’ absence on the Company Registry Online’s website, I made my way down to campus, and couldn’t refuse stepping in Mousie’s Ice Cream Parlour to scope out the environment. To my surprise, business seemed to be running smoothly and normally with around the same number of customers purchasing ice-cream. On asking other students in the ice cream shop if they heard about the questions being raised about the Parlour, some common responses were, “I don’t really care, it’s not my business,” “Yes, but I love ice-cream too much to stop purchasing,” and “It’s not that big of a deal.”

I guess the ice-cream lovers can’t give up the good ol’ chocolate and vanilla ice cream cones for even the hottest and most shocking story.

What do you think? Would you stop supporting Mousie’s and ensure action is taken or is it not a big deal and will still occasionally go for a cold cone?