FAB 2024
Building on the legacy of an icon at Sangster International Airport
A terrific session focused on the engaging story of the Margaritaville Caribbean Group-operated Bob Marley’s One Love restaurant (which later won big at the FAB Awards) kicked off day two at FAB+ 2024.
The outlet opened last July at Montego Bay Sangster International Airport, Jamaica, with a design that pays homage to one of the world’s most famous and influential musicians.
UK company The Design Solution selected materials, colours and textures for the restaurant, inspired by Bob Marley’s legacy, artistic creativity and life, including his home at 56 Hope Road and Marley’s Tuff Gong recording studio in Kingston.
Margaritaville Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ian Dear described the passion that went into the creation of F&B/retail fusion destination, Bob Marley’s One Love at Sangster International
Margaritaville Chairman and CEO Ian Dear revealed the idea for the brand was first discussed with the Marley family nearly 20 years ago, but at the time his company was not ready to execute the project. However, by 2020, he and his team were ready to do justice to Marley’s legacy and re-engaged with the enthusiastic family.
Dear, who saluted Pragma Consulting’s Alex Avery and Vantage Airport Group’s Sammy Patel for their roles in the project, said: “I first saw Bob when I was 12 years old and it had a huge impact on me as a Jamaican. So the journey we have been on to create this brand with the Marley family and Robbie Gill and John Clarke of The Design Solution is something I am extremely proud of. We feel very excited about what they have achieved in bringing our vision to life.”
Dear shared an image on screen of Bob Marley’s wife Rita’s very positive reaction when she saw the completed One Love restaurant for the first time at Sangster Airport. “It was a very emotional moment, she hugged me,” he recalled. “It touched her heart, and we knew then that we had got it right.”
In a presentation underlining his passion for the new hospitality brand, John Clarke, Project Manager for The Design Solution, shared the details of its creation, which involved the close cooperation of the Marley family.
Clarke said: “When Ian [Dear] first came to London and told me he wanted to create a restaurant around Bob, I wasn’t sure of the idea. But talking at more length with Ian and then talking to the Marley family, I realised with the passion around and motivation behind it I was the right person for the job because I had a real passion for Bob’s music.
The Design Solution Project Manager John Clarke (left) shared the details of the venue's creation, which involved the close cooperation of the Marley family
“We wanted to create something special and do right by Bob. In terms of the vision, we wanted to create a restaurant concept with a commercially successful proposition obviously – without that, none of this makes sense. But the most important thing was that we highlight the Marley legacy for future generations by promoting Bob’s mission and leveraging the brand to support and sustain communities.
“In terms of the journey in the process, the first challenge was to align all of the Bob Marley values and the ambition with the commercial opportunity, the business case, operational sustainability and ease of implementation to create an aligned proposition and positioning.
“There was no simply jumping in. It involved workshops and working with the family to make sure everybody was on the same page, to the point where I think when we did start the creative work, everything was easy. It was just a flow.”
Clarke explained that at the heart of the project was the sense of place and a basic mission of wanting to bring people together. This was not only in the physical space itself, but also by involving local communities and putting something back into them.
Examples of this apporach include using local food suppliers and local fruit and vegetables to bring an authentic Jamaican flavour to the menu and working with local artisans to create merchandise for the retail element of the project.
John Clarke: Attention to local detail
Clarke said: “We see putting back into communities as an important part of this brand, and actually it is a fundamental underlying principle, which then makes sense of why Bob Marley would lend his name to anything we’re going to do outside of the music business – well he’d lend it because he’d have realised it would actually support people.
“But the most important asset that we really have as a restaurant is our people. Without our people, Bob’s message wouldn’t mean anything. And so a lot of effort was put into taking staff to the museum in Kingston, and to Tuff Gong to actually get a sense of what Bob was about. Because if they don’t share those kinds of values, they can’t communicate them to customers.”
FAB eZine
August 2024
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