Barbara Ellington, Senior Gleaner Writer
Lowell Hawthorne, president and CEO of the successful mega-restaurant chain, Golden Krust Caribbbean Bakery and Grill. - RICARDO MAKYN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
HE LEARNT the bakery business at the feet of his father in the hills of Lawrence Tavern, St. Andrew. Today the president and chief executive officer of Golden Krust Bakery and Grill in New York, Lowell Hawthorne, is proud to have been born in a business run by his father for over 52 years.
Mr. Hawthorne is from a large family - 11 in all - and is a past student of Oberlin High School. He left Jamaica when he was 20 and quickly adjusted to the fast-paced life of New York City. He now heads one of the largest Caribbean bakery/restaurant businesses in the 'Big Apple', and come August 13, he will open his 100th franchise as he launches into that phase of the business. The target is 600 stores all over the United States.
But nothing about this man of medium frame would betray his soon-to-be conglomerate status, so he revealed the secrets of his success in his interview with The Gleaner during a recent trip to the island.
BE: What were the early days in New York like for you?
LH: I began working at the New York Police Department (NYPD) as a stock handler while going to college where I received an associate degree from City College. Then I became an accountant. I worked there for 10 years.
My father used to visit New York at Easter and bake buns from my sister's basement. This created lots of interest in the product and I thought, if he can come here for one week and generate this interest, why don't I start a business? I got all my siblings together, we pooled all our resources, mortgaged our homes and came up with just over US$107,000 to start the business.
We pondered where would be the ideal location and decided the largest concentration of Caribbean residents in north-east Bronx, New York, would be best. We leased a property, combined our various skills and, brothers, sisters, spouses and everyone helped out. That was in 1989, and by 1992, I had opened four stores; by 1996, it grew to 17 stores.
People became interested in the concept so we applied for a franchise licence, making us the first Jamaican company to do that and the only Caribbean company to achieve that in America. Since then we have aggressively targeted an expansion plan and we built a large manufacturing facility to sustain the company's growth at the retail level.
We changed our name from Golden Krust Patties to Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery and Grill in 2000 because we had changed direction from just patties and baked goods to the full range of a Caribbean menu. Today we have over 85 stores in six states and another 22 under construction and we are looking to open 600 stores in the next five years.
BE: How many persons do you employ?
LH: We have 150 at our corporate headquarters and over 1,000 within the franchise system. We are on a path to open one store weekly and we are on track.
BE: What has the response to the franchise offer been like?
LH: Tremendous. There's a long waiting list. If one were to apply for a franchise now, it would take over a year to get on board.
BE: How difficult was it to set up business in New York, not just as a black man in America, but as one from the Caribbean?
LH: It presented a tremendous amount of challenges with the large number of rules and regulations involved. We had to import the hard-dough bread-making equipment from Waltham Park Avenue in Jamaica. We had to bring raw materials such as seasonings. Finding the right skills was also a challenge.
Financing was a problem. Banks were not interested in lending money to bakeries and restaurants. Compliance with state laws, rules and regulations was a big challenge, especially the United States Department Agriculture's strict rules and policies. A federal inspector is placed on the premises as long as we produce patties.
We had a lucrative contract with the New York school system so we were under tight scrutiny; we had to be child nutrition-certified and have that licence to prove that we were providing the daily required nutritional standard for the children.
BE: What are some of the American companies that you supply?
LH: We mostly supply penal institutions, the school system and we are no longer in the supermarkets, but we retail to many households. We make 260 patties per minute and we are in the process of building a larger manufacturing facility to give us greater production capability.
BE: Apart from franchising what is your long-term vision for the company?
LH: For the organisation to continue on our aggressive growth path and become the largest Jamaican franchise like McDonald's. We hope to move more rapidly with the situation we have just done on this trip - that was to form a joint venture with Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS). There are three pilot stores. They own 40 per cent and we own 60. It is a money transfer business and we will represent them in New York; people will be able to remit funds at our stores.
We made that agreement in February this year. We are also moving into education. And will provide scholarships here in the U.S.A. We support minority students in New York to enable them to excel.
Here in Jamaica, we visited several schools and our franchisees are encouraged to adopt them; we offer five scholarships to students annually because we recognise that education is the only avenue through which we can overcome poverty.
BE: What was the main purpose of your trip to Jamaica?
LH: I brought 17 of my franchisees with me, most of whom are multi-owners, to create an awareness in them of what Jamaica is all about. I want them to seize the opportunities to buy and sell Jamaican products.
BE: Are any of these these franchisees Americans?
LH: Two are Americans but most are Jamaicans who left here when they were young. We are looking at many areas where we can do business here. We met with the Jamaica Exporters Association, and discussed the problem we are having with importing thyme and pepper out of Jamaica because unless we can get a consistent supply, we may have you begin looking elsewhere.
We also met with GraceKennedy because many of my franchisees have begun to invest with them (First Global), by opening accounts and starting to trade on the local stock market. It is good for them to know that Jamaica is a good place to invest. We met with JNBS through which many of them plan to invest in the stock market. We met with the owners of Jamaica Broilers from which Golden Krust plans to start using the tilapia fish in our restaurants. We have pledged to buy a significant amount of fish from the St. Elizabeth plant. Hopefully this will lead to job creation in that parish. We toured GraceKennedy's cheese factory because we purchase a lot of cheese from them and we looked at the Tropical Rhythms because we are the number one distributors of that product in the United States.
Golden Krust is the number one end user of most of the Jamaican products in the United States. It was great to be here to look at areas of opportunity for business.
BE: So your primary purpose for this trip was to understand the reasons behind some of the challenges you have with importation?
LH: Yes, I also brought my operations manager, who is making his first visit to Jamaica to learn and understand the culture, see, hear and taste the flavours and be better informed. We will take all this knowledge back with us.
BE: What about staff? Who are your primary employees and what are some of the worker issues? In particular, how do you find Jamaican workers?
LH: It is mixed: Jamaicans, Americans, Africans, Hispanics and Caucasians from other countries. The important thing is whether the person is well suited for the job. We recruited in quite a few employees directly from Jamaica. We look at discipline, training and motivation.
The workers we recruit from Jamaica adapt quickly to the system; we have rules and regulations governing productivity and efficiency, so I have not had many problems with staff. We have a good rapport, I reward them, six of them are currently franchisees. We have low staff turnover and I'm fair with them.
BE: What is the average day like for the president/CEO of Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery and Grill?
LH: I begin each day with meditation and scripture reading, asking for guidance to deal gracefully with what comes my way. Each day is different. I get to work between 9:30-10:00 a.m. and I don't work late, I get home by 6:00 p.m. to spend time with my four children and my wife. All are except one are in college; my oldest son is in the business with me.
It is important to teach them the business when they are young. They all start out by doing chores around the stores and my son who goes to college at nights heads my IT and Purchasing departments. The other two boys work in the retail stores and the factory sometimes.
BE: So you are a black man who is following the Asian model as far as bringing all the family into the business goes?
LH: Absolutely. It's important for continuity and planning and developing a succession plan. I have a tremendous responsibility for over 80 persons who have so far given up their careers to own a franchise. So all my children have to have a plan for the future; they cannot leave college and come depend on Lowell Hawthorne, they must have a plan for their future because there is a ready-made business waiting for them.
BE: You are still in your 40s and with tremendous achievement, are there plans to early retirement?
LH: I am not thinking of retiring but of bringing more people aboard, I just hired four top executives because opening one store weekly means surrounding yourself with the best leaders. We have to stay ahead of the competitors.
BE: What about hobbies?
LH: I travel a lot and I play tennis, I take frequent vacations, from Thursday to Sunday, so before I'm missed, I'm back and when I return I only have two business days to catch up on; That works well for me. I can do this every six weeks instead of waiting to take yearly vacations.
