PATRICIA ALLEYNE, 38, is now living her dream. Literally.
One night in November 2009 she dreamt about owning a restaurant and almost two years later, she turned that dream into reality.
Alleyne now operates her small restaurant, Island Plates, with her sister Marie, 39, in The Town Square Mall in Speightstown.
“This has been a passion of mine for a long time – going back, I would say, almost three years. I believe that we are born with certain gifts and if you pursue [your dream], you would become successful at it because it would be easier for you to do,” she said.
“I was dreaming one night and I got up and wrote down the dream. I said to my sister, we have to open a business but it has to be home dining. Home dining were the two words I wrote down. And I started to look for a property then.
“We didn’t have a vision for the name or colours or anything, but we just knew we had to open a restaurant and we had a lot of encouragement,” she explained.
Undaunted
The entrepreneur said since she started the business just over six months ago, many people have reminded her that Barbados was going through a recession. That, she said, never daunted her.
“We know that the business will work and we believe. So we are actually poised for the return of the growth. Speightstown is on the cusp of [regrowth]; it only looks as if it is dying.
“Businesses are moving out, so on the surface it looks as if it is dying. But when I look around and see the potential for growth in areas close by – like Port Ferdinand, for example – it is like there is something going on and we know it but can’t put our fingers on it,” said an optimistic Alleyne.
She said the restaurant market in Barbados was quickly growing as more working-class people in their 30s and 40s were opting not to cook most evenings after a long day at work and over the last six months her business has been on a growth path.
“Sales and revenue have increased month on month . . . but the size of the profit is not where it should be. We started with a very limited menu and we have been able to expand the menu, and we see repeat customer base as well as new people. So business is increasing. We have a mixture of both locals and tourists,” she reported.
The duo said their business was all about offering customers exceptional service. They said they were finding it difficult to better market the business, as that could be “very expensive”. However, they said they were using social media and other forms of technology to promote what they do.
They said all their vegetables were “freshly picked” by farmers in the area and they also sourced meats and other ingredients for their operation locally.
Describing the restaurant as “mid-range” between a café and a fast-food type restaurant minus the fried food, the best part of her job, said Marie, is to see the customers relaxed while there and happy when they are leaving.
“There is going to be a growth in mid-range types of restaurants where it is not fine dining but it is restaurant-quality food flavoured well – balanced food and good portions,” she said.
Alleyne said they were already putting various plans in place so they would be ready to cater to the expected increase in business once the recession is over.
“We have a very aggressive expansion plan over the next five to ten years. We will expand and even go beyond Barbados for sure. It is just a matter of planning and execution. We have a lot of work to do,” said Alleyne.
“We have an exciting product for the next quarter. We are going to hit this market with a bang. It is all in the service, the delivery and the packaging. It is the quality and portions. So we are looking past March.”
