Christopher Bird, owner of Bird of Paradise Restaurant in Mandeville, cooks during an annual 'Men Who Cook' charity event. - file photos

There are some things that are passed down by tradition and some characteristics which are said to be innate.

For Christopher Bird, owner of Bird of Paradise Restaurant in Mandeville, Jamaica, becoming a business owner was destiny.

"I believe it came naturally. I have had the entrepreneurial spirit in my blood for a very long time. For as long as I can remember, I used to go to work with my father at the cash register at the gas station on Saturdays," he said.

It was those early experiences with his father and his drive that have allowed him to successfully operate his establishment. In 2006, Bird opened the restaurant which specialises in international and local cuisine.

Opening a restaurant was always a dream of this entrepreneur, but prior to that he tried his hand at other business ventures before finding one of his true passions.

Many ventures

"After returning to Jamaica in the early '90s, while working full time with my father, I tried many businesses, selling engine oils, American apples, I even borrowed my mom's car and drove into the hills of Manchester selling icy mints and cheese trix. None of these ventures really worked as I never gave them the continuous attention needed for them to succeed."

When those didn't pan out, Bird explored other avenues taking him closer to his dream of opening a restaurant. After completing a master's programme in business administration at the University of the West Indies in 2000, he decided to start a pastry business.

Operated under the name A Little Pastry Place, it served as a store and bakery. After outgrowing the space, Bird sought a different location to accommodate the bakery. It was then and there that the idea for the restaurant located on Brumalia Road in the parish was conceived.

"The space I found (for the bakery) was too large so I decided to use the extra space to house my restaurant. It had been a dream of mine to run my own restaurant since the early '80s. I was not sure what kind of restaurant or how I would get the money to start, but I believed one day it would've happened."

The restaurant business was not necessarily a difficult feat for Bird to accomplish as he had experience and qualification to adequately operate it. Suffice it to say, he has been in the food industry since 1987.

Experiences

"While attending University of Florida I worked several jobs in order to put myself through school. I worked at Orange Julius and China Express. After graduating with my first degree in food and resource economics I was employed to KFC where I managed seven restaurants in Florida.

With the world's economic crisis hitting Mandeville's bauxite industry, Bird is cognisant that his business could be hurt. He says this has only forced him and his staff to be innovative and constantly on the ball.

"The imminent closure will hit this region very hard. Many industries depend directly and indirectly on the viability of the bauxite industry. There will be a serious filtered-down effect, but we have been down this road before, in 1986, and we are still around now. The closure has started to affect our business and has forced us to be very creative. Customers will be asking 'what's in it for me, why should I visit your restaurant?' Well, we have changed all our menus, adjusted prices and added new, more cost-effective items," he said.

Plan strategically

He also encourages people, especially in these trying times when job redundancy is high and increasing, to plan strategically.

"During times like these, I would recommend not only unemployed persons, but everyone to start retooling themselves. Go back to school, learn a trade, get prepared for when things turn around because they will. Now is the time to plan, to dream and to think outside of the box. I have always motivated myself by telling myself that no matter how hard things are, someone is making money, why can't I be that person?"

The recipient of many accolades, including Young Entrepreneur Of The Year by the Manchester Chamber of Commerce and by the Jamaica Junior Chamber, Bird is not ruling out the option of starting a new operation but when the time is right.

CEO of Bird of Paradise, Christopher Bird (left), shares a moment with (from second left) Nesta Carter, Sherone Simpson, Bobby-Gaye Wilkins and Anatasia LeRoy.