Making Bread on Antigua

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Douglas McVicars and partner Dianne White, who’ve just opened their fifth link in a chain of bread and pastry shops in Antigua have turned out to have the right stuff when it comes to making a living out of French bread and sandwiches. Doug, a former Home Depot exec in Toronto, and Dianne, a recently graduated architect, moved to Antigua in mid 2003.

Doug started working part – time for Franciane in January of 2004, and was soon offered the position of manager with profits sharing, full benefits and incentives including shares in the business. Today Franciane’s sells around 300,000 sandwiches a year; this on an island with a population of just over 70,000. The business has now expanded to five shops in total with plans to open franchises in other Caribbean islands, including St. Lucia, St. Kitts & Nevis, and Dominica in the next year or two. Dianne, using her training as an architect designed the last shop. It was designed to serve as the prototype for the planned expansion.

Doug says that he had to make a major change in the direction that Franciane’s was heading after he took over. He felt the former manager was targeting the wrong clientele; ex-pats, tourists, yachties. So the first thing he did after taking it over was change it into a local place, targeting the locals. He bought more produce on-island, whereas the former manager had imported a lot from France. He made drastic changes in the menu. Tuna, crab, turkey, roast beef and local saltfish replaced paté and Brie. This made for heartier sandwiches, which were welcomed by the local population.

They have had competition from a new Subway franchise that opened six months ago, but it has not affected their sales. Doug says it’s because they’re very expensive, selling items for $20 that Franciane’s has for $10. There was an expected loss of a few customers, but others who were happy to see a shorter line at Franciane’s quickly replaced them.

Antigua also has its traditional types of breads, which are heavier, and often laden with tinned butter, pork sausage and cheese.

“That was one of my first experiences when I first came here”, Doug says. “Dianne took me to Brownie’s (bakery)”.

“Yes”, Dianne recalls. “I got you a sandwich with sausage and cheese”.

“It was different”, Doug adds, “but it was nice, very heavy. But don’t get me wrong, you can’t eat our sandwiches every day either.”

Quite a few customers might beg to differ. Franciane’s staff know the regulars who eat either the same sandwich every day, or mix and match the fillings, but nevertheless, come in at around the same time every day.

Dianne says. “They seem to like it, and what we try to do is to provide them with the right fillings that they want. Like saltfish and red herring. We will also be carrying the local cheese, because not everyone likes cheddar and Swiss. They seem to be very attached to the tinned cheese. So we’re still trying to add to the menu”.

Antiguans were already aware of French bread because there was formerly a Swiss bakery located in a popular tourist section of the island along with another French bakery in the capital, St. John’s.

Slowing down from the pace of life in Toronto has been a welcome change for the couple. Doug and Dianne didn’t even realise how much their pace had changed, until a recent trip through Miami, when they were sauntering to catch a flight, while being bumped and glared at by North Americans trying to get to the plane. “After things like that,” Dianne says, “you just begin to remember why you left. Everybody (there) is moving as though every single moment of the day counts. When you’re here for two years, you don’t realise how much you’ve actually slowed down.”

Doug says he’s satisfied with the clothes and other items he can buy on island. Dianne might have a few more complaints, as, like most women, she tends to crave a little more variety in terms of shopping. Nonetheless, she’s content to hop on a flight to Puerto Rico whenever the need arises. Many locals do the same.

They’ve adjusted to the island supermarket schedules in terms of the availability of fresh produce, which disappears quickly on weekends. Doug recalls the shocked reaction by some international students at a medical school, who frequent one of Franciane’s outlets, when they were told there was no lettuce for their sandwiches. “They were like, ‘What do you mean you don’t have lettuce?'” he recounts. “And I asked them, well, how did you get here? And they go, ‘By plane.’ And I said, ok, do you see any roads leading from here to Miami?”

“Procurement on the island is not as easy as it looks,” he says. “There are a few difficult times of year, like November when the hotels re-open, and we may end up short.” They’ve learned how to develop connections with the local wholesalers, who will warn them of expected shortages ahead of time. The couple used to import a 20 ft. container of authentic French bread and pastries once every three months, but the business’ popularity has now changed that to a container every 28 days.

Many people have expressed scepticism that a fairly young company has branched out so quickly, but Doug says Franciane’s is showing no signs of slowing down, and in fact, they’re planning at least two other stores, including one within the airport.

And are they happy with their decision to migrate to the Caribbean? Give Doug the last word:

“I always said I was going to live in the Caribbean by my early 40s,” he says. “And I said, you know what, if you never do it, you’ll never do it. A good friend of mine in Toronto said, ‘you’re gonna come back.’ But I might go to another island, I don’t know what I’ll do, but I like it here. I really do.”

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Source by Michael Russell