NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Tropical Gyro, the Carib-Greek fusion take-out restaurant is the latest company seeking to raise funding on the Arawak X crowdfunding platform, as it eyes local and ultimately international expansion.
The company is seeking to raise $850,000 as it looks to expand with locations in the Carmichael, Cable Beach and Prince Charles areas as well as create a production and distribution centre. Tropical Gyro’s sole location at present is on Rosetta Street.
Chef Kevin “KC” Culmer, Tropical Gyro’s founder, CEO and executive chef, said during the company’s launch on Arawak X that with persistence and perseverance as well as strong support from his team and the public, the company which was created in 2015 has been able to survive.
Culmer, 60, who has some 30 years of culinary and restaurant operations experience said: ”We’ve been going strong.
“We made it through the pandemic.
“We made it through because of persistence, perseverance as well as the support of my team and the support of the general public.”
The company currently employs 10 full-time and 2 part-time employees.
He added: “We are confident in the product and the vision is there.
“The desire and passion I have to see this through is there. I eat, sleep and breathe Tropical Gyro.
“It’s not been an easy road and it’s not going to be easy, but I am extremely dedicated to seeing this through and putting the right people in place to see it through.”
Culmer said he wants to see Tropical Gyro become the first Bahamian restaurant brand to become a franchise and also expand internationally as he underscored the need to “get it right” in the domestic market first.
“So many times we see Bahamians bringing in international franchises to The Bahamas. We have so much talent and so much to offer here that we can take to the world,” said Culmer.
He added that the company hopes to model its franchise offering off Chick-Fil-A, with low start-up costs.
Details on the company posted on the Arawak X platform state that in the first year of business, the company gained a profit of $13,000 and now seven years later, the company has earned $2.3M in sales.
The company is also said to be currently averaging $600,000 in annual sales at its Rosetta Street location, having outcompeted other gyro businesses in their business district and survived the imposed COVID-19 restrictions.
