Focusing on branding a “great brand” to sustain and build new business during “the slower months” in the years ahead is what led to three Bermudians joining the working ownership team of the company that runs Flanagan’s Irish Pub on Front Street.

Lavarr Raynor, Gregory Dean and Marvin Burchall are the latest three to make up what is now a total of ten working owners of the working ownership team.

Harbourside Holdings is the holding company of the Outback Sports Bar, The Snug Café, The Loft, Divots, and Flanagan’s.

The company’s employee-owned structure gives employees the opportunity to take an ownership stake in the business.

All the working owners are fully qualified to take on different roles whenever the job requires to maintain flexibility. On any given day that may change from being the manager, to bartender, to serving tables as a waiter.

Chris Garland, one of the company’s four directors, said: “We’re in it for the long run and to sustain the slower months we worked hard to build a great team and in turn a great brand and future for that brand.

“Our staff are our greatest asset and we will continue to invest in them. We have been allowed to expand because of the great people that we’ve brought on along the way.”

According to the statement released earlier this week, Mr Raynor started out as a pot washer at the age of 19.and spent the last 20 years working his way up through the ranks in Bermuda’s hospitality industry.

Fast forward to today and now he is a bartender/restaurant manager, who also assists with the company’s event space, The Loft, in the Emporium Building.

“Working in hospitality runs in my family, I started at Flanagan’s in 2009 and haven’t looked back — the owners don’t treat you as just an employee, when you work here you’re family. As new owners we’re looking to bring fresh ideas to the table to drive the business forward,” said Mr Raynor.

His colleague, Mr Dean, another of the new working owners, says he was only ten when he started helping out at his grandmother’s restaurant.

Now he is the bar manager at the Outback Sports Bar, some 12 years after joining Flanagan’s as a junior bartender.

His family owned the Checkerboard diner, Checkmate restaurant and Dean’s Bakery in Somerset.

“The more skills you have the more valuable you are to your employer, and that dedication is what has gotten me to where I am today at Flanagan’s.

“It’s an exciting time for the company. A huge part of our success is down to our team’s relationships with our customers,” he said.

Well known as a bartender throughout Bermuda, Mr Burchall is the head bartender at Divots, where he says it is all about “hands-on” experience.

“They will get stuck in wherever is needed and that inspires the whole team to work harder.

“I have a positive feeling, there’s so much more variety now and different parts of the island are coming alive,” said Mr Burchall.

“We’ve seen that with Divots in Warwick. I would say to anyone looking to make it in this industry, take the opportunities that are given to you and be prepared to make sacrifices as well.”

Always on the lookout for hard-working and talented Bermudians, the company recently employed a kitchen porter who was part of the ‘100 jobs’ challenge launched by the Minister of National Security, Wayne Caines, in March.

The front line staff employed by Harbourside Holdings have also received training to become tourism ambassadors in support of the Bermuda Tourism Authority’s national tourism plan.

Collectively, the company’s directors said: “The growth that we have experienced over the last few years, with opening up Divots and The Loft, is not only attributable to our commitment to the island but also down to the growth and creativity we’ve seen in the tourism industry.

“Visitor levels have a direct impact on our business and we hope to see them continue to rise in the coming years.”

  • Feature Photos Supplied Includes Team Members: Lavarr Raynor, Al McIntosh, Anthony Daniels, Marvin Burchall, Barry Decouto, Robert Bell, Deon Mills, Gregory Dean and Chris Garland
  • Ownership team: Lavarr Raynor, Al McIntosh, Anthony Daniels, Marvin Burchall, Barry Decouto, Robert Bell, Deon Mills, Gregory Dean and Chris GarlandT