• Opponents trying to ‘block free and fair competition’

• Warns 120 full-time, 75 construction posts at stake

• Atlantis ‘oversized businesses’ creating traffic woes

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Wendy’s principal yesterday blasted an “orchestrated and baseless campaign” against its Paradise Island restaurant project that it says is primarily designed to “block free and fair competition”.

Chris Tsavoussis, in a letter to Keenan Johnson, Town Planning Committee chairman, that affirmed some 120 full-time jobs and 75 construction posts are at stake, argued that Atlantis and other major Paradise Island resorts/developers are guilty of “discriminatory business practices that should not be tolerated in our country” through their opposition.

Calling for “free and fair commercial access to the entire Bahamas”, the Aetos Holdings chief said the group’s Wendy’s and Marco’s Pizza fast-food brands should be permitted “to invest and expand” on Paradise Island just as Atlantis and the former Hurricane Hole’s developer, Sterling Global Financial, have without being “dictated to by a foreign private equity bond holder”.

Besides that seeming swipe at Atlantis’ owner, Brookfield Asset Management, Mr Tsavoussis added that he and his company “strongly oppose” the demand by the Paradise Island Tourism Development Association, which also represents other major resorts such as the Ocean Club and Comfort Suites, that Town Planning delay its decision by four weeks to allow for a traffic impact study to be conducted.

Writing ahead of the Town Planning Committee’s anticipated verdict tonight on whether to approve the dual Wendy’s and Marco’s Pizza restaurants at the former Scotiabank branch site, the Aetos Holdings chief argued that Atlantis and “its oversized businesses” are most responsible for changing Paradise Island’s character and creating traffic congestion.

Reiterating that there are no covenants restricting how the ex-bank branch can be used, Mr Tsavoussis said the planned Wendy’s and Marco’s Pizza restaurant will eliminate “an eye sore that tourists have come to know for the past 18 months”. And, unlike grocery stores and other businesses, he added that fast-food purchasers will exit the restaurant “115-120 seconds after the order is placed”.

Addressing Mr Johnson and the entire Town Planning Committee, the Wendy’s chief wrote: “We wish to record our strong objection to what we regard as the orchestrated and baseless campaign mounted by certain business owners on Paradise Island against our application for site plan approval for the renovation of the old Scotiabank building to be used as the site of Wendy’s and Marco’s Pizza.”

Breaking the Bahamian fast food franchise’s concerns down into two areas, Mr Tsavoussis argued that there should be “equal commercial access to Paradise Island” for all businesses in addition to objecting to the Association’s demand that the planning authority delay its decision by four weeks so Caribbean Civil Group can conduct a traffic study on its behalf.

“There should be free and fair commercial access to the entire Bahamas for Bahamian businesses, not just selected parts,” the Wendy’s and Marco’s Pizza principal argued. “In the surrounding commercial adjacent area, there are web shops, local eateries and other fast food [restaurants] like Dunkin’ Donuts.

“As trusted and proven Bahamian operators we should be afforded the same opportunity to invest and expand in the way that Sterling Financial Group and Atlantis have been allowed to, and not be dictated to by a foreign private equity bond holder that is here today and gone tomorrow.

“Our proposal would create 120 full-time jobs in addition to the 75 construction jobs. Paradise Island should cater to all residents, tourists and workers, not just the elite rich and wealthy, and affordable food should be available to all,” Mr Tsavoussis continued.

“To us, the fundamental objection raised by the opposition is about blocking free and fair competition from Paradise Island, which in our opinion is a discriminatory business practice that should not be tolerated in our country.”

Mr Tsavoussis reiterated previous Tribune Business revelations that Atlantis “had the first opportunity to purchase this property, and chose not to”, while Sterling, which has renamed the former Hurricane Hole into its Paradise Landing development, submitted a “low ball bid” for the former Scotiabank property that was rejected. Now the two are among the most prominent objectors to his plans.

“The special interest groups that are so concerned about maintaining the elite and upscale Paradise Island image should have purchased the Scotiabank property themselves if they wished to restrict the use of it by the buyer (Psomi, an Aetos Holdings affiliate),” he wrote.

The fast-food franchise group had “invested in purchasing the property in reliance on the legitimate expectation that it would be permitted to operate its businesses from the site in the same way that its neighbours are, and predecessors were permitted to operate”.

As for the complaints about traffic congestion and insufficient parking, and the Association’s call for time to conduct a study, Mr Tsavoussis wrote that the latter request was “lacking in merit” because the Town Planning Committee has all the necessary information necessary to make a rational decision.

Noting that the site is part of an existing shopping centre and retail location, he added: “It is respectfully submitted that it would be unfair to single out the Scotiabank site for special treatment and studies when retail business has been operated from those premises for decades, and the upgrades to the property to accommodate Wendy’s and Marco’s will not materially alter the character or commercial use of the site.

“The retail shopping plaza has been the existing site for commercial activity on Paradise Island for decades. This is in stark contrast to the Sawyers Food Store and the Sterling Global businesses that have been recently introduced to Paradise Island.

“There is no justification for the clamour that Atlantis and the other Paradise Island entities are making with regard to the Psomi application, especially when it is noted that Atlantis and its oversized businesses are the ones that have changed the character of Paradise Island and created much of the congestion. It is totally unfair for Atlantis to try to prevent other Bahamian businesses of a much smaller scale from operating and they should not be allowed to do so.”

Mr Tsavoussis said the proposed restaurant would operate much like a downtown site, relying primarily on walk-up traffic while those in vehicles will use the existing lot or 1,000-plus spots in the multi-storey parking garage across the street.

“We do not see why Wendy’s and Marco’s are being singled out by.... when the Sawyer’s Fresh Market supermarket that will supply all the Paradise Island guests and residents of Paradise Island with their grocery needs is being allowed to move forward, and two new restaurants [are] being built in the same development,” he added.

“One of which is Carnivale, a 15,000 square foot restaurant scheduled to open in spring 2024 with seating for over 350 persons, and the plan to host large parties. If Town Planning was to do the math based on the existing conventional required parking guidelines, this entire project would fail miserably.

“The second restaurant is also underway, and this in addition to the existing retail shops, office and residential spaces being occupied in the surrounding buildings in the same complex. Such as 700 Wines & Spirits, a pharmacy, the marina office, etc.”

Pledging that security will control any parking overflows at the Wendy’s and Marco’s Pizza site, Mr Tsavoussis repeated that employees would largely be brought to the site by bus and were unlikely to take more than two to three parking spots for their own vehicles.

“It is grossly unfair to associate pre-existing issues with Paradise Island parking to what we have proposed,” he said. “Another key differentiating factor is the business model of a bank versus that of a fast-food business and the customer service times. We know how to get persons in an out very quickly, 115 to 120 seconds after the order is placed.

“We are building more enhanced kitchens to handle the volumes; also, mobile ordering will be utilised to allow for a grab n’ go kiosk at the front counter for pre-ordered meals. Most notably, with daily hours from 7am to 10pm, the extensive grocery store - Sawyers - will have very similar operating hours to that of Wendy’s.

“Supermarket customers browse when they shop. It is not ‘an in an out’ process like our quick-service food model, where speed is critical. What is their intention for parking overflow, with longer customer service times, as well as for staff parking?

“In view of this, you would think the neighbouring businesses and residents/Paradise Island stakeholders would be more concerned about the impact the Sterling Financial Group’s intended commercial activities will have on the surrounding area, as they are not ‘grab n go concepts’. Rather, these restaurants will allow a ‘sit, dine and relax’ extended occasion.”