A destination development where grocery, retail shops, private residences and entertainment facilities converge on one multi-use complex in the heart of Barbican is the vision of the CEO of Kenneth Loshusan & Sons Bruce Loshusan.

“We are waiting for the road work to be completed in Barbican and then we will begin construction of our multi-use development. And so we want to put to rest the rumours that we are building a hotel. It will be a mixed-use destination in the midst of Barbican,” Loshusan said.

But growth plans may go even further afield, as beyond the business of grocery and land development in Jamaica, the Loshusan family expects to break ground in new developments in Bahamas and the UK.

Bruce Loshusan is also a director of Progressive Grocers Jamaica (PGJ), which was created in 1999 with the purchase of one of Jamaica’s oldest marquee supermarket brands, the Shoppers Fair chain of supermarkets.

During the launch of the Jamaica Observer’s Table Talk Food Awards at the Spanish Court Hotel in New Kingston last week, Loshusan shared the history of his family and future plans for the company as it continues to push forward and elevate the food experience in Jamaica.

“You know, there are a lot of problems in Jamaica. Yet, there is so much love. Across our businesses such as John R Wong supermarket, the Loshusan stores, and the family’s Progressive Grocers chain, our customers have become our friends and our family. It is so amazing.”

Loshusan, who was raised in New York, also declared, “I travel extensively. And I can say that I would not live anywhere else in the world. Jamaica is my home.”

To understand why Loshusan would say that is to go back in time.

Both sides of Bruce Loshusan’s family have been in the grocery business in Jamaica since 1903. And he was the result of Kenneth Loshusan falling head over heads with a young lady from the Sovereign Grocery family. He represents the generation that has blended the growth of a central family business where all the Loshusan brothers collectively own Progressive Grocers and the neices and newphews are directors — including Bruce, who has been on that board since 2011.

Then there is the Kenneth Loshusan empire which Bruce has been CEO of since January 2005.

“My father tricked me into becoming a CEO. Growing up in New York, I would spend the summers working in the grocery chains in Jamaica. However, my intention was to be in the publishing industry. I saw myself running a magazine. My father told me that if I became a CEO, I would earn a lot of money and my life would be easy. Hah! What he didn’t say is that it would take 20 years for half of his promise to happen! In fact, for the bulk of the 20 years, my father told me that he was purposely paying me nothing so that I appreicate the value money. And that has grounded me and how I see the world and how I treat people.”

For the bulk of his 20 years as CEO, Bruce worked alongside his father Kenneth and witnessed the evolution of the brand. The Sovereign brand was developed with Kenneth Loshusan and his brothers brought out Kenneth’s father-in-law. The Sovereign Centre, which is the family’s flagship property, was bought in 1989 for the low sum of US$1 million. The rest is history.

However, Kenneth Loshusan always had his own vision of the grocery experience and would rent the locations that were seperate from his brothers’. John R Wong is a prime example.

Bruce Loshusan explained. “It was not until 1994 that the John R Wong building came up for sale. We had been renting that property for many years and running the business.”

That whetted Kenneth Loshusan’s appetite to become an owner rather than a renter. Bruce explained, “All along, from 1969 to 1994, we were renting businesses and subject to some ridiculous rent increases in many years. At one point one of our landlord’s raised the rent by three times and we had to move. My father said, never again.

“So in 2000, the opportunity came up to buy the Barbican land where the Loshushan Centre is now. My father said that this was an opporutnity that he could not pass. We did not finance any of the construction, it took four years to build and eight months to stock out and equipment and staff the location for the Loshusan stores. In fact, when we were building, we struggled to come up with a name for the property. And somebody said, why not call it Loshusan? The name stuck. I never imagined that it would be a brand in its own right.”