So your firm has survived the worst of the recession — Big deal! That’s nothing compared to some of the businesses operating on Red Hills Road, St Andrew, which have been surviving in an environment of mayhem, lawlessness and mass extortion for years.

These businesses persist where others have closed, in the war zone that was once the most vibrant and promising area of Kingston nightlife and entertainment.

One such business is global conglomerate KFC, located at 107A Red Hills Road for over 20 years. KFC Red Hills Road still attracts customers in droves despite being the scene of multiple violent acts. In October last year, for instance, robbers, who pretended to be regular customers of the restaurant, held up a security guard and disarmed him before demanding money from customers and the restaurant’s cashier. In a gun battle with the police, one of the robbers was killed and the $290,000 which was reportedly stolen at the scene was recovered, along with a 9mm pistol and a stick of dynamite. Two vehicles were reportedly also damaged during the incident.

However, KFC marketing manager Tina Myers-Matalon told Sunday Finance that KFC Red Hills Road is one of the fast food franchise’s best performing restaurants on the island.

“We are very proud of this location and its performance. As a result, it was selected as the first KFC restaurant in the corporate area to receive the new, enhanced KFC image when our re-imaging reinvestment undertaking began back in 2008,” said Myers-Matalon, adding that the area is still a good one for business, despite the perception that it is crime ridden.

“I would encourage businesses to come into this area to help it to grow and develop. It is a high traffic location in a very large community which has the potential for a very large customer base that would be beneficial to any business,” she said. “I can only assume that the fear of doing business on Red Hills Road may be linked to crime, however, the reality is that crime exists in many communities and in many areas across our country and the Red Hills Road area is no different.”

Other businesses which have enjoyed longevity in the area include the Sugar and Spice bakery, which has two branches on Red Hills Road, including one at 118 1/2, in the heart of the frequent uprisings, and Sudine’s Hardware and Lumber Supplies Limited, located at 110 Red Hills Road. The Hardware is situated at the border of the two warring communities but manages to maintain a positive bottom line.

Unfortunately, when speaking about Red Hills Road over the last two decades, business success stories wane in comparision to the failures.

Indeed, the street has come to be known as the graveyard for many businesses rather than the ‘hip strip’of former years. A branch of the Bank of Nova Scotia moved out of the area following a looting of the facility which occurred in an April 1999 attack. The Bank was among an exodus of businesses from the area, which included the popular adult entertainment spot Turntable club, Popular’s Lounge, Spectrum Bar and Devon House i-Scream.

The years of violence that betrayed the bright promise of the street came under national spotlight in 1999, when a fued between neighbouring 100 Lane and Park Lane in the area escalated into what was then dubbed the ‘100 Lane Massacre’, where several persons were brutally murdered. Even streetside vendors who sell ‘pan chicken’ have not been spared the wrath of the ongoing dispute between the rival communities. In May last year, the vendors were warned to vacate the area by 10 each night as tensions rose between men from both lanes. The vendors were concerned about how this development would affect their profits as they said, customers did not come out until after 11 pm at night after leaving the parties.

One vendor told Sunday Finance: “The thing is the customers them nuh come out til’ all midnight sometime, a dem time deh dem leave party, that is when we do business. So wid de 10 o’clock ting, mi nuh know.”

Minister of Industry and Commerce, and the Member of Parliament for the area, Karl Samuda, acknowledges that the crime has been a deterrent to the area’s business growth, but says that efforts are underway to ensure that it does not continue to be.

“There has been far too much violent activity that has plagued the area for a very long time”, he told Sunday Finance. “What I am trying to do as MP is to create an atmosphere of civility so that there is a level of confidence in business activity.”

Samuda added that, as MP, he has been in dialogue with the residents of the area to ensure that the peace is maintained.

“The area has been far more calm than it has been in a long time,” he said.

“We are doing more to ensure that businesses do not face the same problems. All effort has been made to ensure the safety of the businesses and the persons there,” he continued, while encouraging a return of activity to the area.

“We will continue the process as more people become involved in business in the area,” Samuda said.