Being innovative is key to staying in the food and beverage business in Barbados, according to Chris Hoad, manager of The Mews restaurant and bar.
With food and beverage establishments on the increase, lending to stiffer competition in that industry and people dining out less, Hoad told BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY this meant owners had to become more creative in their offerings.
“Business has been very interesting for us over the years and times have changed quite a bit. We went through a period of ten years or so where business was actually very good. In the last three years or so with the [downturn in the] global economy, things have definitely become a little more challenging. More and more food and beverage establishments are opening up and people tend to not be dining out and some are spending a little bit less,” he said.
“The way that we are still existing and going forward, we have to be as innovative as possible in these times. Even being here for 13 years and becoming a bit of a landmark, it [still] means that if we don’t keep being innovative, the product will get a little stale.
“So we are always changing the menus; coming up with new and exciting cocktail lists and encouraging different groups to come for different events,” explained Hoad.
Live entertainment was another addition to the product in order to keep business going and attracting more patrons to the location. Also, Hoad said, “A lot of foreigners when they come, being that Barbados has the best rum in the world, we try to expose them to that and put our twist on various rum-based cocktails.” He hoped the rum industry remained local “as opposed to seeing it go into the hands of some big overseas corporation”.
The 40-year-old entrepreneur said although people will always need to eat, and despite the establishment’s location in a prime tourist area – Second Street, Holetown, St James – it was simply “not an oceanfront restaurant where a lot of tourist come”.
“The competition is very stiff – hence, the reason we have to keep innovative as well as consistent with the product. We have to maintain our prices because the market has become a lot more price-sensitive over the years,” he said.
The Mews currently employs 20 people. In terms of locals and visitors who patronized his business, Hoad said it was 50-50.
“Crop Over doesn’t do much for us in this nature of business,” he said.
“Our peak season is the winter season; more from December to April. And then the summer is a little bit quieter. Fortunately, a good locally based clientele helps us sustain more of a consistent number,” Hoad said.
He has over 15 years’ experience in the industry and a degree in hospitality. Although he does not do the cooking himself these days, Hoad said the best part of doing business was to see his customers leaving The Mews “feeling extremely satisfied” while the “difficult” part was “having little time in a day to do all we have to do”.
One of the common cries among those in the industry is the high duties on imported high-end products, and it is no different for this small business owner.
“I would like to see a little bit more duty and tax concessions to the restaurant industry in order for us to keep our prices reasonable so that we can remain more competitive.”
He said right now, “it depends on the product, but on a lot of things that are deemed any form of luxury items or exotic type products, duties and tariffs tend to be extremely high.”
Despite the current challenges, though, Hoad remains very optimistic about the industry.
“We are hoping that the global economy will recover, then people’s disposable income would be [more],” he said.
“People have to eat every day but they don’t necessarily have to eat in a fine dining restaurant every day. So the better the economy is, the better everything will be for everyone; [with] more disposable income people tend to be a little bit happier, dine out and come out and drink and enjoy each other’s company,” said Hoad.
