Brick Oven 'told to leave' Devon House
Published:Wednesday | August 25, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Pastry maker The Brick Oven has relocated from the grounds of Devon House closer to the heart of Half-Way Tree in Kingston, but says the move was not voluntary.
Owner Catherine Radlein, who has operated at Devon House for more than two decades, said the managers of the historic and state-funded property said she had failed to renew her lease, which she denies.
"In 22 years I have never had to apply in writing for renewal of the lease," said Radlein.
Devon House Development Company Limited (DHDC), which manages the Hope Road historic attraction, refused to answer direct questions regarding Brick Oven. Queries were eventually shunted to an information officer who claimed to know nothing of why Brick Oven would have moved.
Radlein now operates from 2A-2D Suthermere Road, next to Jamaica National Building Society.
She said she was served with notice in April to quit Devon House, and given two months to move, later extended to three months.
The letter from DHDC stated that Radlein had not exercised her option to renew the lease, but the pastrymaker said correspondence from her lawyer to the Devon House managers went unanswered, neither were negotiations entertained.
DHDC is run by executive director Janett Taylor, who has not responded to requests for comment on Brick Oven's notice, as well as reports to Wednesday Business by well-placed sources that the operating company's plans for the Devon House property includes its repositioning as a venue for uptown clientele.
Tourism minister Edmund Bartlett referred comments back to DHDC.
Brick Oven moved at the end of July.
Its new home is the same size as the Devon House shop. Supervisor Joy Barnett says the baking facilities were better at the previous location but would be improved over time as the shop adjusts after what she called a rapid relocation.
Customer traffic is not as vibrant, but was said to be picking up at Suthermere, Barnett said, while orders from wholesale clients who sell Brick Oven-made pastry in their stores and restaurants, were unchecked.
The Brick Oven occupied one of 21 shops at Devon House, which on July 26 reopened the mansion on the property after a J$112 million state-financed renovation.
Government this year is funding J$25 million, or just over a third of the property's J$66 million operating budget, but Devon House is expected to be self-funding as of next year.
Shops bring in 80 per cent of DHDC revenue.
The property also operates the Devonshire Restaurant and plans to open the renovated mansion to tours, weddings and other functions.
The information officer at Devon House who refused to give her name said Friday that she had "no idea" why Brick Oven had relocated, and that she had no information on whether or not shop rental rates had been increased. On Tuesday, when asked again, she said she could not disclose the reason.
Radlein's two-decade business operates from two locations, Kingston which launched in 1988, and in Montego Bay, where a shop was established at Westgate Plaza in November 2008 in the company's 20th year of operation.
Around that time, she also got a J$7 million infusion of capital from the joint Government of Jamaica/European Union Private Sector Development Project.
The MoBay bakery carries patty and pastry selections as well as Devon House i'Scream.
Radlein recreated the authenticity of the Devon House Brick Oven ethos by incorporating faux-brick and traditional copper accessories in the décor.