Restaurant Associates Limited (RAL) has answered the calls for more of its quick-service restaurants in Montego Bay, St James, opening its fifth Burger King last December and its first Popeyes less than a month later.
Sabrena McDonald Radcliffe, RAL’s Head of QSR Sales and Marketing told guests at official opening events for Burger King, Barnett Street and Popeyes, Sam Sharpe Square on February 10, that the top question on the Popeyes Jamaica Facebook page over the past five years has been “when are you coming to Montego Bay”?
Call it generosity, or plainly market intelligence and responsiveness, but the RAL Group corporate communications director further noted that, “our Burger King customers want us in as many locations as possible.”
The Burger King opening saw a number of customers winning prizes for the correct responses to questions which showed off their immense knowledge of the brand and its products.
At the ribbon-cutting for the Popeyes store in Sam Sharpe Square that afternoon, Deputy Mayor Richard Vernon lauded RAL for “adding value to the business landscape and boosting business confidence”.
SEE GALLERY:
Councillor Richard Vernon (second left), Deputy Mayor of Montego Bay and Lisa Lake, Group CEO, Lake Group of Companies cut the ribbon at the opening of the new Popeyes restaurant at Sam Sharpe Square, Montego Bay. Sharing the moment are (from left-right) Oral Heaven, vice-president Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce; Sabrena McDonald Radcliffe, Head of QSR Sales & Marketing and Group Corporate Communications Director; and Winston Clarke, Territory Brand Manager, IGL Limited. (Photo contributed) 
Jerome Miles (second left), general manager of Rainforest Seafoods and Sabrena McDonald Radcliffe, Head of QSR Sales & Marketing and Group Corporate Communications Director, cut the ribbon at the official opening of the new Burger King restaurant at Barnett Street, Montego Bay on February 10, 2022. Looking on are Oral Heavens (left), VP Montego Chamber of Commerce and Ever-Gaye Style Morries, Burger King Brand Manager. (Photo contributed)
He praised the company too for “contributing to social inclusion “ through its Deaf Crew Project in which it trains and employs deaf and hard-of-hearing persons in its stores.
Deputy Mayor Vernon made an appeal to local farmers to focus on producing goods that meet the requirements of local companies and urged “local giants to interact more with local producers.”
Declaring that “the health of Montego Bay is the wealth of Montego Bay”, he congratulated RAL for “finding scalable solutions including the use of biodegradable products and implementation of a system for disposing of used oil”.
Oral Heavens, vice-president of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce, said that by providing employment in the parish, “RAL is helping at-risk youth veer away from a life of crime for something profitable”.
The chamber, he added, “is happy to welcome businesses which provide employment for our people” and urged RAL to “continue to make a contribution to the development of our people”.
Lisa Lake, Group CEO Lake Group of companies with oversight for the RAL brands—Burger King, Popeyes and Little Caesar’s Pizza—took the opportunity to thank customers who have continued to support the brands through difficult years including through the Covid-19 pandemic and her team “who have given above and beyond to not just keep the business going but to help grow it.”
“We made it through the pandemic without laying off one worker and this was in large part due to the dedication of our team. We take sustainability very seriously and we have expanded not just in quality but we have also been able to further integrate into the local manufacturing and agricultural sectors.”
Promising that there is more to come very soon, Lake declared “ Next stop, Mandeville”, a pointed reference to the upcoming opening of a Popeyes store in that town.
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