Butler’s Food World opens in Freeport

Jeff Butler

FREEPORT, Grand Bahama -- Butler’s Food World opened its doors on Saturday, December 18th to the delight, excitement and anticipation of the residents and guests of Grand Bahama. The largest, upscale, high quality supermarket of its kind in The Bahamas, Butler’s Food World now offers Grand Bahamians, winter residents and year-round visitors, the selection, quality and availability of products that were only available in the US, Canada and Europe.

The new 20,000 sq ft. supermarket is located in the Home Center building, in the heart of Freeport. The store, fashioned after a combination of US and Canadian supermarkets, carries the tradition of Butler Specialty Foods featuring goods from over 20 countries with emphasis on top quality brand name products. Fresh produce, organic products, fresh meats, gourmet foods, health foods, housewares, dairy, cold and frozen foods, a deli, a “to go” counter, Café Butler’s - specializing in gourmet coffee drinks and pastries, a flower shop, a liquor store and cigar specialty counter, all combine to create a food world second to none, reinforcing the Butler's theme of “Creating a Higher Standard for Grand Bahama.”

Jeff Butler's decision to bring Brad Scott home from Canada was the main ingredient in the start up and operational success of the new specialty food store. Brad, after several years with Solomon Brothers in Nassau, operated a Sam's Club and later a Wal-Mart in Southern Ontario. It is apparent that Mr. Scott and Mr. Butler make a good team.

Both Butler and Scott confirm that what you see is only the beginning, with several thousand new products coming on line within the next 30 to 60 days.

The Butler reputation for quality, selection and availability will be maintained and expanded into general groceries with better pricing and a larger more diverse selection of goods. This is not a second outlet for Butler Specialty Foods. All retail products will be transferred from Butler Specialty Foods on Yellow Pine Road to the Home Center building Butler's Food World.

Butler's Specialty Foods on Yellow Pine, with its large warehouse, coolers and freezers, will become a holding and receiving facility for the new supermarket while transitioning to a wholesale only outlet catering to hotels, restaurants, convenience stores and service stations on Grand Bahama. On-island retail inventory, which previously stood at over six hundred thousand (600,000+), now has an additional 1.5 million in inventory of dry groceries, meats, poultry, dairy, frozen foods, produce, housewares, etc., making it the largest supermarket in the country.

The Butler Family has successfully been in the food & beverage industry in The Bahamas for 221 years beginning in the year 1790. This newest addition to the Butler Group is history in the making for Grand Bahama in its progression forward. The Grand Bahama community has long awaited the opening of the new Butler's Food World. Well Grand Bahama, here it is.

Five West Enders employed with re-opening of West End Bakery and Café

By Barbara Walkin / THe Freeport News

WEST END, Grand Bahama -- The Monday, August 9 soft re-opening of the West End Bakery and Café – a fixture for West End – provided employment for five residents of the West End community.

Local businessman Jeff Butler, committed to reviving the economy of the community where he grew up, embarked on a program that he believes will not only revitalize, but also be an economic stimulus for West End. The reopening of the West End Bakery and Café is one of many projects Butler intends to see materialized. "A bakery has always been an important part of West End's economy," Butler told The Freeport News during an interview at the newly refurbished building Tuesday afternoon.

As a child, Butler remembers buying coconut tart for one shilling from Miss Lilly Hollingsworth's bakery in the early 60s. He noted that bakeries in West End have always been a destination for residents of Freeport, who would pick up their weekly bread and make a day out of their trip, eating at restaurants, buying conch salad and fritters from the waterside conch stands and spending money at West End's small businesses.

What was most important for Butler in the reopening of the bakery, was providing employment for five residents of West End. "Although it may sound like a small number, five people finding permanent employment at this stage in the economy is important," he added.

Another benefit to having a bakery in that community, said Butler in terms of providing specialty items and fresh bread goods for locals and to visitors at Old Bahama Bay. "When the yacht visitors arrive, hit the dock and are done clearing customs they can order 20 gallons of milk, plus 10 loaves of bread." Butler sees this as a "plus" for West End and Old Bahama Bay.
In addition to opening the bakery, Butler also cleaned up the surrounding area, including painting the bus stop along the sea wall and in the water - removing the old conch shells and glass bottles.

He noted that the West End Bakery and Café will supply wholesale to the restaurants and resorts located in West Grand Bahama. Breads and pastries from the bakery will be available at Butler's Specialty Foods and in the future at Butler's Food World. Aside from fresh baked goods, Butler said that specialty items are also available at the bakery. "We have all of Butler's hot sauces, unique goodies and the like because people, especially tourists always want unique items.

"Since the 50s tourists and natives alike would come to West End for liquor, rum, music, conch salad. The bakery ... the bread part of it has always been an integral part of the environment here, so now what we have to do is let everyone from Eight Mile Rock, Holmes Rock and Freeport know that when they drive down, they can now get their bread ... freshly baked."

"We would encourage all Grand Bahamian's to make the drive and enjoy West End's water front view and services," said Butler.

Photo: Local businessman Jeff Butler is committed to reviving the economy of the community where he grew up.

Butler's on target for August 2010 opening

Freeport, Grand Bahama- Local businessman Jeffery Butler Sr., confirmed yesterday that the closing of the Home Centre building "in no way" hinders the opening of his store which is scheduled for an August 2010 opening.

Back in April, Butler, the proprietor of Butler's Specialty Foods and Shenanigan's Irish Pub, announced that he will be occupying a portion of the Home Centre where the new, larger Butler's Specialty will be housed.

During a press briefing Butler said that with the signing of the lease, the final stages of the $3 million project had begun.

Having outgrown their present facility on Yellow Pine Street, Butler said that they already have a $1.5 million inventory and the time has come to expand and to diversify even further.

The new store, is approximately 20,000 square foot of space which includes a 1,400 square foot liquor store which will highlight specialty wines, spirits and beers from around the world.

The store on Yellow Pine Street will be made into a holding facility for inventory. Butler's caters to over 54 restaurants, including all of the major hotels.

And with the opening of the new store, Butler said that the business will be expanding, employing well over 100 Grand Bahamians in total.

The store's general manager, Bradley Scott said that when opened, the store will be a full service grocery store carrying all of the gourmet foods from over 20 countries.

Although saddened by the closing of another business in Grand Bahama and another group of Grand Bahamians being out of work, Butler said, this will not prohibit the August deadline opening of the new facility.

Alluding to the fact that the economy is down, Butler said, "If we want results we have to take a serious look at what we are doing here in Grand Bahama."

Emphasizing his point, Butler said that he received more than 300 applications for the 30 positions that will be available with the opening of the store.

"I will take a couple of people down there from the retail section, but those applications tell us what the economy is like in Grand Bahama," he added.

In a statement Monday afternoon, Freeport Concrete president Ray Simpson regrettably informed shareholders of both companies – the Home Centre and Freeport Concrete – that they will have to cease operation, effective immediately.

Simpson said that the directors of Freeport Concrete Company Limited have passed a resolution to convene an extraordinary general meeting of its shareholders to consider placing the company into voluntary liquidation and to appoint a liquidator.

He cited insufficient funds as the reason for the doors being closed and some 60 employees being dismissed.

VIDEO- Butler's Food World Prepares to open

Grand Bahama, Bahamas - Butler's Food World Prepares to open in Grand Bahama, Bahamas

$3m investment in Home Centre 20,000 sq ft lease

        

              Jeff Butler- Owner Butlers Specialty

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

A FREEPORT-based food store owner last night confirmed he had signed an agreement to lease 20,000 square feet in the Home Centre, the retail operation owned by BISX-listed Freeport Concrete, with hopes of having the new business operational by June.

Jeff Butler, owner of Butler Specialty Foods, said the expansion and opening of a second retail outlet would likely involve an investment of greater than $3 million, when initial inventory was included, and create "another 40" jobs at a time when the country was crying out for employment opportunities.

"We have an agreement in place with the Home Centre. We're trying to get as much out of it as possible," Mr Butler said when contacted by Tribune Business yesterday.

"We've agreed to lease, some time in the near future, 20,000 square feet and have the most modern specialist health food in the country. We represent 20 countries and do all the high-end stuff.""

Mr Butler said the new store, which will be sub-leasing space from the Home Centre, was likely to begin operations by June. He added that the necessary Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) licences, plus agreements with the landlord, insurance companies and suppliers were all in hand, but outfitting the store via electrical and plumbing work remained to be done.

"The new place will be 100 per cent retail for the public," Mr Butler told Tribune Business, explaining that the new location would enable him to better split his retail and wholesale businesses at his existing location. The current business mix is 50/50.

The Home Centre location, he added, provided enhanced parking, square footage and customer accessibility. It would attract clients from the Eight Mile Rock and West End constituencies, and was situated within a short drive from areas such as Bahamia, Downtown Freeport and the Xanadu area.

Among the new store's features will be a European-style take-out, liquor store, baked goods and espresso service, Mr Butler adding: "We want to stimulate Grand Bahama as much as we can."

The lease agreement will benefit both Home Centre and its parent, Freeport Concrete, which have both been struggling financially, not to mention their chairman, Hannes Babak, from whom the former company leases its store.

Freeport Concrete holds a 15-year lease, starting from January 2006, on the Home Centre store. Its landlord is a company related to Mr Babak.

Under the Home Centre lease terms, the retailer was supposed to pay an annual rent of $396,000, or $33,000 per month, for the first four years, taking it up until June 2010.

However, the Home Centre received an $8,000 discount for the first three months of its lease, taking rental payments to $25,000 per month, and was subsequently granted further four-month rent holiday during its 2009 fiscal year. The sub-leasing plan comes after trading in Freeport Concrete's shares was suspended upon the company's request, in an effort to give it time to complete its fiscal 2009 audit. The extension expires later this month.

"We are looking at ways to cut costs at the Home Centre, and one way is to sublease part of the building we are in," Ray Simpson, Freeport Concrete's chief executive, told Tribune Business previously.
You can read Jeff's personal statement issued on his new site HERE