Mr & Mrs Mark Vanterpool, founders of the One Mart Supermarket group, last week acquired iconic British Virgin Islands (BVI) hospitality and retail brand – Pussers British West Indies Limited.
Pussers – a conglomerate in the restaurant, merchandise, and apparel industries, was founded over forty years ago by entrepreneur and Vietnam War Pilot Mr. Charles Tobias, MBE. It started as a four-stool bar in the heart of Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands – the Territory’s capital.
Today Pussers owns and operates, or licenses, restaurants, bars, and retail stores at several locations across the British Virgin Islands and in the United States. There is also a strong brand awareness and a Pusser’s presence in Canada, the UK, European and Australian boating centers. Pusser’s is a lifestyle brand with a focus on the boating and sailing market. As Tobias likes to say, “You can eat it, drink it and wear it”! The Pusser’s line of apparel is eclectic, traditional, comfortable, and functional. The brand has a solid following in the US and worldwide sailing markets. The Pusser’s Landings are a combination of a restaurant and bar with an attached Pusser’s Co. Store. The brand is well-known for its Painkiller, which it promoted with great success in many of the world’s renowned bars and watering holes. In 2020, the prestigious Drinks International publication listed the Painkiller as Number 22 of the world’s top 100 cocktails. Pusser’s also owns the trademark for Painkiller Bars, which are intended for opening in key US. locations. The Pussers Rum operation was spun off and sold in 2014 due to specific laws in the US which prohibit the simultaneous ownership of a bar and spirits products.
Mr. Mark Vanterpool commented: “Although some of my investment advisors thought I was crazy to be buying a restaurant business in the middle of the CoVID-19 pandemic, I have immense confidence in the history and culinary traditions, often synonymous with the British Virgin Islands, that Pussers has developed over the past four decades. We are looking forward to building on the legacy and foundation laid by Mr. Charles Tobias and the Pussers Team by focussing even more on one of my greatest passions – Service. Service is at the heart of every establishment in our group of companies.
We are pleased to join with Tobias’ former management to ensure that the Pussers hard working employees are fully compensated with the full benefits due to them. We extend our deep condolences to the family of Kert Tennikait, General Manager and CFO of Pussers who suddenly passed last week. He was a quiet, giant of a man who loved our BVI, and one of the great humanitarians to have passed our way.”
Mr. Tobias said: “Pussers has faced major challenges over the past few years, and was heavily dependent on a strong BVI visitor base. Consequently, the company was severely impacted by the recession, then by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, and more recently, the CoVID-19 pandemic. With virtually no visitor traffic, the past 12 months have been exceptionally challenging for our business, especially for our staff of over 100 employees as it has been for so many persons employed in the hospitality industry, not only in the BVI, but around the world. We were exceptionally pleased that the Vanterpool Group not only purchased the company, which as part of the arrangement, covers all severance owed to our employees. Almost of all our team members have been facing extremely difficult
financial hardship over the past year. Their severance cheques, I’m sure, will be a welcomed relief.” Tobias continued, “My wife Joanna and I, our former Chief Financial Officer and General Manager Mr. Kert Tennikait, who suddenly and sadly passed away from a heart attack last week, and the whole Pussers team will continue to be solidly behind the continued growth and development of the worldwide Pussers Brand.
As we now pass the baton forward to the Vanterpool Group, I have no doubt that Mark Vanterpool will take the Pusser’s opportunity to a whole new level.” The One Mart Supermarket group is one of the leading companies in the BVI food and beverage provisioning sector. The Vanterpool group also owns the OM Holdings International Inc and several other growing service businesses.