FOR the interview to write this piece I was invited to a restaurant called Marguerites in Montego Bay, St James. I thought to myself that Ian Dear, the chairman and CEO of the Margaritaville Caribbean Group — the actually entity I was going to talk about — was just shortening the name of Margaritaville when he told me to come to Marguerites. I later found out there was an actual restaurant by that name, and then why he decided to do an interview about Margaritaville in a restaurant called Marguerites.

“We’ve been around [for] 28 years. Started right here at Marguerites,” Dear began as we sat. He was flanked by about a dozen managers from across the Margaritaville Caribbean Group. For its part, Marguerites, I found out, is a “fine dining restaurant” on the hip strip in Montego Bay, right next to Margaritaville. In fact, even though both had separate entrances, inside it was hard to discern where Marguerites stopped and where Margaritaville began, and vice versa.

Dear said 28 years ago in 1995 when he decided to enter the restaurant business with Marguerites, he decided to develop Margueritaville “as a fun concept that we felt was needed beside Marguerites”. After meeting Jimmy Buffet — the American music icon whose 1977 hit Margaritaville became the name of a slew of casual dining restaurants across the US, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Australia — Dear said the launch into Margaritaville began.

“We then converted the existing locations from Margueritaville to Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville. Thereafter, we expanded into the first-ever Air Margaritaville and Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville in Ocho Rios in Island Village,” he continued. In some locations the words ‘Jimmy Buffet’ was not as prominent anymore and upon inquiry why, we were told Buffet himself thought it was too much to have his name everywhere.

“We really got to know Jimmy because Chris Blackwell introduced us to him,” Dear pointed out. To operate the restaurants with the Margaritaville name, a royalty is paid annually to Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville Holdings Limited, but Dear would not reveal details on that arrangement.

He however admits that as a man who started his career in tourism and real estate development, he knew absolutely nothing about the food and beverage business before getting into it.

“We [just] saw an opportunity starting with Marguerites…but we learnt quickly. We were the first franchise deal that Jimmy ever did for Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville. We helped to design the menus and experience.

“And we’re proud because, you know, over time we have developed a household name for Margaritaville for both visitors and Jamaicans alike. And so we went on the journey of developing Margaritaville throughout Jamaica in every resort town — Ocho Rios, Negril, Montego Bay.”

There are actually three Margaritaville locations in Montego Bay, one on the hip strip and the other two at the Sangster International Airport.

“That’s where we started our entry into the airport space, with Air Margaritaville,” he added. The company has since expanded to include locations in the Turks and Caicos Islands and the US Virgin Islands.

But having tasted success with the Margaritaville business, Dear wanted more.

“I would say 2017, 2018, we had a really nice momentum with all our different brands and by then we had decided to diversify our brands — in the entertainment space, in the food and beverage space, in the attraction space — and and so we went from really just Margaritaville as our foundation brand, as our core brand, into providing multiple experiences in the airport. You know we have 32 locations there now, with multiple international brands and our own brands.”

The truth is, Margaritaville has a virtual monopoly in the food and beverage space at the Sangster International Airport with brands including Quiznos, Auntie Anne’s, Moe’s Southwest Grill, International Dairy Queen, Cinnabon, Nathan’s Hot Dogs, Wendy’s, Starbucks, Domino’s, Bobsled Café, Tastee Patties, Viva Gourmet, Grab N Go, and Groovy Grouper.

“We are currently focused on the Caribbean, however opportunities are on a case by case basis as our relationship goes deep,” he said when asked if the company plans on expanding outside the region.

Also in the Turks and Caicos Islands, the group has more than just the Margaritaville brand.

“We have different concepts in there also; and then from there we have done a joint venture with Adam Stewart (with Starbucks) and that has done very well — 31 locations in five countries — and this is a part of the team that helps drive that business.

“But Margaritaville itself as our core business has really been the foundation of our group. Pre-COVID we had serious momentum, and coming out of that space, because there was such strong momentum, we decided to create another arm and entered the gaming business and so Coral Cliff was born as a part of our group. That was in July of 2018.”

The location was called Coral Cliff before, and was operated by Supreme Ventures. It was, however, down and was acquired and redeveloped with “substantial investments”, but again Dear was tight-lipped on the level of investments which went into resuscitating the business except to say it was “double figure millions of US dollars”, suggesting the cost exceeded US$10 million.

“Then we got into that space by Island Bet and also Lucky Play. That’s another division of entertainment that we feel is an important component in defining us as a group.

“It’s not just slot game machines. There’s a level for games for children, electronic games, and another level for gaming for adults. And then there’s restaurants. We probably have the best live entertainment in Jamaica by far,” Elleanor Cole-Reivers, general manager of Coral Cliff, told the Jamaica Observer.

Of all the brands in the Margaritaville Caribbean Group, she said Coral Cliff caters mostly for Jamaicans but gets a few tourists from time to time.

“I think what’s critical is that we have a legacy of making sure that locals know this is for them first at Coral Cliff — and that carried through, especially during COVID,” Brian Brown, sales, marketing and entertainment manager for Coral Cliff added.

“We pride ourselves on making sure that the so-called average person off the street, the working man, can be very comfortable coming to Coral Cliff, and they are the ones who are the backbone of the operation — and that is reflected in the menu and the prices offered,” Brown observed.

But there are plans to integrate Coral Cliff more with Margaritaville, which is directly across the road from each other.

“Pre-COVID we decided to connect Margaritaville and Coral Cliff by way of this bridge,” Dear said, pointing to an unfinished bridge suspended across the road.

“We started the construction, we had to stop it during COVID, and we’ll finish it. We’re not finishing it yet because it is just a matter of timing, but it’s a concept of trying to offer multiple experiences all within a very small area and so you can literally, very easily, go street level or go via bridge to move from Coral Cliff to Margaritaville.”

But in the gaming space Dear said the lottery business represents most of the business. That business, its Lucky Play lottery games, was launched in February 2021.

“At that time there was COVID on steroids and so it was a challenge because we were very restricted and so, really, 2022 was when we started to have real momentum. So, we’re very excited about where the company is now and the potential growth that’s going to happen in short order.”

He said the business model allows the Margaritaville Caribbean Group to have a certain small share of the market.

“We feel it is very achievable. We feel that we can get roughly 15 per cent of the market.”

He, however, declined to say what portion of the market the company now has.

Still, this is a business driven by people. A staff count which reached 1,400 before the pandemic has fallen to just around 1,000. The company is trying to recruit more staff to satisfy its clientele but of those who remain, Dear had praises — especially with how they helped navigate the business during the pandemic.

“We’re very proud of our team here because, not only have they demonstrated over many years of being able to create and drive an experience but I don’t think anybody could have planned or expected what COVID eventually has represented, and these folks here are basically the glue that kept us together in driving the process to allow the company to really come out on the other side because we were virtually shut down for almost two and a half years with no business. I mean, so even if you were to have some business, you were losing money, so that’s a challenge. So you may have had some revenue, some cash flow, but to keep your doors open, it just wasn’t worthwhile. You have to pay your staff and other bills and so it was a very challenging time, but I’m very proud of the team because we really kept our staff members motivated because of their leadership.”

That staff will be needed for the next phase of growth the Margaritaville Caribbean Group is planning. In the works are new restaurants including a sushi bar and the Bob Marley One Love concept to start this year.