The economic recession has been hard for Pizza Man Doc to digest.
Facing astronomical increases in the cost of operations and raw materials, the island’s first pizza chain will lose one of its outlets month-end with the closure of its Roebuck Street branch.
Former senator Gray Brome, who started Pizza Man Doc back in 1984 with a small pizza shop in Ashton Hall, St Peter, had spread the business to seven branches within two decades, but the worldwide recession has taken too big a bite out of profits for him to continue.
“The impact of the recession has been massive on business,” Brome told BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY during an exclusive interview at the fast food chain’s Baxters Road headquarters.
“Luckily I haven’t been forced to lay off any staff just yet, but it didn’t make economic sense to keep Roebuck Street open.”
Brome’s brave decision not to sever staff under the tough circumstances means that more than 100 people will keep their jobs.
The businessman noted that Pizza Man Doc’s bottom line had been adversely affected mostly because the chain was envisioned to provide affordable pizzas for low-income workers.
But increased energy costs, increased water bills and the general surge in yeast-based raw materials and vegetable prices had all eaten away profits.
“Our pricing structure simply could not continue, not with everything else going up in price. We were forced to completely revaluate our prices since there were used when a recession of this magnitude did not come into play,” Brome explained.
He noted that the new structure would allow the business to continue with the current staff, but that too would be re-evaluated in six months’ time.
Pizza Man Doc branches at Baxters Road, Warrens, St Lawrence Main Road, Sheraton, Holders Hill and Speightstown will not be affected by Roebuck Street’s closure.
