The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

RENOWNED celebrity chef and restaurateur, Todd English, said his latest Olives restaurant was aiming to capitalise on Atlantis’s “late night business”, adding that its three-meal-a-day menu should generate significant consumer traffic.

Olives, which features English’s signature open kitchen and Mediterranean cuisine, was designed by interior architect and designer, Jeffrey Beers, and is the brand’s first venture in the Caribbean.

“I have 32 restaurants; five are Olives,” he said. “I have one in Boston, Mexico City, New York, Las Vegas, and now the Bahamas, and we will be looking at Abu Dhabi. I feel like this a good opportunity. It’s a really nice mix of great chefs and restaurants here, and it’s great to be a part of that.”

Mr English added: “From a business standpoint I think there is a lot of business to be had here, especially with the economy coming back a little bit in the States, and who knows what’s going to happen in Europe, but we’ll see.

“When you look at places like South America, Central America and Asia, there are more people going to be travelling to destinations like this. I only see it growing because it really does offer a lot of things to a lot of different people.”

Olive, which replaces the Atlas restaurant, will employ 180 people. “We’re going to do a late night menu,” said Mr English. “A lot of the restaurants close at 10 pm or 11 pm. We feel that there is a late night business here, the simple stuff - pizza, salads and the sort of food you want to eat at those hours.

“I’m excited about it. We have a big staff but we’re doing break, lunch, dinner and late night, so we’re going 16-17 hours per day. They were talking about going around the clock but we’ll see what happens,” Mr English said.

“From what they telling us it’s going to be busy, we’ll get 600-800 people through here a day, so I’m excited to see how we can handle it. The menu is the pasta, pizzas, the tartares, ceviche, salads. Lunch is more salads and sandwiches, the proteins and greens philosophy. That’s sort of where we’re going now.

“I think you’re going to see it develop into more fish and more protein, things we have been doing for years. There is a little something for everyone on the menu. I believe dining should be fun and I want people to have a good time and enjoy themselves.”