Many months of contemplation regarding the restoration of what had been, almost certainly, the most popular bakery on the lower East Coast Demerara, has finally brought the establishment’s twenty-nine-year-old proprietor, Treon Sobers, to a place where he has finally decided to take the plunge.
He had reached a point, he told the Stabroek Business, where he had begun to contemplate the closure of three of the establishment’s four outlets as reflective of an entrepreneurial ‘weakness’ which, he had found difficult to endure. What had also driven him to rising again was the fact that in his ‘comings and goings’ he continually encountered one-time customers who upbraided him not just for causing them to have to make alternative logistical – and sometimes far from convenient logistical arrangements – to buy bread, but also on account of the fact that his closures had brought on a condition of sacrifice associated with them being denied the range of cakes and pastries for which Sobers’ Bakery had chalked up a well-earned reputation.
The months of contemplation and soul-searching is now over. One evening about a week ago Sobers finally afforded the Stabroek Business the green light to go public on what he said is now the imminent reopening of the branches of Sobers’ Bakery at Ogle, LBI, and Agriculture Road, Mon Repos.
What he anticipates most, he said, is keeping a promise he has continually made to long-standing customers that he will restore the service at the various branches.
Truth be told, the promise he gives of October, suggests that (as we say in Guyana) he is ‘cutting it fine.’ This becomes patently apparent once he spells out the various prerequisites to the grand re-openings. Setting aside the physical sprucing up that the various physical structures housing the soon-to-be-re-opened branches will require, Sobers told the Stabroek Business that he anticipates a likely challenging experience in seeking to recruit managers, counter staff, and bakers. It is this, he believes, that will be by far his biggest challenge. The businessman, who doubles up as a single parent to three children, noted that while he will be seeking, as far as possible, to recruit staff from the various communities where the branches are located, his first recruitment criteria will be competence and discipline. Accordingly, he has made a decision to open applications to persons and intends to make choices on the basis of efficiency and willingness to work in the interest of the establishment.
From the spacious front yard that stretches away from the shop front towards the ‘line top’ at Chateau Margot, Sobers surveys the branch of the establishment from where he will run the show. He anticipates holding a few meetings to engage and select applicants for the various positions that will soon become available after which he anticipates the challenge of restoring one of the East Coast Demerara’s better-known bakeries to full strength.
Persons wishing to apply for positions can contact Sobers on telephone number: 686-1367
