In 2004, at the age of 21 and fresh out of university, Anna-Kaye Russell-Byles decided to help her brother who had just begun managing the Russell family business, Pier One Restaurant & Bar in Montego Bay.

She initially hid her age from the staff. But it was not for lack of confidence. She simply did not want to be underestimated.

“I always grew up very comfortable knowing who I am and my strengths and weaknesses,” she asserted. “So I never shy away from a challenge.”

The plan to help her brother quickly led to a passion for the industry and Russell-Byles was inspired to make a career of it as food and beverage manager for the operation.

Since then the Russells have expanded their business, opening the Deja Resorts hotel on Jimmy Cliff Boulevard (popularly known as the Hip Strip) and opening an offshoot of Pier One called Pier One on the Beach, on Doctor’s Cave Beach across the street from their hotel.

The family put Russell-Byles in charge as operations manager of the new Pier One following her years of experience gained at the original establishment.

Managing a restaurant and bar for almost two decades that offers night entertainment on certain days of the week was no easy task. The new Pier One on the Beach, opened in 2021, would be a new experience for the manager. It offers less in the way of night-time entertainment but sees heavier daytime operations due to constant traffic from tourists who visit to experience the world-famous beach.

It is a different managerial experience, but no less challenging than her first.

“Our goal coming into this operation was to enhance the beachgoers’ experience with high quality food and beverage service giving an unrivalled experience,” the manager explained. “We’re doing a cool, hip vibe. So we play music at the bar which is open air. We have just a little excitement down there at the bar and then we do dinners on the beach. So you can have nice little dinners or you can bring your birthday parties and special events. We do those out on the sand and we have a deck. So it’s like a mix of different energies.”

She revealed that the new establishment’s chefs were brought in from the original Pier One, and their recipes were primarily inspired by the original restaurant. They also introduced beach-appropriate meals like nachos and loaded fries while the focus for drinks has been on frozen varieties to help beachgoers cool down.

Pier One on the Beach was opened in the middle of COVID but by that time Russell-Byles had accumulated the managerial experience to face the challenges that the pandemic would bring.

“Calmness under pressure comes from experience,” she related. “So the longer you’re in it, you’ve seen more things, and you learn how to address them. So certain things don’t flare you anymore. You don’t get flustered. You don’t lose your mind thinking ‘how am I going to handle this?’ You just kind of know, OK, this is the next step. This is what you have to handle.”

Not everyone in management can grow successfully on the job and Russell-Byles cites two key components that are essential for a manager’s development — discipline and the willingness to learn.

“Manage your time,” she elaborated regarding self-discipline. “More importantly, take your time seriously. Do not waste it. Every day gives you 24 hours. Maximise all of those hours.”

It is important to understand and accommodate different personalities, being compassionate but also firm in setting and maintaining standards, she explained.

“Look for advice, find people who know more than you, who are smarter or maybe not smarter but more experienced in different areas,” she insisted. “So you keep learning, keep reading. Read, read, read. Don’t stop reading. Keep improving on what you know, and learn what you don’t know. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice. Find a mentor.”

Despite Pier One on the Beach opening under the pressure of COVID, the slow business due to the pandemic was seen as an opportunity to adapt, understand the new market, and settle in. The business has since rebounded as tourism has picked up, and it is currently thriving with the return of tourists and cruise ships to Montego Bay.

With the family business constantly seeking growth and having expanded into previously uncharted territory for them such as the hotel industry, family members will continue to be called upon to manage ongoing development. Is the Pier One operations manager ready for that?

“Absolutely,” she replied without hesitation. “We are very open, wherever the opportunity is. Wherever we see a great opportunity.”

No longer 21 years old, Russell-Byles now has a family but does not see that as an obstacle to managing the challenge of future expansion when it happens.

“What I would say is that it kind of goes back to building teams,” she explained. “I’m past the stage where I need to be at everything that happens.”

“You’re building people,” she continued. “And that’s what I think I’ve learned most, to build the people around you. How do you motivate others? How do you impart knowledge to them? How do you get knowledge for them and send them to training courses? And you want them to be better than you because you want them to run the business better than you, whether you are there or not.”

The Russell family has a deep connection with Montego Bay through community initiatives, including charity work, outreach programmes, and hosting different community meetings and events. Involvement in projects like Sumfest, the largest reggae festival in the area, which generates significant revenue for Montego Bay and the wider western Jamaica community, has also fostered strong partnerships.

The operations manager believes one of her greatest strengths is the ability to strengthen that connection through her personality on the job.

“The kind care that my nature allowed was actually quite endearing and people gravitated towards it,” she said. “And I think a big part of building the culture at Pier One was that kind of care because we treat our customers like family. You know, you sit down and you drink with us and you chat and hang out. And you know we really make sure that our customers are our friends essentially.”

The original Pier One Restaurant & Bar has been a popular social reference point for decades in Montego Bay. The new Pier One on the Beach, despite its differences, is growing into that role, albeit in a slightly different way.

“We have tourists and cruise ship passengers in the daytime during the week,” Russell-Byles related. “And in the evenings we have a steady dinner crowd that does weekdays and weekends. People are celebrating their birthdays and proposals. We’re getting so many proposal requests.”

“And then we have a vibrant bar life that’s growing as well,” she added. “It’s just about keeping the growth going.”